Yes! The laws against DWI are getting nastier and nastier with no end in sight. Fairness and logic seem to have been lost in the shuffle. The one thing the legislature can't take away from you is your constitutional right to an advocate! It's the only way to try and level the playing field.
Probably the biggest mistake you can make in a DWI is to assume your case is a lost-cause and not even seek a lawyer.
First, as any prosecutor will tell you, DWI's can and do very frequently end in acquittals. Jurors are just like you. In a DWI they truly presume you innocent unlike other cases. They listen much to the dismay and chagrin of the prosecutor and the police officer who would have them believe there is only one side to the story -- their side!
Additionally, Judges frequently suppress improper traffic stops or other improper police contact. This means that where an officer has been overly-aggressive in finding a reason to pull a car over or the officer didn't have the right to visit with you... all or some of the evidence may be thrown out by the Judge if improperly attained pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 38.23. In those instances field sobriety tests, breath tests, and even blood tests can be inadmissible for the prosecution.
Also blood and breath tests can be discredited through different scientific arguments and sometimes you can demonstrate to the jury the test was simply improperly conducted. The equipment is fallible and jurors are often surprised at just how imprecise these machines truly are.
The practice of blood warrants is controversial. Forcibly putting a needle in someone's arm would be a 2nd Degree Felony under the Texas Penal Code (aggravated assault with a deadly weapon) if it weren't conducted under the color of law. Regardless, DWI enforcement has lost so much perspective that this practice is justified to solve first-time DWI offenses that are Class B Misdemeanors. As a bragging point, I am the first lawyer that I know of in Collin County to have a DWI blood warrant thrown out by a Judge!
There is so much at stake in a DWI for your future that a short article hardly does it justice. I've only addressed the tip of the iceberg as far as consequences and punishment. There is so much other red-tape such as driver's licenses suspensions, surcharges for driver's license renewals, and deep-lung-devices being ordered on your car, it hardly makes sense to go into this process alone.
Jeremy F. Rosenthal, Esq.
(972) 562-7549
www.ndrlaw.com
*Jeremy Rosenthal is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. None of the content herein is intended to be legal advice, specific or otherwise. For legal advice, please contact an attorney.
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