DWI FAQ

A:

1. Your identity,
2. You were operating a motor vehicle,
3. In a public place,
4. In the Texas county where you were arrested, while
5. Your Blood Alcohol Level was .08 or higher, or
6. You had lost the normal use of mental or physical faculties, because of
7. The introduction of alcohol, a drug, or a combination thereof into your body.

A: You really have no control over this! The officer will probably tell you that you will be arrested if you do not perform the roadside SFSTs or give a breath sample and that your license will be suspended. What they don’t tell you is that if they are asking you to perform these tasks, they already strongly believe you to be intoxicated and are only attempting to obtain evidence to use against you in court and you are likely going to be arrested and your license suspended anyway.

A: In order to keep your license from being automatically suspended, you or your attorney will request an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing to contest the Department of Public Safety’s contention that there was probable cause for your arrest. If this request for a hearing is not made within 15 days of the arrest, then your license will be automatically suspended 40 days after the date of the arrest or when the ALR notice was served, whichever is later.

A: In short, no. DPS will try to suspend your license independent of anything that is happening with your criminal case in court. Additionally, upon a final conviction of DWI, the criminal court judge may suspend your license for anywhere from 6 months to two years depending on your age and the circumstances of your case, prior convictions, etc. However, the ALR hearing is an excellent opportunity to obtain information that will strengthen your DWI defense.

A: If you have a clean criminal history and there were no serious injuries in your first misdemeanor DWI, you should not have to worry about doing any additional jail time beyond the night of the arrest, however, you will discuss this with your attorney to decide the best solution for your arrest.

A: For DWI’s in Texas, even if you receive probation, you will have a final conviction on your record. The law states that on your second DWI, you must spend at least 30 days in jail if you are convicted and sentenced to jail time. If you are given probation on a 2nd DWI in Texas, you must serve a minimum of 5 days as a condition of probation.

A: A DWI 1st carries a maximum fine of $2,000 which can be paid monthly as a part of probation. Additionally, as of Sept. 1st 2003, DPS will assess an additional penalty of a minimum of at least $1,000 per year for three years upon a final conviction for DWI as a surcharge. Failure to pay this surcharge will result in a suspension of your driving privilege.