DWI Defense

Time matters. After a DWI arrest there is a short deadline to protect your driver's license. Please call us right away, even before your first court date.

What a DWI charge means

DWI means "driving while intoxicated." In Texas, a person can be charged with DWI if police believe they were driving in a public place while impaired by alcohol, drugs, medication or a mix of these, or with a blood or breath alcohol level at or above the legal limit.

A DWI arrest usually starts two separate cases at once:

• The criminal case in court, where the State must prove the charge.
• The license case with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which can suspend your driver's license on its own, whether or not you are ever convicted.

What may be at stake

A DWI is serious even when it is a first arrest and no one was hurt. Depending on the facts and your history, a DWI may affect:

• Your driver's license, and how you get to work, school and family
• Your freedom, through jail time or months of probation with strict conditions
• Your record, which employers and landlords may see
• Your insurance costs, and conditions such as an ignition interlock device (a breath-test device in your car)
• A professional license or a commercial driver's license (CDL)

Some facts make a DWI more serious, such as a prior DWI, a child passenger, a crash with injuries, or a very high alcohol level. An attorney can tell you what applies to you.

How a Tarrant County DWI case usually moves

Every case is different, and the steps and timing can vary. We also handle cases in the counties around Tarrant County; the general steps are similar, but each county's courts have their own schedules and practices. In general:

1. Arrest and release. After booking, a judge (magistrate) sets bond. Bond conditions may include an interlock device or no alcohol.
2. The license deadline. Your paperwork from the arrest may include a notice about your license. There is a short window to request a hearing to challenge the suspension.
3. First court settings. A misdemeanor DWI is heard in a county criminal court; a felony DWI goes to a district court.
4. Evidence review. Your attorney gathers and reviews the police report, video, and breath or blood test results.
5. Resolution. The case may be dismissed, reduced, resolved by agreement, or go to trial. You decide whether to accept an offer or go to trial.

How our attorneys help

• We act on the license deadline quickly, so you don't lose the chance to challenge a suspension.
• We look at why you were stopped, how field sobriety tests were given, and how breath or blood samples were taken and tested.
• We review the video from the patrol car and body cameras.
• We explain your options in plain words at each step, including ways to keep driving legally if your license is suspended.