To be guilty of a DWI, you have to be the DRIVER
Interestingly enough most DWI cases involve, whether or not the state can show beyond a reasonable doubt, that the citizen is intoxicated when they were stopped. In Lubbock, and all of Texas, the definition of intoxication means that either the person was at or above a .08 at the time of driving or that the citizen had lost the "normal" use of mental or physical faculties.
A few weeks ago I tried a DWI case that involved the issue of whether the state could prove my client was driving the vehicle. It was clear from the video, the witnesses and the officer that my client was certainly intoxicated. What was not clear was whether my client was driving the vehicle. After an accident, the Lubbock Police Department showed up and arrested my client, in Lubbock, for driving while intoxicated.
I presented evidence to a jury of six that showed my client could not have been driving because she received injuries that were consistent of her being a passenger. The jury agreed and acquitted my client. A few weeks later, a Lubbock Court signed an order removing the arrest from my client's record.
The bottom line is Texas DWI defense is not "cookie cutter" law. Every case has different fact and different issues. My job as the attorney is to find those facts and those issues that will help my client.
