Houston, Criminal Attorney

Driving while Intoxicated in Houston, Texas

All Felony and Misdemeanor charges in Federal and State court.

The Legal Limit The legal limit for intoxication in Texas is .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). However drivers can be stopped and cited for impaired driving due to alcohol or other drugs regardless of BAC. Texas also has a zero tolerance law. For anyone under 21 it is illegal to drive with any detectable amount of alcohol.

How much is too much? Impairment begins with the first drink. Gender, body weight, the number of drinks consumed and the amount of food in one's stomach affect the body's ability to handle alcohol. Women, younger people and smaller people whether male or female, often have lower tolerances.

What happens if you're stopped? If a law enforcement officer asks you to take a blood or breath test to measure how much alcohol is in your system, you should know that if you refuse, you are subject to a 180-day driver's license suspension. Punishment for DWI varies depending on the number of times you have been convicted.

TEXAS DWI LAWS

There are two separate ways a person may be legally INTOXICATED and found guilty of DWI in Texas. If a person is operating a motor vehicle on a public street while:

1. Not having the normal use of MENTAL or PHYSICAL faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or
2. Having an alcohol concentration of .08 or more.

The .08 alcohol concentration definition is only for cases where the person arrested has taken a breath, blood or urine test. Breath test is the most common. If the person did not take one of the tests then the prosecution must prove the person did not have the normal use of his/her mental or physical faculties from drinking alcohol or doing drugs or both a combination of alcohol and drugs. The evidence the prosecution presents at trial is limited to the ingesting alcohol, unless there is some evidence or reason to believe the person could have lost the normal use of his/her faculties from some drug other than alcohol.

Many times a person will make a statement to the police when arrested saying that he/she took a prescription drug. Taking a prescription drug is NOT A DEFENSE to DWI. If the prescription is the type of drug that can cause a person to lose the normal use of their mental or physical faculties then they can be found guilty of DWI from the effects the prescription has on their faculties or from the combined effect of the prescription drug and the alcohol. The prosecution will generally attempt to prove intoxication by drugs by having a chemist testify at trial about the effects the alleged drugs (or combined effect of alcohol and drugs) can have on a person. It is then the jury's job to determine if they think the person lost the normal use of his/her faculties from taking the prescription drugs.

The first time a person is charged with DWI in Texas it is a class B misdemeanor which is found in the Texas Penal Code S49.01 (2). The third time can be a felony, if a person, guilty of DWI is involved in an accident injuring someone or kills someone it can be a felony.

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