When you are arrested for drunk driving and arraigned on criminal charges, you will have the opportunity to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.  Our Houston DWI lawyers know that it is important to choose your plea carefully. You should be able to negotiate a lesser sentence if you agree to plead guilty, but you will lose the opportunity to avoid conviction if you choose this option.

Recently, one Houston woman first decided to plead not guilty to the charges she faced for drunk driving. However, four days into the trial, she changed her plea to guilty. This decision was an unusual one and prosecutors believe that it may have been a good strategic call. However, it is generally better to be informed prior to trial about your options and to make the choice before the case goes to trial about whether to plead guilty or not guilty.

Choosing a Plea in a Drunk Driving Case

According to My Fox Houston, the woman who changed her plea mid-trial was charged with driving drunk in the wrong direction on I-45. The driver was accused of drinking four beers and 17 shots, and then driving her vehicle in the wrong direction at approximately 3:00 in the morning. She reportedly slammed head-on into a car carrying two teenagers and a 21-year-old.

The driver of the car, who was 19, died in the car accident and an 18-year-old passenger also lost his life. The 21-year-old in the car lived through the accident but sustained serious injuries. He testified to the court at trial about how his injuries impacted his life and about what it was like getting out of the car and knowing his friends were dead.

The alleged drunk driver at first pleaded not guilty to the charges, although her blood-alcohol level was reportedly at .30 when the legal limit is just .08. She has been out of jail for the past year on bond, but when she pleaded guilty, she was taken into custody.  Prosecutors have indicated that they are asking for the maximum penalty against the woman in order to send a strong message to the law-abiding community of the serious consequences of drunk driving.

Prosecutors believe that the woman in this case may have chosen to change her plea from guilty to not-guilty in order to garner sympathy with the jury to get a lighter sentence. The prosecutor reported surprise at the decision, indicating that he had prosecuted more than 200 cases at trial and not seen a similar tactic.

By waiting until the trial was underway and by surprising the prosecutor with the change from a not-guilty to a guilty plea, the woman gave up her chance to try to negotiate with the prosecutor. In some cases, prosecutors will allow for more lenient sentencing if the defendant agrees to plead guilty instead of going to trial. Changing a plea at trial typically signals the defendant felt she would ultimately lose the case.

Making the decision on how to plea needs to be done strategically. An experienced DWI defense lawyer can help those accused of driving under the influence to make an informed choices at each stage of their case.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-989-6839 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

As federal lawmakers debate how to resolve immigration challenges in the United States, one aspect of the debate centers on the impact of a drunk driving conviction on your immigration status.  While the House and the Senate disagree on exactly what would be done with those convicted of drunk driving, there is no disagreement on the fact that a conviction for DWI could affect your right to become a legal U.S. citizen.  This is true both for undocumented immigrants and for people in the country with provisional legal status.

Because a drunk driving conviction could potentially lead to deportation, the stakes are especially high for those who get arrested without legal immigration status in this country or for those arrested while trying to pursue citizenship.  Getting the charges dropped or avoiding conviction could be the only way to protect your clean record that allows you to remain in the country and potentially become a citizen. A Houston DWI lawyer can assist in fighting a conviction and avoiding a felony on your record.

Drunk Driving Convictions and Immigration

Under the current immigration laws in the United States, Visa holders (and others with lawful immigration status but who are not yet U.S. citizens) could potentially be deported if they commit aggravated felonies, crimes of moral turpitude, or controlled substances offenses. While a simple DWI might not necessarily fall into any of these categories, a drunk driving conviction could become an aggravated felony if you caused a serious or fatal accident while behind the wheel drunk. Drunk driving could also potentially be considered an act of moral turpitude if the offense is committed along with other accompanying crimes such as driving drunk without a license or while on a suspended license. Repeated drunk driving convictions can also lead to potential felony charges.

Because of the potential risk of deportation, it is even more important for immigrants than for other individuals to seek legal advice if they are arrested for driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. An attorney could potentially help to avoid conviction, freeing you of the anxiety of possible deportation.

If immigration laws change in the future and a path to citizenship is made possible through the new laws, then the consequences of a DWI could end up hurting you even more. The bill proposed by the House of Representatives, for example, would give law enforcement authority to deport the intoxicated driver right away. Law enforcement could either enforce federal immigration laws in the deportation or could turn the individual over to ICE.

The Senate immigration bill, however, gives illegal immigrants more legal protections, but deportation could still be a possibility for certain felony convictions and under certain circumstances.

Taking a chance with your immigration status is a bad choice and if you or a loved one is arrested for drunk driving and is not a U.S. citizen, you need to take decisive legal action right away to address the charges you face and to fight to protect your legal rights.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-989-6839 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

According to KHOU Houston, there were 90 DWI arrests made this year over the stepped-up enforcement period on Memorial Day Weekend. Four of those arrests were part of an initiative to stop drivers from boating while intoxicated. 

Our Houston DWI lawyers know that the consequences for a charge of boating while intoxicated can be just as severe as those for driving while under the influence. With prime boating season underway now during the summer months, Texas law enforcement will be out in full force monitoring boaters to ensure that they aren’t breaking the laws.

Intoxicated Boating Has Serious Consequences 

Under the laws in Texas, you can be arrested for boating under the influence if your BAC is above the legal limit while you are operating your boat. Although you are allowed to have open containers on your boat, unlike in your vehicle, you may be pulled over by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Officials and asked to complete field sobriety tests or to submit to a test of your blood-alcohol content if there is reason for law enforcement to believe you have had too much to drink. The Shreveport Times indicates that law enforcement in states throughout the U.S. are cracking down on drunk boaters, stepping up enforcement and making laws stricter in light of the fact that the U.S. Coast Guard has named alcohol the leading contributing factor in fatal boating crashes.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Officials and others in law enforcement can pull your boat over to determine if you are intoxicated any time they have reason to suspect that you are boating while drunk. This can include situations where you have been piloting your boat in an erratic manner. If law enforcement sees open containers and alcohol being served on your boat, this can also be a tip-off indicating to law enforcement that the captain might be drinking.

Once you have been pulled over, you have to submit to a BAC test if officers have reason to believe that you are intoxicated. This is because the Texas implied consent laws apply not only to driving a car but also to driving a boat. When you go on the waterways of Texas, you give implied consent to have your blood-alcohol content tested any time there is reasonable suspicion that you have been drinking and boating.

If your BAC is above the legal limit while operating your boat, you can be arrested and subject to the same types of penalties that you would face if arrested for driving your car under the influence of alcohol. You need to ensure you get legal help right away at this point in order to try to minimize the consequences you face.

If you cause a boating accident while you are under the influence of alcohol, then the situation is even more dire. Just this June, for example, the Chicago Tribune reported on the story of a boater who was sentenced to ten years of incarceration for killing a 10-year-old boy while boating. Unfortunately, these types of tragic accidents are not uncommon as the Coast Guard reports that drunken boating was the cause of 17 percent of the 651 fatalities caused by recreational vehicles in 2012. Boaters who cause an accident while allegedly drunk must get legal help right away to protect their rights.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, the Texas Department of Public Safety recently announced that troopers made more than 1,000 DWI arrests during a special spring break enforcement period. These 1,000 arrests all occurred between March 8 through March 17.

Our Texas DWI lawyers know that a spring break arrest for DWI can have far reaching consequences that affect you even after your vacation has ended and you have returned home. It is important to understand the legal implications of being arrested while on spring break or on any vacation.

What Happens When You Are Arrested on Vacation?

If you were visiting Texas for spring break or for any other reason and you were arrested for drunk driving in the state, you cannot just go back to your own home and forget about what happened. If your license is suspended in Texas as a result of a DWI arrest, your own state will find out about this and will suspend your license there as well.  This means that you would be unable to drive legally in your own home state even though the DWI arrest was in Texas.

You will also need to deal with the criminal charges that you face. When you are arrested for drunk driving, you need to come to hearings, you need to enter a plea and you need to resolve your case. This can be done through a plea bargain or through a trial.  You can also try to convince the court and prosecutor to drop the charges, or you can explore diversion programs that allow first-time offenders to avoid a criminal conviction and record.

To pursue any of the options related to your case, however, you’ll be dealing with Texas courts and Texas prosecutors. This can be hard to do when you are back home and far away from Texas where you were on vacation.

As such, it is very important that you have a local attorney representing you in the state of Texas even after you have gone back home. Your attorney can handle many of the issues locally, minimizing the number of times that you need to come back to Texas to deal with the charges against you. In fact, you may not need to return at all.

Spring Break Arrests

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that law enforcement had special DWI patrols working over spring break because the police know that Texas is a popular spring break destination. The troopers estimate that 226 of the 1,077 DWI arrests that were made were the result of the increased patrols over the vacation period.

Unfortunately, with police aggressively searching for drunk drivers during this period, it is possible that some of the arrests that were made were borderline cases where there is only minimal evidence showing that the driver was intoxicated. The increased patrols and the strong focus on finding drunk drivers may have also led to police pulling over drivers even in cases where there was dubious probable cause.

Understanding your legal rights, as well as understanding the implications of being arrested while on vacation, is very important to protect yourself as you cope with the criminal charges.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

In August 2010, a driver was stopped after he changed lanes without signaling. The law enforcement officer who stopped him was a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. The trooper arrested the man, who was driving a Chevy Tahoe, and the driver was convicted of driving while intoxicated. The driver appealed the conviction, arguing that the trooper had violated his constitutional rights. Now, several years later, the Appellate Court has finally heard the appeal and ruled on the case. 

Our Texas DWI attorneys know that law enforcement cannot pull your vehicle over nor can law enforcement force you to submit to sobriety tests unless there is reasonable cause. The appeal of the Chevy Tahoe driver was based on the premise that there was no reasonable cause to conduct the search.  The appeals court, however, took a broad approach in this case in deciding what constituted probable cause for a search.

Breath Mints Can Create a Suspicion of DWI

According to The Newspaper.com, the trooper pulled over the Chevy Tahoe because the Tahoe almost hit a motorcycle that was pulled over. The trooper had been issuing a citation for speeding to the motorcycle rider when the Tahoe changed lanes without looking and nearly caused a collision. The trooper later claimed that he believed before he pulled him over that the driver of the Tahoe may have been intoxicated. This trooper said he believed this because of the bad driving.

Upon pulling the Tahoe driver over, the trooper said that he smelled alcohol right away and that the driver appeared to be nervous. The trooper was just going to give him a warning, despite these signs. However, when the trooper returned to the Tahoe with a warning notice, he smelled what he described as an “overwhelming” odor of mints.

The trooper asked the driver if he had taken a mint and the driver said yes. Based on this, the trooper order the driver out of the car, and the driver was subsequently arrested for drunk driving. The driver, however, indicated that the traffic stop ended when the trooper had given him back his license and his warning. He argued that anything that occurred after that would constitute an illegal detention in violation of constitutional protections.

The court acknowledged that after a traffic stop is over, law enforcement doesn’t have the right to go on a “fishing expedition” to try to find other wrongdoing. In this case, however, the court said that the use of the breath mint combined with the other signs of potential intoxication by the officer all came together to provide a reasonable suspicion that the driver was drunk. This wasn’t a fishing expedition, according to the court, but instead there was sufficient probable cause, and the driver’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated since the search was justified.

The outcome of this case, which essentially indicates that use of a breath mint can be considered related to or evidence of a DWI, shows just how important it is to be careful if you have ever been charged with DWI or arrested for driving drunk.

If you need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951  today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

Recently, KHOU Houston reported that a video had been released to the public showing a Travis County District Attorney prior to her drunk driving arrest. Police have cameras on the dashboards of their patrol cars and the video footage from these cameras is routinely used as evidence in drunk driving cases. The video released to the public featuring the District Attorney was taken before her arrest for drunk driving and showed that she was disoriented and that she stumbled during her sobriety tests. 

Our Texas DWI attorneys know that videos exist in pretty much every situation where you are arrested for drunk driving. Depending on the contents of these videos, the video in your case could either help you or hurt you. Either way, it is important to know what is on the video and to deal with it in a proactive way when you are facing DWI charges.

Video Evidence and Your DWI Case

Video evidence can be damaging to your DWI case if it appears clearly in the video that you were intoxicated. The video released of the District Attorney, for example, seems to provide a clear picture of someone who had consumed too much alcohol. The video revealed slurred speech; swaying; watery and bloodshot eyes; disorientation; uncontrolled emotions and mood changes; and failed sobriety tests.

While the District Attorney pled guilty to the DWI and is already serving 45-days in jail, this type of video is routinely used in the event that a case goes to trial. The judge or jury can see your actions and if those actions make it appear as if you were drunk, this bolsters the prosecution’s case against you.

Because the video can hurt you in court if you fail your sobriety test or look drunk, many people will advise you to decline a field sobriety test. Declining such a test can be wise, especially since there are lots of reasons that people might look disoriented in the video or while performing field sobriety tests. For example, if you are stressed, tired or have a physical impairment, it is possible you could fail your field sobriety test and the video might only show the failure and not the reason why.

On the other hand, a video from a patrol car or police car can also help you as well. The video can be used to raise questions about whether it was appropriate for law enforcement to stop you. Police must have probable cause before they can pull you over and if the video shows that you were driving safely and not breaking any rules, then the traffic stop may have been improper and evidence collected against you would be kept out of court.  If you did well and passed your field sobriety test, the video could also be proof of this that you can show to the courts.

Typically, you won’t know exactly what your video shows until you review it after you’ve been charged with drunk driving. Your DWI lawyer will obtain a copy of the video and help you to use its contents to strengthen  your defense or at least work to negate any potential damage to your case.

If you need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951  today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

Our Texas DWI lawyers know that anyone who is found guilty of driving while intoxicated faces a potential jail sentence, a fine and other serious penalties. However, the consequences of drunk driving are far more severe if you are involved in an accident when you drink and drive. In fact, those who cause an accident that results in death can face manslaughter charges and years in prison. An intoxication manslaughter conviction carries a 120-day minimum sentence. While these accidents can be difficult for all involved, Houston DWI attorney Joseph LaBella has represented clients facing these types of serious charges. He has been successful in putting the mandatory minimum jail term at the end of a probation sentence. Clients for a variety of reasons usually want to postpone serving a jail sentence.

One recent Houston drunk driving case illustrated just how serious the outcome of a DWI manslaughter conviction can be. The 21-year-old defendant in the case was sentenced to eight years in prison.

DWI Manslaughter Leads to Eight-Year Jail Sentence

According to Chron.com, the young defendant was driving home from a party on a Sunday morning two years ago. Despite the fact that he was underage at the time and had already spent the night in jail once for public intoxication, the young man was over the legal limit while driving home. As he was driving drunk, he ran through a stop sign while traveling 50 miles-per-hour, striking the vehicle of a nun who was driving at 40 miles per hour and who was on her way to her mother’s house to pick up food that had been prepared for a youth retreat.

When police arrived, they found the nun trapped in her Honda Civil behind the steering wheel. The defendant had stopped his vehicle and was leaning against his car. A BAC test showed he had a blood alcohol content of .20. The nun was taken to the hospital and died a day after the accident.

The defendant was charged with DWI manslaughter because of the death. He faced the potential for 20-years in prison, but he plead guilty to the crime and was sentenced to eight years behind bars. His attorney had sought probation but a more stringent sentence was imposed.

The defendant was very remorseful about the accident and had begged for forgiveness. The nuns who attended the trial granted that forgiveness, noting that they believed his life had been spared for a reason. His guilty plea and his heartfelt apology may have contributed to the fact that he received eight years instead of the potential two decades.

Understanding DWI Manslaughter

In Texas, various types of criminal charges are brought when someone’s actions take a life. Manslaughter charges are appropriate when someone unintentionally causes a death through grossly negligent or egregiously reckless actions. Drunk driving can lead to an intoxicated manslaughter charge, which means a person can be held responsible for a death even if he didn’t mean to cause it.

In this case, the defendant’s decision to drive drunk with a BAC of .20 was considered to be egregiously reckless, leading to his conviction. Of course, the terrible facts of the case and the fact that his victim was a nun likely created a great deal of sympathy that may have influenced the sentence that the young man ultimately received for his actions.

The case is a clear example of the fact that the consequences of a DWI can be extremely serious if a drunk driver is unlucky enough to get into a tragic accident. A drunk driving defendant charged with DWI manslaughter must retain experienced legal counsel. The state must prove both that the defendant was operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and that he or she was at fault in the accident. An aggressive defense to the DUI charge is a must, as is a thorough investigation into the causes of the collision.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

Throughout Texas, police will pull you over if you are engaged in suspicious behavior that could indicate you are driving drunk. In addition to general enforcement by on-duty police on traffic patrol, there are also periodic DWI crackdowns. During these times, more police are typically put on the streets in targeted areas to focus on finding intoxicated drivers. 

While these general efforts all involve on-duty police assigned to catching drunk drivers, there are certain law enforcement agents who have made a special name for themselves in their efforts to enforce DWI laws. Our Texas DWI attorneys know that police must have probable cause to pull over and test a driver’s BAC. It is important that those police who focus on catching DWI drivers obey all of the Constitutional protections in place so that no driver has his rights violated as a result of a proactive concentrated focus on drunk driving enforcement.

Some Texas Police Excel in DWI Enforcement

Recently, NBC published an article with a profile of a Grand Prairie, Texas, police officer who has been recognized for two years in a row as one of the top ten officers for DWI arrests.

According to the NBC article, the policeman who was honored for his work in catching drunk drivers had made 88 DWI arrests in 2012 and 115 DWI arrests in 2011. He indicated that his close friend was killed in a drunk driving accident by an intoxicated driver in 2005 and that he has made it his mission to stop drunk drivers since that time. The officer says he has spent hours of time in court and dealing with paperwork. However, he believes that his efforts in curbing drunk driving and his time spent are well worth it if he can stop someone from causing a drunk driving crash.

The Grand Prairie Chief of Police indicated that this top officer fulfills his duties even as he also has other responsibilities in enforcing traffic laws and investigating car wrecks. Although the officer isn’t on DWI enforcement full time, his stats are compared to those who were hired only for DWI enforcement. Thus his feat is even more impressive as he makes so many arrests in addition to completing his normal work duties.

Protecting Constitutional Rights of Intoxicated Drivers

While police can and should work to enforce all of the laws, including DWI laws, there are some risks associated with law enforcement having a single-minded focus on catching intoxicated drivers, especially when the agenda of the police officer is factored into the equation. The concern is always whether a law enforcement agent has reasonable cause to pull over a driver. Further, once a driver has been pulled over, police cannot require a breath test or blood alcohol test unless there is reasonable cause to do so — reasonable suspicion that the driver is drunk.

It is important for all police officers, especially those who are extremely proactive in enforcing DWI laws, to make sure they are following the rules so that the constitutional rights of drivers are protected. If any evidence is collected without reasonable cause, even if the officer was acting in good faith out of a genuine desire to stop drunk driving, then the evidence cannot be used in court.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

Throughout the state of Texas, there are certain times of the year when law enforcement makes a special effort to crack down on drivers they suspect are intoxicated. Our Texas DWI lawyers know that many people are arrested during these crackdowns, sometimes as a result of overly aggressive searches, because the police are so focused on stopping alleged drunk drivers.

One such crackdown will be occurring over the next several weeks. According to the Laredo Sun, the Texas State Department of Public Safety (DPS) is launching a special operation to supervise local highways to catch drivers who are celebrating over spring break and who potentially have had too much to drink.

The Statewide Crackdown On Drunk Drivers

According to the Laredo Sun, DPS officers will be on a “relentless hunt” for drunk drivers in March because traffic accidents historically occur more frequently during this month as a result of spring breakers.

The article also indicated that a thousand arrests were made during the crackdown period and that 300 were detained as a result of officers working overtime. A special fund provided by the Texas Department of Transportation provided money for the overtime payments.

Unfortunately, with more officers on the road and with a special focus on trying to catch anyone who might be driving drunk, this increases the chances that officers will stop you improperly.

Law enforcement cannot pull you over and make you submit to a blood alcohol test unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are doing something wrong. If you are pulled over for an unrelated offense, such as a broken headlight, they also cannot force you to submit to a field sobriety test or a BAC test unless there is reasonable suspicion that you are intoxicated.

If police try to pull you over or make you submit to a drunk driving test without cause, your constitutional rights are violated. Any evidence police collect in an unlawful and unconstitutional search cannot be used against you.

Out-of-State Visitors and DWI Charges

Texas DPS stages the crackdown on drunk drivers in March because of spring break holidays. These holidays are also likely to attract visitors from out of state who come to Texas for vacation.

If you are arrested for drunk driving when you are on vacation, it may be tempting to head home and try to forget about the incident. However, you need to be aware that any criminal charges that were brought for DWI in Texas don’t just disappear when you go back to your home state.

You will likely have to come back to Texas to plead guilty or not guilty to your DWI offense. A license suspension in Texas will also follow you to your home state and prevent you from driving there. As such, if you were subject to arrest on spring break due to the DPS Texas crackdown, you need to be proactive in getting help and understanding your legal options.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.

An ignition interlock device is a device that you blow into which detects your blood alcohol content (BAC). It is essentially a breath test that is installed in your vehicle, and your car will not start until after you have blown into the device and had your blood-alcohol level tested. In Texas, a person with a DWI charge who has a prior DWI conviction on his record can be required to have an ignition interlock device installed in vehicles that he owns or leases. A person with a commercial driver’s license and a DWI conviction can also be required to use an ignition interlock device. 

Our Texas DWI attorneys know it’s important to understand these devices if you are facing a potential DWI conviction and may need to have a device installed in your vehicle.

Understanding Ignition Interlock Devices

Ignition interlock devices are intended to make sure that you cannot drive when you are intoxicated. When you are ordered to have an ignition interlock device installed in your vehicle as a result of a DWI conviction, you will be responsible for paying for the cost of the installation of the device. You must have a device installed on any car that you own or lease, even if the vehicle is shared with someone else in your family or co-owned by someone else in your household.

Once the ignition interlock device has been installed in your vehicle, you must blow into the device every single time you start the car. This means that if there are others in your family who share your vehicle, they too will have to blow into the ignition interlock device before driving. This can be a minor inconvenience for family members, but it is an unfortunate necessity based on the way ignition interlock devices work.

The device will take a reading of your blood-alcohol content, just as a breath test does when police administer the test to a suspected drunk driver. If your blood-alcohol content has exceeded the legal limit based on the test results, then you will be unable to drive your vehicle as the car will not start. The hope, therefore, is that the device will prevent drivers from driving drunk.

The ignition interlock device can also require rolling breath checks as well as a test after you start the car. This means that as you are driving or operating your vehicle, you can be required to blow into the breath test to have your blood-alcohol content rechecked. The test allows plenty of time for you to pull over so you can be tested safely, and you won’t have to worry about taking the test as you drive in traffic. If you fail to blow into the breath test or if your test reveals that your BAC is too high and you fail the rolling re-test, then the horn will go off and the lights will start flashing. You also cannot turn off the car. You must take the rolling retest.

When you blow into the ignition interlock and fail the test, either initially or in a rolling retest, the failure is recorded and can be a violation of your probation. The best way to ensure you are not paying for one of these devices to monitor your every move behind the wheel is to fight the drunk-driving charge in the first place.

You need an experienced, aggressive Texas DWI lawyer.  Call 1-800-395-5951 today for your free consultation. More than 20 years experience.