Every year, peace officers arrest hundreds of thousands of Texans for DWI. But only a few of them are 1980s icons or stars on Netflix TV shows. Following a November 2017 arrest, actor and Corpus Christi native Lou Diamond Phillips pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI in San Patrici...
Author: JamesLondon
Do My Social Media Posts Affect My DWI Case?
Facebook has over 2.2 billion regular users. Instead of telling friends and family about their days, many people tell the entire world about these events. We can argue back and forth about whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. But regardless of your feelings on the matter,...
Three Quick Reasons Marijuana May Remain Illegal in Texas
The Lone Star State has one of the harshest marijuana possession laws in the country. One joint in your hand means up to six months in jail, because possession under two ounces is a Class B misdemeanor. There are some indications that the tide is turning. According to recent pol...
What is the ‘Nerd Defense’?
One of my colleagues once recalled a case that went bad from the start because the jury got the wrong impression of his client. My friend carefully instructed his client to remain engaged during the long jury selection process. He suggested that the young man doodle on a notepad ...
How Does Police Equipment Affect Field Sobriety Tests?
The FSTs are not designed to accurately measure intoxication or sobriety in a DWI case. Instead, they are designed to help prosecutors convict defendants. With this purpose in mind, it is easier to see some of the flaws in test conditions that may affect test results. Police car...
Are BAC Chemical Tests Accurate?
The modern Breathalyzer looks like a very sophisticated machine. It is compact, sleek, user-friendly, and fast. When police lab technicians take the stand to talk about fuel cells and electrical impulse conversions, these machines sound even fancier. It's not fair to say that the...
Four Search Warrant Requirements in Drug Cases
In the colonial period, British officials often used blank search warrants to enter private property with little or no cause. To end this practice, the Founding Fathers included the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Later, courts used the Fourteenth Amendment to apply this ...
What Do I Have to Do When I’m Pulled Over for DWI?
The rules in this area are very complex and they do not always make sense. So, it's very easy to see why people are confused as to their rights when officers pull them over. It is very important to exercise all your rights in these situations. Even the best attorney on earth can...
Winning a Circumstantial Evidence DWI Case
Most drivers provide chemical samples, usually breath samples, upon request. The conviction rate in these cases is over 80 percent. The rate is close to 100 percent in blood test cases. But in non-test cases, the Tarrant County conviction rate plummets to 45 percent. The reason ...
Four Myths About DWI Defenses
There are many effective defenses to a Tarrant County DWI. Some are based on legal caselaw, others involve the science of the Breathalyzer test, and others use the facts of the case. However, there are also a number of DWI myths. Many of them contain a grain of truth, which is p...
