If you are arrested for a DWI or DUIM (driving under the influence by a minor) in Texas then if you either gave a breath sample and it was over .08 (.04 if in a commercial vehicle or a...More...
If you are arrested for a DWI or DUIM (driving under the influence by a minor) in Texas then if you either gave a breath sample and it was over .08 (.04 if in a commercial vehicle or a detectable amount if a minor) or refused to give a sample, you have 15 days, working DPS days, to request a hearing on your license. If you gave a voluntary blood you will get a letter of the results from DPS and if over .08 you will have 20 days to request a hearing. It is important if you were arrested for a DWI that you contact an attorney immediately to discuss these deadlines and why you want to always contest your automatic driver license suspension.
A Lubbock Police officer (or DPS, Texas Tech police or any other law enforcement officer) in trial on a driving while intoxicated case in Lubbock typically testifies that the three "standardized field sobriety tests" are divided attention tests. I often hear the following:
"These tests are designed to divide a person's attention just like driving a car"
"These tests help me (the officer) determine if the driver is intoxicated"
The problem with these answers is simply they are not true as to whether a person can safely operate a motor vehicle. The fact is that if driving is a divided attention test then the grade should not be from some abnormal tests that nobody ever does when trying to get their driver license. Has anybody ever had to put their arms down to their side, raise one leg off the ground 6 inches, point their foot out, look at their foot and count out loud, one thousand one, one thousand two, etc till the officer says stop in order to get a driver license? Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!!
The fact is these balance tests show little when it comes to whether a person can operate a vehicle in a safe manor. I'm Stephen Hamilton, Board Certified Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and I fight these worthless, government propaganda stupid human tricks every day.
Many times when I visit with a potential client I am asked so why should I hire you instead of lawyer x? My answer is I think there are several important factors you should look for when you hire a DWI attorney. First, is the attorney you are interviewing focused on criminal law and DWI defense or is he or she a "jack of all trades?" What I mean by that is DWI defense the majority of his/her practice or does the lawyer also do wills, divorces, car wrecks, real estate work etc. There is nothing wrong with practicing in lots of different areas but in my opinion trying DWI's in Lubbock and west Texas is complicated and takes lots of time to focus on the case. Personally I could not imagine handling lots of different type of cases outside the area of DWI defense and criminal law because I need the time to focus on your case.
Second, is the lawyer board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization? A Board Certified criminal lawyer practice is focused on criminal law and he or she has certain hours in continuing legal education that are above what the state bar annually requires. The board certified criminal lawyer has also passed an extensive test showing his or her level of specialization in criminal law.
Recently Rob McKinney a Nashville, TN Criminal lawyer had an excellent article on how to evaluate and what to look for in a criminal/ DWI attorney. The article was written by DUI lawyer Justin McShane. I have known Justin for years and have attended many specialized training programs with him. Here is what Rob and Justin think:
Be sure to ask and demand to see the qualifications of your attorney. Not all attorneys are the same. Therefore, it is up to you and to you alone to be selfish and to become an educated consumer of attorneys. One of the smartest things that you can do is insist on a resume of your attorney. An attorney, who doesn't have a resume of some sort, in terms the extracurricular education that he or she has received, is probably someone that you should steer away from.
Knowledge is evolutionary and at the end of the day it is only the most current attorneys who continue to learn and who continue to keep up on the ever expanding knowledge base in DUI who will help you maximize your chances of getting an acceptable result at the end of the day.
Being charged with any crime is a very stressful situation. You should take your time and interview several lawyers. Find your comfort level with each attorney, discuss your case not some one size fits all answer. Make sure you know the deadlines of when hearing requests need to be filed. Be educated, be informed and be comfortable with your decision.
It seems that almost every week now someplace either in Texas or another state there is a report or news article questioning the validity of a breath test. Just this week in Ventura, CA the local prosecutor's office sent a memo to local defense attorneys stating that "eight Intoximeter Alco-Sensor V breathalyzers have shown "erratic results" in blood-alcohol tests taken between Jan. 20 and March 31, according to Kevin Drescher, the supervising attorney with the felony unit."
The report gets better. The prosecutor's office indicates they "didn't know how many people charged with DUI were tested with the Alco-Sensor V during that time. I don't have the actual numbers," he said, adding that the office was still looking into the matter. "Obviously, we are trying to do what's right in this situation."
So how does a problem in CA affect a Lubbock County Texas DWI arrest you ask. Good question and the answer basically is that a machine is not always accurate. We all know that. How many times have you ever had to turn off or restart your computer because the computer froze or had an error? The problem with breath test machines and the way they work in Lubbock Texas is everything is covered in secrecy.
The Texas Department of Public Safety which maintains the machines won't provide the source codes for the units. Believe it or not the government's "expert" has no knowledge about how the computer program in the machine works. Basically all they know is that a number comes out when it comes to the software of the machine.
The Texas Department of Public Safety won't allow a defense expert to inspect the machine.
The Department of Public Safety won't require all breath tests to be video taped so we can make sure the testing procedures were followed.
The Department of Public Safety does not require that the temperate of the simulator solution be video recorded. This is important because temperature affects the breath test results.
When I have a client who is arrested in Lubbock by the Lubbock Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety or Texas Tech police for a DWI or DUI minor the secrecy of the breath test program is always an issue. The arrogance of the government that the machine "checked itself" so it must be working correctly must be contested. Trust me I'm from the government is not necessarily a good thing these days.
Imagine that you are finishing your classes for the week at Texas Tech University. After working hard for the week you decide to meet several friends for dinner and maybe a little dancing on a Friday night. At dinner you have two beers say over two hours. You know your ability to handle alcohol and after dinner you know there is little or no alcohol in your system.
As you head off to meet your friends you notice a Lubbock police or Texas Tech police officer behind you. In half a block your life will be forever changed. The Texas Tech police officer turns on his overhead lights telling you to stop. Later you find out your license plate light was out. After stopping you and telling you he smelt alcohol on your breath he has you do some balance and dexterity tests and then arrests you for DWI.
