What Happens After a DUI Arrest in Texas?

A DUI (officially known as DWI here in Texas) is a serious charge, and how you respond after your arrest as well as the skill of your Dallas DUI attorney is going to impact your freedom and future. There are criminal and administrative consequences to a DWI, so it’s important you have a skilled lawyer on your side who will fight for your rights at every step.

What to Expect After a DUI Arrest in Texas

Immediately After Your Arrest

The first thing that will happen is you will be taken to a police station or local jail to be booked. Booking will involve fingerprinting you, photographing you, and documenting all your personal information. You’ll likely be asked to take a breath, blood, or urine test that will measure your blood alcohol concentration level, and it’s important that you comply with this. Texas has what’s known as an “implied consent law,” which means that by getting a driver’s license and choosing to go on the road, you imply that you give consent to any test for alcohol or other illegal substances. If you refuse the test, your driver’s license will be automatically suspended for 180 days, even if you are not convicted of a DWI and don’t have a drop of alcohol in your body.

It’s common to spend anywhere from a few hours to about a day in jail before you get released, and that will usually happen either because you’ve been able to post bail or you’ve been let out on your personal recognizance. It’s very essential that you call a DWI attorney as soon as you’re allowed to make a phone call so that your lawyer can advise you on what to do about tests, what kind of bail to ask for and how to get it, and start early on working out defense strategies to strengthen your case.

Administrative License Suspension Process

When you are arrested for a DWI, there’s a separate administrative process that deals with your driver’s license. This is not directly linked to your criminal case. If you either refuse to get your blood alcohol level test tested or you fail the test, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will issue you a Notice of Suspension. This notice gives you 15 days to ask for an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing.

The hearing is your opportunity to challenge your suspension, and it’s absolutely critical that you act quickly. If you miss that 15-day window, then your license is automatically suspended and there’s a little you can do about it. If you refuse the test, the suspension is 180 days. If you fail the test, the suspension is 90 days (with the potential for more depending on how your criminal case turns out and what penalties the court may apply in restricting your driving privileges).

At the hearing, your lawyer may be able to question whether the arrest was lawful as well as whether the test results are valid, but it does require knowledge of the rules and lots of experience to successfully challenge a suspension.

Criminal Proceedings

The next step in your criminal charge process will be an arraignment. At your arraignment, you come to the court with your lawyer and plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest to your DWI charge. Unless you plead guilty, you’ll move on from there to pre-trial hearings, plea deal negotiations, and then your primary trial (if no plea deal is reached). If this is your first DWI, it’s usually going to be classed as a Class B misdemeanor, and you can be sentenced to up to 180 days in jail and face fines of up to $2000. Your license can be suspended for up to a year.

The next step, if you don’t play guilty, is an exchange of evidence between your lawyer and the prosecution. This is to make sure everyone has all the available evidence so they can effectively build their cases. There will likely be pre-trial hearings to negotiate plea deals or prepare for trial, but if no plea is reached, you’ll go to trial before a judge or jury to determine your guilt. Your DUI attorney will craft your defense, challenge the evidence of the prosecution, negotiate for reduced charges or penalties, and guide you at every step through this process.

Building a Defense With Your Dallas DUI Attorney

Obviously, your defense is critically important here. Some defenses that you and your lawyer might explore could include looking into whether the traffic stop was legal, investigating the accuracy of the testing equipment used for your blood alcohol level test, and challenging whether the observations of the officers about your impairment are accurate. Breathalyzers, for instance, require regular calibration, and if it’s possible to show that the device had not been calibrated recently and your BAC was close to legal levels, it might be possible to challenge it. If you were stopped without probable cause, it’s possible that any evidence that was recovered during the stop could be suppressed.

Other defenses can potentially include proving you have a medical condition that sometimes causes a person to fail BAC tests. Medical conditions, as well as simple fatigue or environmental factors, can also cause a person to fail a field sobriety test. Your attorney will help you explore all the possible options and prepare a careful defense against the prosecution’s evidence. Bear in mind that the burden is on the prosecution, not you. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are guilty. This means you do not have to prove your innocent: you only have to prove that there is reasonable doubt you’re guilty. Bear this in mind as you talk with your lawyer, because while you may wish to fight hard to “prove” your innocence, your lawyer may actually suggest tactics that will be more effective in simply challenging the evidence laid out by the prosecution.

Plea Bargains or Diversion Programs

In many of these cases, prosecutors offer plea bargains that may allow you to avoid a trial entirely. In a plea bargain, you often plead guilty to a lesser charge with lighter penalties. This means neither you nor the state have to endure the expense and difficulty of a trial. Sometimes diversion programs are also available, and if that is available to you, you will probably need to complete a probation period with alcohol education and possibly community service.

If you do complete these program successfully, it’s often possible to get your record cleaned up. However, if you agree to a plea deal that is not in your best interest, you could find yourself locked into some long-term consequences that you did not expect. For this reason, it is very important that you talk with a lawyer about anything that the prosecution is offering and never agree to any deal without the advice of your lawyer.

Long-Term Impact

One more good reason to work with a lawyer is to avoid the long-term consequences of a DUI conviction. A conviction means you have a criminal record. This can complicate future legal issues you might have, affect your job prospects, and even pop up in background checks for housing or loans. While there are things you can do to expunge your record later, it’s always best to avoid having a record in the first place, and having a skilled attorney is the best way to achieve that.

For help with your case, contact the Pelley Law Office in Dallas, Sherman, or Plano, TX today.

Contact Our Texas Criminal Defense Law Firm For Help Today

If you’re facing criminal charges in Texas, we’re here to help. Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers at Pelley Law Office, L.L.P., today to schedule a free consultation.

We proudly serve Plano, Dallas, Sherman, and the surrounding areas.

Pelley Law Office L.L.P. – Plano Office
Address: 1312 14th St, Plano, TX 75074
Phone: (972) 608-0335
Hours: 24/7

Our firm is located near you. Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 33.0180322,-96.6952916,863

Pelley Law Office L.L.P. – Sherman Office

Address: 905 N Travis St, Sherman, TX 75090
Phone: (903) 813-4778
Hours: 24/7

Our firm is located near you. Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 33.6445846,-96.6113141,857