24 June

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Three Ways A DWI Can Negatively Affect You

Name: The Coffey Firm
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One of my favorite lines is “I don’t trust anyone who has not had a DWI”. Truthfully, my clients are among my favorite people. They are social, resourceful and gregarious. Most drinking in a DWI scenario involves socializing with other people. The Barbara Streisand line, “People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world” is so true. It is important for prosecutors, judges, and jurors to understand the life changing consequences of a DWI conviction. Here are 3 consequences that some people may not be familiar with:

Foreign Exchange Student Sponsorship

First, you can’t host a foreign exchange student for 5 years from the conviction. Yes, shocker. Several years ago, my third son asked that we host a German exchange student at our high school because his host family was not working out. Without even thinking, I said “Sure.” Yet, when they found out my husband had a DWI conviction they rejected us. Our German son was already living with us and was very happy. It took a Judge writing to the State Department to overturn their decision.

It was a very scary moment in our lives that made no sense. Here we had a loving family providing a warm, happy home to a young, German future leader (all foreign exchange students build bridges of cultural diplomacy with positive ramifications between countries for years to come), and yet for no good reason the federal government was trying to use my husband’s DWI as an excuse to bar us from hosting. My husband’s DWI involved no children in the car, no breath or blood level (but a confession), no accident (he turned against a “no turn” sign), no prior criminal history and yet the State Department thought he was not fit to host a child?

Possible Deportation upon DWI Conviction

Next, if you have a green card (“Permanent Resident”) and receive a DWI conviction, finalizing the process and becoming a citizen is difficult. I am not an immigration lawyer (if you are in this situation, you should also consult with an immigration attorney), but recently INS has been delaying the process for some permanent residents to become citizens for five years. This of course, can always change.

For those who do not have any legal status, expect deportation immediately upon a jail or probation sentence. In the larger counties that I practice in, the police are calling INS for immediate deportation once booked for DWI. Texas Senator John Cornyn has already introduced legislation for deportation upon a first DWI conviction, which did not pass. However, federal policies on DWI and deportation are constantly changing and becoming more strenuous. What can be done in each situation is unique according to the jurisdiction and people involved (prosecutors and judges vary on their approaches).

Concealed Carry License

Mimi Coffey DWI Lawyer, UCW

Finally, if you have a DWI conviction, you will lose your concealed handgun carry license in Texas. This occurs even if you did not have a handgun in your possession on the DWI. If you receive a DWI and possess a gun in the vehicle, you will receive a second misdemeanor charge of Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon. The current law bars your ability from obtaining a concealed carry permit for 5 years with a DWI conviction.

Other Effects of a DWI

In addition, there are far too many negative consequences that accompany a DWI conviction to list. Therefore, the Texas DWI repercussions should be carefully considered before a case is finalized. These additional consequences include Texas DPS surcharges, increased insurance rates, banned travel to Canada, divorce, alienation from family, friends and sometimes community.

Perhaps the biggest problem for many working-class clients is the potential lifetime loss of a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The depression, shock, and anxiety are intense and can become clinical and the risk of suicide is real. If you are suffering from these symptoms please, please make sure to seek professional help. I am also here to help you. I want to know if you are suffering. This is very important to me so that I can help you. One day, this DWI will be a blip in your rear-view mirror that eventually goes out of sight. Right after it happens, it is the giant object on every rear view and side view mirror as you navigate through life. You are not alone. Be strong, all of us make mistakes.

More about Mimi Coffey

When people look for a Top DWI Attorney or Best DWI Attorney, they look for experience, certification, and respect in the legal community. Mimi Coffey is a nationally-renowned trial attorney, board-certified in DWI by the NCDD. She has been practicing for over 24 years and is an author of multiple DWI Defense textbooks. She is also a national and state-wide lecturer on the law.

The Coffey Firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Unlawful Carrying Weapon (UCW), Assault (including family violence), Theft and Possession charges.

Mimi is also listed on several “top” directory listings such as DWI Lawyers for Wise County, DWI Lawyer Tarrant County, DWI Lawyer Dallas County, DWI Lawyer Collin County and DWI Lawyer Parker County. Mimi is a caring DWI Lawyer in DFW, She is also involved in the Texas Tech School of Law foundation and enjoys using the skills she has developed to give back to the community.

24 June

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Lying Witnesses: The Shabby State of Criminal Justice in our Country

Posted by Mimi Coffey

in Helpful Legal Information

Examples of Lying Expert Witnesses

Mark Fuhrman

Mark Fuhrman, convicted of a felony perjury, is now a national Fox legal analyst, an “expert witness” on police matters. Last week, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, ruled “Dr.” James Ferguson, a state toxicologist, convicted of perjury, was immune from suit for lying in a murder case where the judge relied on his expert witness testimony for the conviction.

Fred Zain

Fred Zain, toxicologist at the West Virginia DPS, falsified lab results which resulted in as many as 134 wrongful convictions. Once under investigation, he picked up and moved to San Antonio, Texas to work as a toxicologist where an investigation found at least 180 cases in which fraud may have led to wrongful convictions. He died in the comforts of his Florida home in 2002.

Annie Dookhan

In Boston, Massachusetts, over 34,000 lab results are in question after state toxicologist Annie Dookhan pled guilty to falsifying results. These cases are the recent ones. They are only the tip of the iceberg. If an athlete is caught cheating in the Olympics, the committee strips them of their medal and the opportunity to compete. In the criminal courts of America, if a police officer or expert witness is lying to get a conviction, they get promoted and receive raises. If caught in a lie, the Courts protect them. The 6th Circuit Court rationalized, “Dr. Ferguson deserves absolute immunity in the case because all testimony, even if perjured, is protected to ensure witnesses will be candid without fearing lawsuit.”

The Immunity for Lying Witnesses

Mind you, this absolute immunity protection ONLY applies to government witnesses. It‘s the same type of logic as preventing poisoned customers from suing a chef because this would stifle the chef’s creativity in the kitchen. How many chefs would poison patrons? An illegal and unlikely scenario as restaurants would shut down and there would be health code compliance complaints. These safeguards do not play out in the criminal justice system. As a result, convictions win elections, including in the appellate arena, and look great in the media. Those successful earn job promotions.

As for a forensic regulatory body, NONE with any regulatory powers over the criminal justice system exist. President Obama created first National Commission on Forensic Science. But, President Trump recently dismantled the Commission. We currently have a scandal ridden “pay as you go” certifying agency environment. This environment allows groups like the American Crime Lab Directors (under major fire and litigation) to issue board certifications and certificates for a fee despite not adhering to scientific peer review recommendations.

Let’s face it, nobody wants to hear of lying witnesses, especially government “experts,” who have managed to defy all the common sense odds and get away with convicting innocent people with the seeming approval of all the cogs in the justice system from the prosecutor to the judge. So, the only way to calm the ruckus down is to distract and “whitewash” the problem.

The specific examples

In James Ferguson’s case, the media reported he had misreported his graduation year of 1988 for 1972. Sounds harmless enough, right? Except, this fails to account for the fundamental problems lurking under the surface. The fact that it took Mr. Ferguson twenty five years to get his degree also explains why he could not produce the gc-mass spectometry chromatograms (if in fact he even knows how to run a gas chromatograph) in Benjamin Uselton’s case alleging intoxicating dosages of alprazolam. There, the coroner, a phD, had already reported the absence of such findings in the original autopsy. Mr. Ferguson’s unconventional scientific methods were also key in Virginia LeFever’s murder conviction. There, he asserted the deceased had lethal dosages of strychnine in his rectum. He made this claim despite reports to the contrary by medical personnel who treated the deceased at the hospital for an antidepressant overdose.

While a special panel of lawyers, scientists and West Virginia Senior Circuit Judge James Holliday were investigating Fred Zain’s misconduct, he managed to hoodwink Bexar County, Texas into letting him take over their toxicology. The West Virginia report, when finally issued, concluded this misconduct was so egregious that they presumed “as prima facie invalid, unreliable and inadmissible” any testimony he offered.

In Annie Dookhan’s case, she was too busy churning out guilty convictions for her satisfied prosecutors and supervisors to acknowledge that her 500 lab analysis per month (five times the national average) was a glaring red flag. They also glossed over the fact no one had ever seen her work a microscope. She also had a bad habit of misidentifying samples. It seems she subscribed to, “A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanations.” (Saki)

Lying witnesses will continue unless the system changes

As incredulous as these sordid tales of lying witnesses are, the aftermath is even uglier. They will continue to happen unless we take decisive measures. It took drug testing in the major league sports to prevent cheating. The “honor” system was not working, ask Alex Rodriguez. In addition, the Tour de France can reclaim the seven Tour de France medals Lance Armstrong won while taking performance enhancement drugs. But, a lying “expert witness” cannot restore the years lost to prison of someone framed by an uncaring and negligent justice system that turns a blind eye.

“For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth” – Bo Bennett.

That reason should be the fear of repercussions. If a person can have their probation revoked for something as simple as missing a report period or failing to take required classes, we should require our government “experts” to prove their worth and work. It’s one thing for a charlatan preacher or carnival barker to line their pockets. It is a whole other to allow unqualified and unethical government “experts” to play God.

A road map

Here is a simple and common sense roadmap that doesn’t take a college genius to figure out. We must start off with safeguarding the integrity of our country’s justice system.

First

We must separate police work and its prosecution from toxicology. The only bodies that scientists should be reporting to are other legitimate scientific bodies. Currently, much police miscegenation occurs, right down to the divvying and mixing up of funds and paychecks. The government should receive Forensic results, not controlled by the police or prosecution. The Virginia LeFever murder conviction demonstrates where the prosecutor told James Ferguson what they were looking for despite the coroner’s findings.

Second

Although ethics is the new corporate “it” word, it seems to be staggering behind in the world of the police state. We must make it an essential minimum and reality in the HR of government personnel hiring. Proper screening of candidates and reference checking should be mandatory and commonplace. Our government experts should not only prove the highest academic credentials. They must also have character beyond reproach. Their opinions don’t favor the highest bidder of a government contract or the buying power of widgets. They affect the value and experience of human life, a far more precious commodity and one that our Constitution protects. Therefore, experts must have a character honesty, meticulousness, and trustworthiness.

Third

We must not “trust” that local governments can ferret out frauds. We need uniform and consistent national standards, protocols, and mandatory continued professional education. Lawyers, accountants, doctors, and other professionals have such requirements to keep up with developments in their fields. We should also subject experts to national certifications testing their skill before they can practice. The time has come where enough shame and disgust can propel us forward to reclaim what in theory should be the world’s best justice system, but is currently a far cry.

More about Mimi Coffey

The Coffey Firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Unlawful Carrying Weapon (UCW), Assault (including family violence), Theft and Possession charges.

24 June

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How I got into DWI Defense

Posted by Mimi Coffey

in Helpful Legal Information

DWI Defense — Ft. Worth Star Telegram article

I have been in love with defending DWI cases since I first started practicing law. When I graduated law school, I had no clue that I would become a board certified lawyer in DWI. As a brand new lawyer I handled court appointed cases. This turned into a job with the biggest criminal defense practice of the metroplex at the time back in 1995, Bailey and Galyen. I was responsible for half the firm’s Tarrant County misdemeanor docket, which was comprised of DWIs.

I knew early on that being a criminal defense lawyer was not enough to win DWI cases. So after reading an article on the problems with the Intoxilyzer 5000 by Dr. James Booker, I reached out to him to teach me. He was a true source of knowledge and inspiration for many years. I became fascinated by the fact that the standardized field sobriety tests police officers use do not legitimate science to back it up. A great scientific peer review study by Dr. Spurgeon Cole outlines these issues as well as the federal determination of the same in the Horn case. Delving into the complexities of infrared spectroscopy in breath testing was fun due to my scientific undergraduate requirements in geology (more hours in my minor Geology than my major).

Cowtown CLE

Being a young lawyer, I wanted to learn from the best so I contacted many of the best DWI trial lawyers at the time and invited them to speak at a Tarrant County Criminal Defense CLE. I had so much fun, that I decided to do it on a large scale. I started my own seminar company, Cowtown CLE. It was so successful that for two years in a row, my one-day DWI seminar had the most attendees. I had renown DWI lawyers teach. I was able to educate myself and a lot of lawyers in DWI. Once the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association started throwing the same seminar (in the same location and at the same time), I was happy to forego my seminar to help the state organization.

Since then, I have become published in DWI, both periodicals and a textbook. I have also spoken many times over the years on DWI all across the country. I have also provided national news commentary (on DWI and other criminal issues). Over the last 23 years, I have had over 300 DWI trials and thousands of negotiated DWI pleas. It is a true joy to go to work every day. I feel blessed with each opportunity to help someone accused of DWI.

More about Mimi Coffey

The Coffey Firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Unlawful Carrying Weapon (UCW), Assault (including family violence), and Possession charges.

24 June

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Expert Witnesses Who Lie

Posted by Mimi Coffey

in Helpful Legal Information

Whether it is DWI expert witnesses, DNA experts, or analytical chemists, the concerns for truth in science are the same….

The American Criminal Justice System: “Houston, We have a Problem.”

Expert Witnesses Who Lie

Mark Fuhrman, convicted of felony perjury after the O.J. Simpson trial, is now a national Fox legal analyst, an “expert witness” on police matters. Last week, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, ruled “Dr.” James Ferguson, a state toxicologist, convicted of perjury, could NOT be sued or found liable for lying in a murder case where his expert witness testimony was relied upon by the judge for the conviction. Fred Zain, toxicologist at the West Virginia Department of Public Safety, falsified lab results which resulted in as many as 134 wrongful convictions. Once under investigation, he merely picked up and moved to San Antonio, Texas. There he worked as a toxicologist. An investigation found at least 180 cases in which fraud may have led to wrongful convictions. He died in the comforts of his Florida home in 2002.

Picking up the pieces in Boston, Massachusetts, over 34,000 lab results are now in question after state toxicologist Annie Dookhan pled guilty to crimes related to falsifying results. These cases are just the recent ones. They are only the tip of the iceberg. When caught cheating in the Olympics, the commission strips athletes of their medal and the opportunity to compete. In American criminal courts, if an officer or expert witness lies to obtain a conviction, they receive promotions and raises. If caught in a lie, the Courts protect them. The 6th Circuit Court rationalized, “Dr. Ferguson deserves absolute immunity in the case because [we protect] all testimony, even if perjured, to ensure witnesses will be candid without fearing lawsuit.”

Limitation on the immunity

Mind you, this absolute immunity protection ONLY applies to government witnesses. It‘s the same type of logic as preventing poisoned customers from suing a chef because it stifle the chef’s creativity. How many chefs would poison patrons? An illegal and unlikely scenario as restaurants would shut down and there would be health code compliance complaints. These safeguards do not play out in the criminal justice system. Quite the opposite: convictions win elections and look great in the media while those successful earn job promotions.

As for a forensic regulatory body, NONE with any regulatory powers over the criminal justice system exist. We currently have a scandal ridden “pay as you go” certifying agency environment. As a result, groups like the American Crime Lab Directors (under major fire and litigation) issue board certifications and certificates for a fee despite not adhering to scientific peer review recommendations; e.g. blind audits, true proficiency tests.

More about Mimi Coffey

The Coffey Firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Unlawful Carrying Weapon (UCW), Assault (including family violence), and Possession charges.

24 June

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Double Standard

Posted by Mimi Coffey

in Helpful Legal Information

We the citizens must know the law. It is no excuse for us to not know the law in court. Yet the Houston Court of Appeals created a double standard when it ruled that a cop can be mistaken on the law and it does not matter, the resulting investigation is legal. In other words: the stop is good.

Babel v. State created a double standard

The Houston Court of Appeals in Babel v. State, No. 14-17-00762-CR, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 3144 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] April 18, 2019) (designated for publication) has laid down the gauntlet in an illogical position to “back the blue.” So what are the facts? On September 5, 2016 Ms. Babel was driving on FM 529 in Harris County. The sun was beginning to set. All the cars on the road had their lights on except two vehicles. The cop was driving in the same direction as Ms. Babel. He decided to get ahead of her and then see if she turned on her lights. When she did not, he lit her up for failure to use headlights at nighttime under Texas Transportation Code 547.302.

The law defines “nighttime” as 30 minutes after sunset. Sunset that night was at 8:07 pm. He stopped Ms. Babel at 8 pm. The law is clear that in warrantless arrests, the State has the burden to prove the legality of the stop beyond a reasonable doubt. Where doubt exists about the facts combined with the law, that doubt requires throwing the case out. Why the Houston Court of Appeals wants to excuse a cop’s mistake when the law requires otherwise defies all reason.

It is not right for police officers to get a pass under the law when their job requires that they know the law. Yes, of course cops make mistakes just like everyone does in all types of different professions. But, excusing a wrong because it is a cop that committed it does not make it right. Ben Franklin stated, “Those that would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” No one is above the law in the United States of America. There should be no double standard. The courts need a reality check on who they work for, and it is not the cops.

More about Mimi Coffey

The Coffey Firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Unlawful Carrying Weapon (UCW), Assault (including family violence), and Possession charges.

Mimi is also listed on several “top” directory listings such as DWI Lawyers for Wise County, DWI Lawyer Tarrant County, DWI Lawyer Dallas County, DWI attorneys Collin County and DWI Lawyer Parker County. Mimi is a caring DWI Lawyer in DFW, She is also involved in the Texas Tech School of Law foundation and enjoys using the skills she has developed to give back to the community.

01 June

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A Sad Day in America

Posted by Mimi Coffey

in Helpful Legal Information

It is a sad day in America because the National Commission on Forensic Science has been terminated. This commission has helped overturn convictions based on faulty forensic science. Further, the commission has been helpful for DUI and Criminal Defense lawyers. The commission helps by exploring minimal qualifications to be able to be an analyst in reporting a forensic result. It further helps in determining minimum requirements to ensure validity in forensic science. The elimination of this commission harms more than helps those accused of a crime, including a DUI. It will also harm DUI and Criminal Defense lawyers. The harm is in having no ability to attack the validity of certain forensic “sciences” used against clients. Today is a very sad day in America.