What Is DWI In Texas?
DWI stands for Driving While Intoxicated and is a serious offense in Texas. The penalties can range from heavy fines to jail time and even prison, depending on the blood alcohol content (BAC) of the driver.
DWI is a common problem in Texas and other parts of the country. According to statistics, more than one million people are arrested every year for DWI.
While most of these drivers are men, women are also at risk of getting arrested for DWI. If you are pulled over for a DWI, you may be asked to submit to a preliminary alcohol screening test.
These tests are often performed by breathalyzer devices and require a person to blow into the device. Many drivers assume that the state’s implied consent law applies to these tests, but this is not necessarily true.
If you have been charged with DWI, the first thing that you need to do is to consult with an experienced attorney who can help you to determine your legal options. They will be able to assist you in making a plan to defend yourself and reduce the charges against you.
Another thing you need to do is make sure that you have the proper documentation on hand for your attorney. This will allow them to build the strongest defense for you.
The court will want to see a letter from the police department, an official traffic report, a medical examiner’s report, and the results of a blood or urine test. These documents will show whether the officer was able to find evidence of impairment or intoxication.
Once a judge finds that the arresting officer did not have probable cause, your case will be dismissed and you will not be convicted of DWI. If you have been charged with DWI in Texas, contact an attorney to learn more about your options.
Getting DWI Charges Dismissed
Getting DWI charges dismissed is a goal of many defendants. But the probability of achieving this goal depends on several factors.
Generally speaking, a conviction for a DWI can result in severe consequences such as jail time, fines, and even the use of an ignition interlock device on your vehicle.
Lack Of Reasonable Suspicion
One way to get DWI charges dismissed is to argue that the officer did not have a valid reason to stop you. This can happen for a variety of reasons, from vehicle issues to a simple speeding ticket.
For example, if an officer sees a driver weaving in and out of traffic lanes, going erratically, or disregarding stop signs, there may be reasonable suspicion that the driver is drunk. However, an officer cannot make an arrest based on this suspicion alone.
This is because police officers are required to have probable cause before they can arrest someone. This is a much higher standard than reasonable suspicion and it can be difficult to meet.
The good news is that your criminal defense lawyer can use the lack of reasonable suspicion as a reason to have any evidence suppressed, or kept out of court. This will prevent the prosecutor from being able to use any evidence gathered after your unlawful traffic stop, which could potentially lead to a dismissal of your DWI case.
A common argument that we use in our DWI defense cases is the so-called “pretext stop.” This happens when an officer pulls a person over for a traffic violation, such as speeding or failing to signal a turn, only to find drugs. The courts have approved these types of pretext stops, but they must have an objectively reasonable basis for doing so.
In this case, the police officer had a hunch that the driver was drunk when he saw him leave a bar and pull into the parking lot. He followed him for a mile, and when he noticed the defendant had cocaine strapped to his back, he pulled him over.
Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
If you were charged with a DUI in Texas, you may be able to get it dismissed. This could happen for several reasons, including if the arresting officer made a mistake, the breath test results were inaccurate, or there was an error in the way the evidence was collected.
The best way to get your DUI charges thrown out is to contact a qualified criminal defense lawyer like Neal Davis who will evaluate your case and identify any possible problems with the prosecution’s evidence. He has experience examining insufficient evidence, Fourth Amendment violations, and procedural errors in order to obtain a dismissal for his clients.
Prosecutors often rely on illegally obtained evidence to build their case against an accused individual, and this type of incriminating evidence can be suppressed in trial by a skilled attorney. The evidence can include physical evidence, a confession, or even a cell phone record of a person’s voicemail messages.
Unlawfully obtained evidence is more common in drug cases, as police officers often seize drugs and other property without a warrant or probable cause. A defense attorney can challenge this evidence by filing a motion to suppress, and then negotiate with the prosecutor for a reduction or dismissal of the charges.
Another type of illegally obtained evidence that can lead to a dismissal of DWI charges is if the initial traffic stop was unlawful. If an officer pulls a driver over on a public highway without reasonable suspicion, they cannot collect any evidence after that initial stop.
The court in this case ruled that the initial traffic stop was unlawful, so the prosecutor’s evidence could be suppressed. This means that the prosecutor’s case would be weakened to the point where they could never secure a conviction on the charges.
Chain Of Custody Errors
When it comes to criminal cases, evidence plays an integral role in the prosecution’s ability to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that it must be properly handled from the time it’s collected by police until it’s presented in court.
The chain of custody is a process that ensures that the evidence in a case hasn’t been altered, tampered with, or planted. If a piece of evidence isn’t in proper custody, it can lead to a judge ruling it inadmissible and dismissing the case entirely.
To properly handle the chain of custody, law enforcement officers must follow certain procedures to ensure that they can prove where the evidence came from and how it was handled before it was used in court. These procedures include properly labeling, keeping records, and storing them in an untainted and safe manner.
If you believe that your case is impacted by a chain of custody error, it’s essential to hire an experienced attorney to fight for your rights. This will give your lawyer a better chance at establishing that your case is based on faulty evidence, and can ultimately help you get charges dismissed.
Chain of custody errors can occur at any point during the collection, handling, and testing of evidence. This includes mistakes made when law enforcement officers take physical samples, such as blood or saliva, to a lab for testing. These mistakes can be a result of mishandling, improper storage, or lost or misplaced evidence.
Breathalyzer Testing Mistakes
If you are facing a DUI charge in Houston, it is important to know that there are several ways to get the charges dismissed. One of the most common ways to do this is by showing that a police officer made a mistake when administering your breath test.
While the Breathalyzer is a sophisticated piece of technology that is designed to be accurate, there are many outside factors and errors in an administration that can affect its results. This can result in a false positive or a false negative.
Another problem is that these devices are prone to mechanical errors. They must be serviced regularly and the sensors must be calibrated carefully. A machine that is not calibrated will produce inaccurate results.
In addition, a device that is used too frequently can also skew the results of a breath test. This is because the fuel cell, which measures the amount of alcohol in the person’s system, will degrade over time.
This can make the device register higher levels of alcohol on the breath than it should. This could lead to an unjustified arrest and a wrongful conviction.
Furthermore, a device that has been left in a hot car or exposed to other temperatures can also inflate the results of a breath test. This can be particularly dangerous for drivers who are under the influence of medications that affect the body’s temperature, such as insulin or glucagon.
If you are facing a DUI in Houston, it is vital to consult with an experienced attorney to find out if there are any issues with your breath test. The right lawyer will be able to challenge the accuracy of your results and possibly get them removed from consideration in court.
We invite you to contact us or call us today if you need help from an experienced DUI attorney. Visit our blog for more related articles.