What To Know About Your DWI Arrest

Your rights and responsibilities in a Texas DWI case.

When you are pulled over and arrested for a DWI, a lot of things are racing through your head: How did this happen? What should I do? Who should I talk to? However, while it is understandable that you may be overwhelmed and anxious, it is important to follow certain practices and make note of the events that surround your DWI arrest.

Here are four important things that you should understand about DWI arrests in Texas:

1. Your lawyer must obtain all reports and information surrounding your arrest

While the details of your arrest may be blurry and confusing due to alcohol or the stress surrounding the event, it is important to make note of several things for your lawyer:

• What you were doing prior to arrest? Also, be sure to tell your lawyer about anything earlier in the day that may have influenced your condition. (Sleep deprivation, illness, etc.)
• Your consumption of alcoholic beverages. Be sure to take special note of the time that you drank each beverage because timing can sometimes be more important than quantity.
• The officers stated reason for stopping you. Did you violate a traffic law? Were you swerving or driving erratically? Had the police officer set up a sobriety checkpoint to test people for drunk driving?
• The statements you made to the officer. Be sure to tell your lawyer whether or not you admitted to drinking and driving. Also, it’s important to note if you asked to speak to a lawyer at some point during your arrest.
• Whether or not the officer asked or ordered you to take a roadside test. Field sobriety tests are not mandatory in the state of Texas, however many officers will not volunteer this information to you.
• Did you take any breath or blood tests? If so, what were the results? (These tests are also not mandatory.)
• Were there any witnesses present for your arrest?

2. You must act immediately to protect your right to drive

As soon as you were arrested, the officer should have given you a notice of suspension. This paperwork has all of the information about the suspension of your driver’s license.

It’s important to understand that from the date the notice was served, you only have 15 days to request a hearing to fight the suspension of your license. If you do not request a hearing within 15 days, your license will be suspended automatically.

However, if your blood alcohol content was well over the legal limit to drive, or if you refused to take a test, you may not be able to drive again for a certain period of time.

3. You have the right to a Jury

In the state of Texas, you have an automatic right to a Jury. It is strongly recommended that you opt for the Jury to make the decision, rather than just the Judge. This is because if you chose a Jury, six people have to agree on your guilt rather than just one.

4. There are three ways your arresting officer’s testimony could be discredited

Once you get to your DWI trial, there are three ways in which the arresting officer’s testimony could be discredited:

1. Inconsistent statements: If the officer changes his story about circumstances surrounding the arrest. This could also occur if his accounts of the field sobriety test do not line up with video footage.
2. Inability to conduct the field sobriety test in the proper manner: Field sobriety tests have to be performed the prescribed standardized manner by a skilled officer who is in a controlled environment. Even then, field sobriety tests can be an inaccurate indicator of intoxication levels.
3. Failure to recollect: If your arresting officer cannot recall activities surrounding your arrest such as why he pulled you over or how you performed on your tests.

It is important to understand your rights when you have been arrested on DWI charges. Be sure to consult an experienced DWI lawyer if you have any further questions about Texas state laws or DWI cases.

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