Legal Question in DUI Law in Texas

Dwi is a serious charge. You need to hire an attorney in your area. It is a Class B misdemanor with a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $2000

You have the option of trying your case or negotiating a plea bargain. If this is your first offense you will probably receive a probation offer.

It is important that your attorney have the details of your medical condition and disability.

If you took a breath test and scored above .08, that will satisfy the definition of intoxication. Depending on your score and when the test was taken, your lawyer may be able to argue that your score would have been below .08 when you were driving..

If there was not a breath test, the state can argue that you were intoxicated based upon your appearance. The statute calls this the loss of nomal physical or mental faculties. The state can ask the jury to infer from the police officer's observations that you lost your normal faculties. However, since you have a medical condition, you may be able to argue that at least some of what the police officer observed was normal for you.

Your lawyer could obtain a copy of the police report to get an idea of what the officer's observations were and speak with your doctor to see if some of these observations could be attibuted to your medical condition. This would really be helpful if you had nothing to drink.

Otherwise the jury will be in a position of having to figure out whether any of the observations were attributable to alchol or your medical condition.

You certainly need to hire an attorney. If this pending charge is in Harris County, there are some new developments going on that are changing how DWIs are handled around here. The DAs office has started a new diversion program for first time offenders. You may or may not qualify for it.

I would not worry about any jail time. The odds of getting jail time for a first offense is pretty low. The likely outcome is some type of probation. On the other hand, if you did not blow or do any of the field sobriety tests, then you may have a very good case to take to trial.

I cannot stress enough how much you should consider hiring an attorney. You only have 15 days from the date of the arrest to request a hearing to try and save your license. You also need an attorney to help you navigate through all of the DWI garbage that you are going to be facing. You also need to be aware that DPS will charge you a minimum of $1,000 a year for three years to keep your license with a DWI conviction.

IF you are in the Houston area (the zip code you list looks like a Houston zip code), i strongly suggest retaining a lawyer who is a member of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers association.