Communities
We Serve
Austin • Buda • Cedar Park
Dripping Springs • Leander
Manor • Pflugerville
Round Rock
Hays, Travis and Williamson County
|
Basic DWI Concepts
What options are available for your DWI case?
- Unconditional Dismissal:
This involves no obligation on your part and you are eligible to have your record of the DWI expunged. An unconditional dismissal is possible under a number of different circumstances and is about the best outcome possible.
- Conditional Dismissal:
This involves a dismissal of the DWI, but with some obligation on your part. Conditions can vary depending upon the facts and circumstances of your particular case.
- Reduction of Charges Agreement:
This involves a dismissal of the DWI, but requires you to enter a plea to another, non-DWI offense. This arrangement may or may not result in a conviction on the non-DWI offense and could involve probation and fines.
- Plea No Contest:
This results in a conviction. A skilled criminaql law specialist can often obtain superior settlement agreements from the prosecutors.
- Informal Trial:
Sometimes in Travis County, a judge may be willing to watch the video and make a call on it without having a trial. This is kind of risky, and the judges are not always willing to do it, but it can result in a dismissal without paying for a trial. The down side is that if the judge makes a call for the prosecution, you have to take a plea bargain.
- Trial to the Judge:
This involves a plea of Not-Guilty and a formal trial, just with no jury. Lawyers usually charge less for this type of trial because it is much less formal and time consuming than a jury trial. The down side of this option is that if the judge is not convinced by your defense, you get convicted. With a jury, if one person is not convinced, the other 5 may be, which could result in the “hold-out” juror changing their mind — or possibly a mistrial.
- Jury Trial:
This involves a plea of Not-Guilty and a formal trial before a jury. This is kind of what our justice system is really all about and Board Certified Lawyers love it more than anything. If you have any chance of acquittal, and the prosecutors will not dismiss your case, this is usually the best option.
8 Basic Motions that every DWI lawyer should file:
- “Brady” Motion
- Request for Notice
- Motion to Suppress
- Discovery motion with mandatory expert designation by the state
- Rule 702 Challenge
- “Mata” Motion
- Jury Election (If you don’t want the judge to assess punishment)
- Motion in Limine
15 ways to gain an advantage over the prosecutors during a DWI jury trial
- “Batson” Motion
- Jury Shuffle
- Rule 702 Challenge
- “Mata” Challenge
- Testifying Objections (unless local rules prohibit)
- Do Not Disclose your Expert Witnesses (Disclosure only required upon proper motion by the state and they usually forget this)
- A Brutally Effective Jury Selection Presentation
- Jury Questionnaire
- Use the prosecutor’s exhibits during your own presentation (if you really want aggravate them, write on their exhibits while you are using them)
- Challenge every adverse juror for cause
- Properly preserve the error if the judge denies your challenge for cause
- Spend a long time cross-examining the state witnesses
- Do a better job than the prosecutors
- Challenge the qualifications of every witness the prosecutors call to the stand
- Hire a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist
7 ways to guarantee respect in the courtroom
- Dress and act professionally-look like you should not have been arrested.
- Be polite.
- Demand a jury trial.
- Stand up to the prosecutor’s threats.
- Have a formal pretrial hearing with witnesses.
- Subpoena the breath test technical supervisor to the pretrial and make them bring records of the breath machine.
- Walk into court with a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist (yes, the prosecutors do know the difference).
Who you choose as your lawyer sends a message to the prosecutors about your character.
The Court of Criminal Appeals says that there are 8 things that the prosecutor needs to prove for critical breath test evidence to be admissible:
- Your Weight;
- Your Gender;
- Your Typical Drinking pattern;
- Your Alcohol tolerance;
- How much the Defendant drank on the occasion in question;
- How much the defendant ate either before, during, or after the drinking;
- What type of food the defendant ate before, during or after the drinking.
- The risks inherent in trying to estimate a breath alcohol
If the prosecutor does not have all of this information, a skilled defense lawyer will be able to gain an advantage.
A DWI involves both civil and criminal prosecutions in different courts
- Civil Case: This is relating to the fact that you were arrested under suspicion of DWI and either failed or refused to provide a breath or blood sample. It is conducted in civil administrative court and there is no right to a jury trial. The burden of proof in this case is lower than the criminal case and the state has different, easier elements to prove. The civil portion of the case deals with the suspension of your driver’s license.
- Criminal Case: This case is the actual DWI and is in criminal court. A conviction here can result in jail time, a fine, probation, or possibly both of these. Another, mandatory, driver’s license suspension also comes with a conviction in the criminal case.
|