HOUSTON DUI ATTORNEYS W/OVER 13 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN CRIMINAL DEFENSE

If you have been charged with a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated), you need the help of an experienced and aggressive criminal defense lawyer that will ensure your rights are protected. The legal system is complex. Without a proper understanding of how it all works, it can be difficult to do anything about your charges. No matter how complicated or serious your case is, Houston DWI Attorney Korey Huff is prepared to investigate and analyze your case to determine which aggressive defense strategy to employ to get the best possible outcome in your case. Houston DWI Attorney Korey Huff is an aggressive Houston criminal defense lawyer who will make every effort to fight the allegations against you. 

The Difference Between DWI & DUI in Texas

In Texas, adult drivers can be charged with the crime of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) if they are caught driving while drunk. If a minor is caught driving with any measurable amount of alcohol in their system, however, they will usually be charged with driving under the influence (DUI). That is, unless their blood alcohol concentration is measured above the legal limit of .08%—in which case, they could be charged with DWI.

Driving while intoxicated is a more serious offense than driving under the influence, as it often results in larger fines, longer periods of license suspension and even time in jail. However, that is not to say that DUI won’t result in serious penalties as well. It is still considered to be a Class C misdemeanor in Texas. Not only will it result in immediate consequences like fines, but it could also affect a minor’s future opportunities.

Was Your DWI Traffic Stop Legal?

If you have been arrested for DWI or DUI it is likely that you were initially stopped after a police officer noticed something suspicious about your driving or about your vehicle that caused him to initiate a traffic stop.

It is a common misconception to think that a police officer needs probable cause to make a traffic stop. In reality, Texas law merely requires reasonable suspicion of criminal activity based upon articulable facts (usually provided by a police officer) for the police officer to initiate a traffic stop. In other words, if a police officer has stopped you for DWI and the basis for the traffic stop is merely a hunch, an unfounded suspicion or merely curiosity as to what you were doing, the stop will be deemed illegal and any evidence collected after the stop will be prohibited from being used against you.

 The most common reason a police officer establishes reasonable suspicion to make a DWI traffic stop is a traffic violation. If you were speeding, running a red light or changing lanes without using a turn signal, the police officer will always be justified in making a traffic stop. Additionally, if you were driving with an expired inspection sticker, a broken tail light or any other minor infraction (that may or may not be an actual crime), the police officer will legally be permitted to make a traffic stop.

 Although it would appear that a police officer would be able to justify any DWI stop under the current law, there are limitations upon when a traffic stop would be justifiable under the law. For instance, an officer observing a vehicle weaving within their lane of traffic is a common reason that many citizens are stopped for suspicion of DWI. If the officer merely observed the citizen weaving within their lane, as opposed to weaving into other lanes of traffic, the officer will be required to explain how weaving within one’s own lane of traffic resulted in unsafe driving. If weaving within one’s own lane of traffic was the sole basis for the traffic stop and the police officer is unable to establish that the citizen’s driving was unsafe, it is highly likely that the stop will be determined to be illegal.

Although this is only one example, it emphasizes the point that if you have been arrested and charged with a DWI in Harris County, Fort Bend County, or the surrounding areas, it is important to retain a Houston DWI Attorney that will take the time to ensure your DWI stop was legal and supported by Texas case law.

Houston DWI Attorney Korey Huff, will carefully review the facts of your case and determine if your DWI traffic stop was legal. Call Houston DWI Attorney Korey Huff now at 713-562-8700 (24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week) for a free evaluation regarding your DWI case to determine your rights and legal options.

After Your DWI Arrest

If you have been arrested for DWI or DUI in Harris County, Fort Bend County, or the surrounding area, you were likely transported to the police department and given statutory forms that required you to immediately decide whether to give a breath or blood test.

Did You Know Texas Law Implies Your Consent to a DWI Breath or Blood Test?

 Under Texas Transportation Code §724.011, if you are arrested for a DWI or BWI (Boating While Intoxicated) you are deemed to have consented “to submit to the taking of one or more specimens of (your) breath or blood for analysis to determine the alcohol concentration or the presence in (your) body of a controlled substance, drug, dangerous drug or other substance.”

 Although Texas law presumes that you have consented to a breath or blood test at the time of your DWI arrest, you have the option to refuse to submit to a breath or blood test. However, Texas law punishes you for refusing to submit to a breath or blood test by extending the length of your driver’s license suspension (See DWI Driver’s License Suspension).

The Statutory Warning: DIC-24

After your DWI or DUI arrest, the police officer is required to provide you a written copy of a statutory warning, known as the DIC-24. The DIC-24 statutory warning is a form that informs a person arrested for DWI that they have been arrested for a DWI or DUI and that a breath or blood specimen is being formally requested by law enforcement to determine your alcohol concentration.

Normally, the police officer quickly reads through the DIC-24 while you stand nervously in the corner of the Intoxilyzer room. The police officer will ask you to follow along and quickly inform you of the following:

“If you refuse to give the specimen, that refusal may be admissible in a subsequent prosecution. Your license, permit, or privilege to operate a motor vehicle will be suspended or denied for not less than 180 days, whether or not you are prosecuted for this offense. If you are 21 years of age or older and submit to the taking of a specimen and an analysis of the specimen shows that you have an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, your license, permit or privilege to operate a motor vehicle will be suspended for not less than 90 days, whether or not you are subsequently prosecuted for this offense. If you are younger than 21 years of age and have any detectable amount of alcohol in your system, your license, permit or privilege to operate a motor vehicle will be suspended for not less than sixty (60) days. However, if you submit to the taking of a specimen and an analysis of the specimen shows that you have an alcohol concentration of less than 0.08, you may be subject to criminal penalties less severe than those provided for under Chapter 49, Penal Code.”

After being read the preceding information, the police officer will then ask you to give a specimen of your breath or blood. It is the police officer’s choice as to whether to ask you for a breath or blood test.

What if I asked for help of an attorney or didn’t understand the DIC-24?

You were likely very nervous, upset and possibly emotional as the officer quickly read through the details of the DIC-24 statutory warning. A reasonably educated non-intoxicated individual could easily be confused by the details of the DIC-24 (considering all of the different suspension periods listed and the legal language used in creating the form). If you were confused or wanted questions answered regarding the content of the DIC-24, it is likely that the police officer only responded by repeatedly asking you whether you would submit or refuse the breath or blood test. If you continued to ask questions and wanted clarification regarding the meaning of the DIC-24, it is likely that the police officer treated your inquiries as a refusal and marked you as a REFUSAL on the DIC-24 form.

Additionally, many citizens that become confused by language in the DIC-24 will ask to speak to an attorney before submitting or refusing to submit to a DWI breath or blood test. Unfortunately, if you ask to speak to a criminal attorney, most police officers have been trained to inform you that you do not have a right to speak to an attorney (which is true but very few citizens know or would assume to be true) and will mark you as a REFUSAL on the DIC-24 form.

Houston DWI attorney Korey Huff understands that the forms provided to you and the events that transpired after your DWI arrest may have been confusing and overwhelming. 

Fighting Your License Suspension:

Will My DWI Arrest Cost Me My License?

If you have been arrested for DWI or DUI, you are now facing the very serious consequence of having your Texas driver’s license suspended.

At the time of your DWI arrest, it is likely that a police officer provided you two documents: the DIC-24 and the DIC-25. The DIC-24 is a document that is given to every citizen arrested for DWI that spells out the statutory warnings and consequences for refusing to take or failing a breath or blood test (.08 blood alcohol content or greater). The DIC-25 is a document that, once given to you by a police officer, triggers the administrative license revocation process.

Once you have been given the DIC-25 form, you only have 15 days from the date of being served this document to request an administrative license revocation (ALR) hearing. Additionally, because the arresting police officer is likely to keep your Texas driver’s license, it is important that the DIC-25 should be kept with you at all times because it will serve as your temporary driving permit. The DIC-25 will operate as your temporary driving permit until 41 days after you have received it.

What is the Purpose of the ALR Hearing?

According to Tex. Trans. Code §724.042, all ALR hearings must be conducted through the Texas Department of Public Safety (scheduled through the State Office of Administrative Hearings) and the administrative judge must make a determination that all of the following are true, or your driver’s license must be reinstated:

• The police officer must have had reasonable suspicion or probable cause to make your DWI stop;
• The police officer must have had probable cause to believe you were actually operating your vehicle or watercraft in a public place while intoxicated;
• The police officer must have placed you under arrest and asked you to give a breath or blood test

Your DWI ALR hearing will likely be held within 40 days of the date of your DWI arrest. Call Houston DWI Attorney Korey Huff now at 713-562-8700 for a free evaluation regarding your ALR hearing.

What Happens if I Don’t Request an ALR Hearing or Lose My ALR Hearing?

If you fail to timely request an ALR hearing, your license will be suspended. If the administrative judge rules that all the legal conditions regarding your DWI arrest were present, the judge will have no discretion as to the length of your suspension. An affirmative finding by the administrative law judge at your ALR hearing will trigger a driver’s license suspension for which the length of the suspension will be determined by whether your case was a DWI breath or blood test refusal, a DWI breath or blood test failure, or if there was any detectable amount of alcohol in your system while operating a motor vehicle in a public place (in the situation of a DUI, where the person charged is under 21 years of age).

If you have been arrested for DWI or DUI in Harris County, Fort Bend County, or the surrounding areas, call Houston DWI Attorney Korey Huff now at 713-562-8700 (24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week) to save your driver’s license from being suspended and ensure you have the opportunity to have your case heard before a judge at an ALR hearing.