Before you consider taking any type of guilty plea for a DWI in Texas, you should consider the following:

• Can you obtain an occupational driver’s license (ODL)?
• The cost of obtaining an ODL
• The mandatory requirement to install an ignition interlock if you qualify for an ODL
• The cost associated with an ignition interlock installed in your vehicle
• The hassle, and sometimes embarrassment, of having an ignition interlock in your vehicle
• The Department of Public Safety (DPS) surcharges imposed upon those individuals convicted of a DWI. These costs start at $1,000/year for 3 years.
• Car insurance rate hikes
• Obtaining an SR-22
• DPS license reinstatement fees
• Court costs associated with taking a guilty plea
• Fines imposed by the court that could reach a maximum of $2,000 for a first conviction
• Court-mandated DWI education courses

If your driver’s license was confiscated, you should be provided with form “DIC-25.” This form will act as your driver’s license for up to 40 days unless you request an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing, which will extend the 40 days until a judgment is rendered from the ALR hearing.

An ALR hearing is very important for a few reasons. First, if your driver’s license has been confiscated and you do not request an ALR hearing, your license is automatically suspended after 40 days from the date of service of the DIC-25. To prevent this automatic suspension, an ALR hearing must be requested inside of 15 days upon your receipt of the DIC-25. At the ALR hearing, your lawyer will have an opportunity to save your driver’s license from being suspended by the Texas Department of Public Safety. In addition, if your lawyer properly subpoenas the pertinent officers, your lawyer will have an opportunity to cross-examine the officer in your case. This is very important because the officer’s testimony during the ALR is sworn and under-oath testimony that can be very relevant in the criminal case against you.

This depends on your age and how many prior offenses you have on your record.

If you’re under the age of 21 and . . .

Refused a breath test:

• 180 days for your first offense
• 2 years if your license has previously been suspended for refusing or failing
• 2 years if you have a previous conviction for DWI, intoxication, assault, or intoxication manslaughter in the preceding 10 years from the date of your arrest in the current case

Provided a specimen of breath or blood, and a detectable amount of alcohol was found in the person’s system:

• 60 days if it’s the first alcohol offense
• 120 days if the person has previously been convicted for an alcohol offense while operating a motor vehicle
• 180 days if the person has previously been convicted 2+ times for an alcohol offense while operating a motor vehicle

If you’re at least 21 years of age and . . .

Refused a breath test:

• 180 days for your first offense
• 2 years if your license has previously been suspended for refusing or failing
• 2 years if you have a previous conviction for DWI, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter in the preceding 10 years from the date of your arrest in the current case

Provided a specimen of blood or breath, and the results were 0.08 or higher:

• 90 days for your first offense
• 1 year if you have a previous conviction for DWI, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter in the preceding 10 years from the date of your arrest in the current case

It depends. Your license is not automatically suspended if you’ve been charged with a DWI. Please call (346) 249-5544 to discuss how the Capetillo Law Firm can help you prevent your license from being suspended.

This is a decision that every individual should consider if they ever plan to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. If you’re arrested and charged with an intoxication crime that involves the possibility of having your license suspended, what is more important to you – losing your driver’s license for a period of time, or having breath/blood evidence used against you in the investigation of a criminal offense? Prosecutors would much rather have a blood/breath figure in building their case against you. At the Capetillo Law Firm, I look at every possible avenue to prevent them from admitting this evidence at trial and using it to convince a jury that you were intoxicated.

I strongly advise my clients to not throw the towel in before collecting all possible forms of pre-trial discovery. Looking at all discovery items and weighing the likelihood of their admissibility at trial will give you a better picture of the odds of winning at trial. However, if your attorney does not know what to ask for in discovery, or how to interpret the discovery provided, valuable information about your case can be missed.

Your main focus should be to bond them out of jail. Please contact a reputable bonding company and make arrangements to have your loved one released from jail through them. In some instances, you may be able to post a cash bond and in other instances, you may be able to obtain a personal recognizance (PR) bond, depending on the facts and charges against your loved one. Also remember, when speaking with your loved one over a jail phone, it’s best to always assume you’re being recorded.

Each court and each jurisdiction is different. In general, you will be given a court date on which to appear at a specific court and at a specific time. Between your release from jail and your first court date, use this time to retain a lawyer who you can trust will represent your best interests. Once you have retained a lawyer, you and your lawyer will appear on the date, time, and location, as directed. Upon entering the court, have a seat, and typically they will have a roll call and check attendance. It is imperative to be on time and in the courtroom when your name is called. Failure to be there when your name is called could result in your bond being revoked by the judge and you being put back in jail and/or having additional bond restrictions imposed upon you. At this first court appearance, your attorney is able to receive some initial discovery about your case and speak with the prosecutor about your case. In some courts, if you have been charged with an alcohol crime, the judge may impose an ignition interlock or another type of alcohol monitoring device as a condition of your bail.

This is a type of device that is designed to monitor the driver of a vehicle and ensure that the driver does not have alcohol in their system before starting and/or while operating a motor vehicle. These devices can be very sensitive and sometimes produce results that cause suspicion. If you have an ignition interlock installed in your vehicle, it’s best to refrain from using any and all substances that contain any type of alcohol. This includes, but is not limited to, mouthwash, some over the counter medications, certain prescription medications, and any other substances that list alcohol as an ingredient.

Some courts are stricter than others and impose an ignition interlock or alcohol monitoring device as a condition of your bond.

There are some various options that may be available to you depending on the outcome of your case. Whether you are found not guilty at trial, take a deferred adjudication, complete a pre-trial program, or get your case dismissed, will determine what options are available to you. Please contact a Sugar Land criminal defense lawyer to discuss your specific case and see if you qualify for an expunction or a non-disclosure.

When qualified, you would rather pursue an expunction than a non-disclosure. Once an expunction has been granted, the records subject to the expunction are prohibited from being released and the person may deny the occurrence of arrest and the existence of the expunction, with one exception. The exception being when asked under oath in a criminal proceeding, the person may only state that the matter in question has been expunged.

Depending on the county that you believe you have the warrant, you can check online. In more rural counties, you would need to call a local law enforcement agency in that county and give them a DOB and name and ask them to check.

My fees are set on a case-by-case basis. Each case is different and requires an evaluation of the facts of each to be able to accurately determine the appropriate fee. Please contact me for your free evaluation of your case and let me help you.

Ask the attorney how they structure their fees. Do they charge separate pre-trial fees vs trial fees? Does their trial fee cover the entire trial, regardless of how many days it goes? Do they charge per day of trial? Does their price include attending the ALR? Does their price include associated filing fees, subpoena fees, various expenses incurred in defending someone charged with DWI? Not everyone has enough cash to pay an attorney’s fees upfront. Ask your potential attorney if they accept payment plans. Do they give discounts for full payments? Do they accept credit cards?

Unless there is a specific cap on the total fee, clients need to be careful with this type of fee structure. Clients should understand that cases drag out for many reasons, some in the control of the defense attorney, and some that are not in the control of the defense attorney. Depending on the court and the outcome you seek for your case, a DWI can take anywhere from a few months to a few years.

Attorneys vary in price similar to any other service and/or product. In some instances, you get what you pay for, as with other goods and services, and in other instances, you may be able to get a great value. The same holds true with attorneys. Some veteran attorneys have decades of experience coupled with numerous trials under their belt. These attorneys are able to charge considerably more than less experienced attorneys simply because they can boast their vast experience. The less experienced attorney isn’t necessarily a bad option for various reasons such as, these attorneys are still out to make a name for themselves. They are able to charge a more affordable rate because they value your business and look to make you a satisfied client. Because, let’s face it, if they are truly concerned with building a great reputation, they can’t do it without earning your business and making you a satisfied client. If they can explain the process, keep you informed, earn your trust, and you’re confident in their abilities, a less seasoned attorney may be a more sensible choice. Ask your potential attorney what associations they belong to, who are their mentors, and what Continuing Learning Education (CLE) courses they attend. In most instances, the younger attorneys can still do the work required to get successful results for their clients at much less cost to their clients. As with any other decision you make, use your judgment and do your homework. Select an attorney who you believe will have your best interests in mind and can prove to you they are willing to work hard for you.

In most instances, this is not the best option. If an attorney is able to charge rock-bottom prices it could mean a variety of things, none of which are good for you.

The least expensive attorney could be making up the difference by handling a higher volume of cases. What does that mean for the client? If an attorney has 10 clients vs. an attorney with 100 clients, the attorney with 100 clients is just not going to be able to spend the same amount of time on each case than a lower volume attorney. Most people value being able to speak directly to their attorney and have their questions answered by their attorney. If your attorney has an extremely high volume of clients, it’s almost impossible for them to give each individual client the one-on-one time they deserve.

Another negative is that a rock-bottom priced attorney is likely only going to plea your case out in one or two settings. Again, what does this mean for the client? It means that your attorney likely didn’t fully analyze the facts of your case nor research aspects of your case that could have been presented to get you a more favorable outcome, if not a dismissal.

Find a way. Be creative. Clients that are truly concerned with their future find a way to hire an attorney to represent them and their future. They can take out loans, pawn valuables, open a credit card, ask friends/family for loans, work extra shifts/hours, cut their expenses, and/or a combination of the above. Someone with a conviction from their youth can likely be cutting their “future” legs out from under them. Young clients have their entire life ahead of them and rarely think about what the long-term consequences of a guilty plea can have on their future career opportunities, options of earning a living, finding an apartment, obtaining a driver’s license, immigration issues, and traveling abroad. A few thousand dollars may seem like a million dollars in your youth but later in life, the regret of not finding that few thousand dollars can cost you considerably.

In Texas, Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charges can only be given to a person under the age of 21 who has any detectable amount of alcohol in their system while operating a motor vehicle (or watercraft) in a public place. A Driving While Intoxicated charge can be given to anyone who is believed to be intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.

Texas statutes have defined “intoxicated” to mean the loss of a person’s normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the ingestion of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, any combination of the preceding, or any other substance into the body OR having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. Based on Texas’s definition of intoxication, you can be charged with DWI without even having a drop of alcohol in your body; however, alcohol is the most common substance used to charge a person with DWI. A Sugar Land DWI lawyer can help you determine your next best steps for moving forward. Call (346) 249-5544 today.