DUI

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...

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 ...

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...

The state often sponsors billboards and other ads which claim that a first-time DWI costs $17,000. That claim is not exactly true, but it is not exactly false either. $17k is a fairly good average figure for both the direct and indirect consequences of DWIs, but it is only a very...

It's happened more than once. After being pulled over for a DWI, the suspect tosses the keys aside and then consumes as much alcohol as possible. One of the most notable such cases came out of Florida in 2012. Police detained an allegedly drunk driver after he hit another car an...

Texas is one of the few states without a mandatory Ignition Interlock Device (a/k/a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device). However, these gadgets are very important in many DWIs. The first primitive IIDs appeared in the late 1960s. By the late 1980s, a few crude ones were co...

Driving While Intoxicated is, by far, the most commonly-charged alcohol-related offense in North Texas. But sometimes, all the elements are not present. Or, in a few cases, there is not enough evidence of intoxication to establish probable cause. Sometimes, the opposite is true....

The heel-to-toe walk test, which is also known as the walk and turn, is the third field sobriety test in the three-test National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved three test battery. It's a divided attention test which measures both mental acuity and physical dexteri...

Of the three standard field sobriety tests, the One Leg Stand test is perhaps the easiest one to challenge. At best, it is only about 65 percent accurate in determining alcohol intoxication. In most cases, such a low percentage can hardly be considered proof beyond a reasonable d...

The Horizonal Gaze Nystagmus test is unique among the three approved Field Sobriety Tests. The other two FSTs are divided attention tests which measure both mental clarity and physical dexterity. The HGN test, on the other hand, has nothing to do with either of these things. Mos...