DUI

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has approved three Field Sobriety Tests for use in DWI prosecutions. If the defendant provides a chemical sample of breath or blood, the FSTs simply establish probable cause for administering the test. Probable cause is not a ver...

In a nutshell, the answer is "no," but it is very difficult to defend these cases, at least for the most part. During the initial DWI crackdown in the mid-1990s, Texas and most other states adopted per se DWI laws. Before this change, an above-the-limit BAC result was basically ...

Collateral DWI consequences, such as loss of driving privileges and increased auto insurance rates, are sometimes worse that the probation, fines, and other direct consequences. That's especially true with regard to Texas Penal Code 49.045 enhancement cases. If the defendant had ...

Prior to the FSTs, many officers make some accommodations. They normally do not require people with prosthetic legs to perform the one-leg stand test and they sometimes give women the chance to take off high-heel shoes prior to the walk-and-turn test. If officers deny needed acco...

The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test is one of the three NHTSA-approved field sobriety tests. In almost all DWI cases, the FST results constitute probable cause for the arrest. If the defendant refuses to provide a breath or blood sample, the prosecutor must also use the FST result...

At first blush, the one-leg stand test may seem like a rather mindless exercise. The ability to stand on one leg for fifteen or so seconds may seem unrelated to the ability to drive a car. But there is a method to the madness. Like the Walk-and-Turn, the OLS is a divided attenti...

The state of Texas has harsh penalties for driving while intoxicated, which include heavy fines, the possibility of jail time and loss of your driving privileges. If you cannot drive, how will you get to work, to a medical appointment or to your post-graduate classes? Take heart...

A hard-core fan blamed his team's ineptitude for a serious injury DWI crash outside the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The crash occurred about an hour after the lowly Buffalo Bills humiliated the Jets 41-10. When Wayne police responded to the scene of a rear-end collision, 57-year-...

In most DWI defense matters, intoxication is the only issue. The state can use either direct or circumstantial evidence to prove intoxication. A chemical test that shows a BAC above the legal limit is proof of intoxication as a matter of law. Or, the prosecutor can rely on the ci...

Normally, the walk-and-turn, along with the other approved field sobriety tests, establish probable cause for a DWI arrest. This evidentiary standard is between reasonable suspicion (an evidence-based hunch) and beyond a reasonable doubt. So, it's a rather low standard. In refus...