How to Fight a DWI Charge in Houston, Texas

1) Traffic Stops that are not fully legal can occur: When Is a DWI Stop Unlawful?

Every case starts with a traffic stop or contact in some sort of way. If this happens without reasonable suspicion or without probable cause, Texas law allows the suppression of what comes next. (field sobriety tests, verbal statements, even breath or blood tests)

Here’s a look at what the Butler Law Firm will be looking at for your case:

• Lane‑drift/weaving that doesn’t meet Transportation Code standards.
• Anonymous tips without ANY corroboration.
• Long gaps between the accused violation and the actual traffic stop.
• An encounter not involving any driving that may have turned into a full on DWI investigation. Perhaps without the proper facts to support the officer’s pursuit in the first place.
• Statutory warnings and Miranda warning issues and timing.

DWI Law Tip: A Motion to Suppress using body‑cam or dash‑cam footage and the dispatch audio. If the officer’s traffic stop or detention ends up failing, the chances of your case being completely dismissed can grow larger. And if the dismissal isn’t given entirely, you can be hopeful at least for a major reduction in penalties received for getting a DWI. Or to be able to keep your driver’s license in a valid state to be able to keep your life moving forward. 

2) How Can You Challenge The Sobriety Tests?

Often, the ‘Walk back and forth on the line, turn around, then stand on one leg.’ test is performed and used as evidence. That’s a good way to determine if somebody is intoxicated, dictating if they should be put in jail and have rights taken away, right? If they can’t properly stand on one leg without creating too much wobble within themselves.

At the end of the day, the tests are only as reliable as the police officer’s adherence to the laws that outline exactly how they need to be conducted. We then align the video with the manual line‑by‑line.

Some of the more common errors I’ve seen are:

• Required qualifying questions that might be missing medical concerns, such as hearing difficulties, any current injuries, or if there are any neurological conditions that exist. It is quite common for the surface of the ground to be uneven, hard to see, or even for inadequate footwear to be worn putting the defendant at a disadvantage.
• Some of the technique errors with HGN can include: a stimulus that is either too fast or too close, having blinding lights from the police car in your eyes, or errors in the timing.
• Errors when the office is giving instructions, such as non‑validated variations that are scored as “clues.”
• Or maybe there were any sloped or uneven surfaces, even wind or rain that was not acknowledged and taken into account by the officers at the time.

Here’s why it really matters: When you’re able to get a re‑scoring, it can help to erase some of the inflated “clues” that undercut the probable cause, and even set up suppression or provide a better negotiation posture.

3) How can the Breathalyzer and Blood Tests be challenged?

Breath tests:

Breath test numbers are created as a result of a procedure that has to be in accordance with all local laws and ordinances. It also has to be up-to-date on the required maintenance on the equipment being used. Neglecting this can produce an inaccurate test result that goes against you.

• A 15‑minute observation without any unsupervised gaps of time: any time unsupervised can risk mouth alcohol levels being affected. 

• All the mandatory logs for each one of the measuring instruments that we’re used to create the test results.

Blood testing

Blood test reliability relies fully on the paperwork combined with science. They both are working to do their job to create an accurate and trustworthy result. But there are many moving parts.

• First of all- The warrant. All the particularized facts, the detailed timestamps, and the probable cause.
• Analyzing the blood draw: using correct tubes with the required anticoagulant; proper inversion had; refrigeration, and the in-depth transport logs.
• Lastly, the lab work: The calibration accuracy, carryover, chromatograms, detailed batch records, serum vs. the whole‑blood conversions.

In the right case, when it would help, Butler Law Firm can seek out to have an independent re‑testing completed. These efforts would be working to expose any possible weaknesses or errors that may be present here.

4) How Can Medical Conditions Affect Breathalyzer Results?

It is possible for medical issues to create a perceived intoxication effect on certain people. It’s also possible for these conditions to manipulate the test results, creating inaccuracy of the measuring. 

Here are a couple of examples where this can happen:

• GERD/reflux → breath alcohol and false‑high breath can occur.
• Diabetes/ketosis → acetone can confound instruments that are being used.
• Inner‑ear issues, some orthopedic conditions, and specific neurological limits that can cause poor balance that is completely unrelated to alcohol or being intoxicated.
• Issues with speaking fluently, experiencing heavy fatigue, severe anxiety → that ends up being misread as impairment at the time of the traffic stop incident.

Your case can rely on you to bring all your records that are relevant (the diagnoses, all prescriptions, therapy notes etc.). It is the video that’s combined with documentation and reports that lets us separate illness or a condition from being inebriated.

5) Texas ALR Hearings: Where You’re Fighting for Your Driver’s License

There is a separate side from the criminal justice side (that’s not the court) that handles your driver’s license. This court case runs completely separately from the criminal case. ALR is used to: (1) avoid or at lease work to shorten a driver’s license suspension, and (2) we then work to lock the officer into sworn testimony.

Here are some key ALR issues:

• What was the basis for stop and detention? Was there probable cause to arrest?
• If the refusal or failure paperwork were handled properly.
• For breath tests: the observation period and the recordsfor the instruments used; for blood: It’s the warrant and blood draw details. Did they follow all local ordinances when conducting the tests?

If your driver’s license does end up getting suspended, oftentimes many drivers can qualify for to get what’s called an Occupational (Essential‑Needs) License (no CDL  use). We calendar the  SR‑22, the filings, and compliance so you can keep doing the driving for work and day to day living needs.

6) The Role of Expert Witnesses in a DWI Defense Case

A law veteran like the Butler Law Firm can turn complex science from looking believable to causing reasonable doubt:

• SFST expert to explain why anxiety, recent injuries, certain footwear, surfaces that are on a slope, or bad weather explain “clues.”
• Toxicologist to attack retrograde extrapolation, GERD/mouth alcohol, calibration gaps, and uncertainty of measurement.
• Accident reconstructionist (for cases involving a car accident) to separate collision dynamics from perceived impairment. They work to surface the facts that can help prove what really happened.

Be wise when using an expert witness. Only focus on the real issues that will help decide your case, the most vital items.

7) Can a DWI Case Really Be Dismissed in Texas?

Yes, it can happen absolutely—when either legal or evidentiary defects in the case are present and available to be attacked or challenged to be completely factual.

Getting down to it, cases for DWIs in Houston can be won obviously in many different ways, as there are so many unique factors to every case. But some more of the commonly seen cases that win look like this:

• A dismissal after a suppression of some sort. ( possibly an illegal stop or detention; defects in the warrant; issues with SFST).
• DWI penalty reduction (with the right facts, sometimes to Obstruction of a Highway).
• A Pre‑Trial Intervention (called a PTI) is available only for select first‑timers. Which can end in a case dismissal after completion.
• Deferred adjudication only in limited first‑offense DWI defendant case scenarios (BAC Levels are usually  ≥ 0.15, CDL, or injury/fatality).

We’ve created this article: Can You Get a DWI Dismissed in Texas? (LINK) To dive in further from another perspective on how one might get their DWI charge dismissed. 

Texas DWI Penalties & Punishments.

What a Case Flow Can Look Like

1. The arraignment / First Setting (Usually in weeks 1–3): You’re required to show up and be present. You have to address the bond or interlock, then you have to request a discovery. Also, if the ALR hearing has not filed yet, file it right now. This is vital to help save your driver’s license..
2. Discovery Lands (Typically in weeks 3–10): The whole traffic stop video, the breath or blood packets, and all the warrants. Identify suppression issues and missing records.
3. Motions (Commonly in months 2–4): Working to file suppression of the stop or the detention, certain statements that we made, any warrant or testing problems; compel missing logs or any video evidence.
4. The Decision Point (In months 2–6): If there is a weak proof area → chance for a possible dismissal or a trial can occur; if not, a negotiation to reduce penalties can be had. The case resulting in a PTI or limited deferred are also plausible outcomes.
5. Finally, The Trial or The Complete Resolution (months 4–12): Focus everything in the fight on the police officer’s traffic stop, the compliance with the SFSTs procedures, and if the State was able to show convincing evidence of intoxication with extreme confidence..

Here’s Your 72‑Hour Checklist:

• Request your ALR hearing ASAP; get all of your calendar deadlines.
• Preserve all the video evidence possible: the body‑cam footage, the dash‑cam footage, anything captured at the police station, and lastly, which can be very beneficial is any third‑party footage that might have been captured.
• Get your interlock taken care of immediately if required; Make sure to save all of your receipts and calibration logs.
• Write out your timeline: from when you were driving → to the traffic stop → your last drink and when you ate food → and then the test times. Also, list out any meds you are on and write in detail about any injuries you have.
• When possible, identify any witnesses: your passengers, maybe the bartender or server, even the tow truck driver. Get contact information if possible.
• Put together and organize all of your medical proof (GERD, diabetes logs, vertigo/orthopedic records).

FAQs — When Fighting a DWI Charge in Houston Texas

Do I need a lawyer for my first DWI? The Butler Law Firm says: Yes. First‑offense DWI case results can vary widely in Harris County. Here are the main factors: timing, all of the video evidence, and the science all decide your options and arguably your future.

Can stress/anxiety manipulate Sobriety field test results? Anxiety can degrade divided‑attention tasks in the mind. Proper SFST cross and video review helps determine what actions are caused by nerves and which might be caused from being intoxicated.

What if I said “No” to testing? What happened is you avoided being given a number and a test result, but it’s now possible for ALR suspensions to end up being longer. Judges in Houston are commonly known to sign blood‑draw warrants for these cases if compelled, so that’s when we’d shift focus and attack both the warrant and any possible lab issues that are present.

What happens if the officer doesn’t show? At the ALR hearing, there is a chance you might win by default. Or you can get sworn testimony for a later use. On the criminal side of court where you’re fighting the DWI charges, the judges usually reset, but if there is persistent unavailability, it can lead to confrontation‑based exclusions.

Internal Resources (Recommended Reading)

• What Happens After a DWI Arrest in Houston?
• How Long Does a DWI Stay on Your Record in Texas?
• Rebuild Life After a DWI Conviction (Houston Guide)
• Texas DWI Penalties & Punishments
• ALR Hearing in Texas (15‑Day Deadline)
• First DWI in Texas (Houston Guide)

Give Yourself Peace of Mind- Call Butler Law Firm Now.

Jim Butler, who has run Butler Law Firm for over 30 years, has focused on ONLY DWI cases for his entire career. He doesn’t only know the ‘ins and outs,’ but he has seen and experienced them. That knowledge and experience will be used when he starts working on your case working to save your driver’s license and get you the best possible outcome.

➡️ Free Case Evaluation — Call 713‑236‑8744.

➡️ Prefer online? Start here by sending us a message about the type of help you need.