“DEFENDING YOUR REPUTATION IS AN IMPORTANT INVESTMENT. YOU WANT A BOARD-CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL”- Mimi Coffey, DWI Defense Attorney.
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Can I Get Off of DWI Probation Early?
24 AugustGetting off of DWI Probation early is a very common question. DWI Probation can feel very different from other types of probation with all of the additional conditions. On top of that, the cost of having an interlock device builds up over time causing financial problems. Early release of DWI Probation is a complicated subject. One the one hand, the law specifically states that one cannot end probation early on an offense under sections 49.04 – 49.08 of the Texas Penal code (i.e., the DWI s...
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DWI Blood Test: Know the DA’s Strategy
07 AugustKnowing the DA’s strategy makes winning a DWI Blood Test case much easier. The primary strategy for a DWI Defense Lawyer to recognize is how the DA tries to portray the DWI Blood Test. Many times, the DA will try to claim that the lab that tested the blood is a ‘certified’ lab and therefore you should trust the DWI Blood Test. However, this is NOT the law. Put in other words, the DA tries to equate ‘certification’ with accuracy and reliability. Just because a lab ha...
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DWI Blood Test: Sanitary Place Requirement
20 JulyUnderstanding statutes and case law is crucial to winning a DWI blood test case. One of the most important laws about DWI blood tests tends to go overlooked. That section says that a DWI blood test “must be taken in a sanitary place.” Though this statute is in the Transportation Code, neither it nor the Penal Code define sanitation. However, the Health and Safety Code defines ‘sanitary’ as “a condition of good order and cleanliness that precludes the possibility of ...
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How Accurate are Texas DWI Blood Tests?
08 JulyAn instrument, or machine, specifically – the gas chromatograph, requires validation before labs may use it for reporting forensic blood results. ANSI/ASB 036 sets forth standards that serve as a minimum for ensuring that a machine can produce accurate results. The most frequent issue I have run into with my cases when an expert analyzes the discovery is lack of proper validation on the machine. For example, it cannot properly account for matrix effects because the validation test use aq...
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DWI Blood Test: You Have a Right to Re-Test
07 JulyDid you know that you have the right to re-test a DWI Blood Test? Re-test of the Blood Taken By Officers There are two primary ways to get a re-test. The first, and most common, is to ask the court to re-test one of the DWI Blood Test vials that officers obtained the night of arrest. When officers get a DWI Blood Test, they obtain two vials. The popular saying is “one for them, one for us”. The ‘them’ is the State, and the ‘us’ is the DWI Defense Lawyer. The i...
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Lesser Included Charges
23 JuneWhat are Lesser Included Charges? Lesser Included Charges are charges that are related to your current charge, but of a typically lower range of punishment. An example might be manslaughter as a lesser included offense of murder. Manslaughter has a different required mental state (reckless) than murder (intentional or knowing), but a same end result (death). Another example would be assault by contact as a lesser included of assault involving bodily injury. Both charges are ‘assault’...
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Repeat and Habitual Offenders
02 MayRepeat and Habitual Offenders face greater punishment, including the possibility of 25 to 99 years of prison! Repeat and Habitual Offenders are enhancement paragraphs that the State may add to an indictment like a deadly weapon enhancement. Both enhancements deal with those who have one or more felony convictions on their records. A Repeat offender is, simply, a person who has one prior felony conviction. Conversely to how “attempt” lowers a charge by one degree, a “Repeat̶...
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Interlock and DWI Convictions
27 AprilWhen it comes to Interlock and DWI Convictions, please be warned that the law gives judges a large amount of discretion for first time DWIs. For misdemeanor (DWI#2) or felony repetition DWIs (3rd or more), the law requires an interlock as a condition of probation. The same is true for DWI with BAC double the limit (.15 or more) or for DWIs by minors. Some courts may allow for alternatives to the interlock (for example, a portable unit or SCRAM (ankle) monitor). However, that does not change th...
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Expunction for Gun Convictions
04 AprilExpunction for Gun Convictions: The Updated Statute The law for expunction for gun convictions recently changed when ‘constitutional carry’ became the law. According to the updated expunction statute, certain Unlawful Carrying Weapon convictions became eligible if those convictions occurred before September 1, 2021. The UCW convictions that the updated expunction statute covers are those for carrying handguns when they are not on their own property (or property owned by them), or ins...
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ALR Notice of Suspension
03 MarchHere is a word of warning for the ALR Notice of Suspension. PLEASE MAKE SURE THE ADDRESS ON YOUR LICENSE IS THE SAME AS WHERE YOU RECEIVE MAIL. Or, at the very least, that you have the ability to receive mail at the address on your license. ALR Notice of Suspension for “Blood Consent” Cases On “blood consent” ALR cases (where police do not need to get a warrant to do the blood draw), Texas DPS can not attempt to suspend your license until they receive the blood result. Ty...
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DWI Enhancement
24 JanuaryDWI Enhancement Savings Clause Effective September 1, 2005, the state repealed the “10 year rule” in Texas Penal Code 49.09(e). However, there is a savings clause that says the following: “The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the penalty or the terms of community supervision for an offense under Chapter 49, Penal Code, committed on or after the effective date of this Act. The penalty and the terms of community supervision for an offense under Chapter 49, Penal Code...
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Automatism and Involuntary Intoxication
12 DecemberWhile the concepts of Automatism and Involuntary Intoxication may sound similar, they are different in many ways. One focuses mainly on the act itself, while the other focuses more on knowledge of the act. Automatism Automatism is related to, but different from, the insanity defense. While insanity deals with whether a person does or does not know his action is wrong, Automatism deals with whether the person was conscious of the act at all. The Court in Mendenhall v. State, 77 S.W.3d 815 (Tex.Cr...
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DWI Manslaughter Oddities
03 NovemberDWI Manslaughter is in a strange gray area of the law. Is it a DWI? Or, is it closer to a murder or manslaughter? In many ways, DWI Manslaughter is just a DWI involving death. DWI Manslaughter and the Statute of Limitations However, for the statute of limitations, which is how long the State has to bring charges, DWI Manslaughter is closer to murder. For context, the statute of limitations for misdemeanors (including first- and second-time DWIs), is 2 years. Meanwhile, felonies have varying leng...
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Holiday DWI
02 SeptemberAny holiday, no matter how major or minor, is a risky time to be on the road. Police tend to be out in full force for Holiday DWI arrests. In fact, many holidays in Texas are called “no refusal weekends” to try and scare drivers. However, “no refusal weekends” are a lie. You always have the right to refuse and force the police to get a warrant to draw blood. This is the same thing that happens every day of the year, not just on holidays. That said, holidays tend to be the...
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ALR Notice Update
23 AugustALR Update Here is an important ALR Update: Recently, the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) has moved to using eFile for ALRs. Before then, SOAH handled everything by fax. This move to eFile has caused some issues for both DPS and ALR Lawyers. Recently, DPS has sent Amended Notices of Hearing to our clients rather than to our office. The Amended Notice of Hearing is the letter that provides the ALR second setting after the first setting is “5 day’d” (meaning we use...