CRIMINAL DEFENSE LIBRARY
Articles examining DWI charges, repeat and felony DWI, alcohol concentration enhancements, blood and breath testing, drug-related intoxication, Intoxication Assault, Intoxication Manslaughter, and related evidence and punishment issues.
A Texas DWI prosecution can involve two different intoxication theories, field sobriety testing, breath or blood evidence, drug allegations, prior-conviction enhancements, a .15 alcohol-concentration enhancement, and increasingly serious felony charges when injury or death occurs.
READ ARTICLEHGN, Walk-and-Turn, and One-Leg Stand testing can become important DWI evidence, but administration, instructions, physical limitations, roadway conditions, officer scoring, and body-camera footage may all affect what the tests actually show.
READ ARTICLEA DWI blood result begins with legal authority to obtain the specimen and continues through collection, chain of custody, laboratory testing, quality control, timing, and interpretation. A reported BAC is important evidence—but understanding how that number was produced can be just as important.
READ ARTICLEA Texas DWI breath result is produced through an instrument, operator, testing procedure, and timeline. Instrument records, test administration, video, statutory BAC thresholds, and the time between driving and testing can all matter when evaluating what the number actually proves.
READ ARTICLEA qualifying prior DWI can increase minimum jail exposure, and the statutory repeat-offender structure can elevate DWI to a felony. The defense should verify the prior judgments, identity, legal qualification of each conviction, and whether additional felony enhancements change the actual punishment range.
READ ARTICLETexas makes DWI with a passenger younger than 15 a state jail felony. The State still must prove the underlying DWI as well as the qualifying passenger's age and presence, while injury, CPS, family-law, and collateral consequences may create additional issues.
READ ARTICLEA Texas DWI arrest can create a separate Administrative License Revocation proceeding. The ALR process has its own hearing deadline, refusal and test-failure rules, suspension periods, and potential options for restricted driving.
READ ARTICLEIntoxication Assault is generally a third-degree felony requiring more than proof of intoxication and an injury. Texas law requires serious bodily injury and a causal connection between the intoxication and that injury, making collision reconstruction, medical evidence, toxicology, and causation central issues.
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