This year, Galveston County is participating in a “no refusal weekend” during the holidays. If you are pulled over by a police officer who suspects that you may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol or driving while intoxicated (“DWI”), you may be subjected to a mandatory blood draw. If you are stopped on the suspicion of DWI, you need an experienced criminal defense Galveston Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) lawyer on your side. Just because they took blood doesn’t mean you will automatically lose your case. Call The Law Offices of Jonathan Zendeh Del, PLLC today to discuss your options. (409) 204-5566
What should you do if you are being pulled over for DWI right now? –> CLICK HERE
What should you do if you have already been arrested for DWI? –> CLICK HERE
Galveston, Texas DWI Defense Lawyers
In Texas, A person commits the offense of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place. A first offense of DWI is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours. If it is shown on the trial of an offense DWI that at the time of the offense the person operating the motor vehicle had an open container of alcohol in the person’s immediate possession, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum term of confinement of six days. If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that an analysis of a specimen of the person’s blood, breath, or urine showed an alcohol concentration level of 0.15 or more at the time the analysis was performed, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
If you have been arrested for DWI/DUI, you are likely experiencing a host of emotions. As the dust settles, you might be wondering if you were treated fairly, if the charges are accurate or how this experience will affect the rest of your life. Having a top-notch attorney on your side can protect your reputation and your future.
THE TEXAS 15 DAY RULE: What You Need to Know
If you are charged with a DWI in the state of Texas, you should know that The State of Texas may take away your license even before you ever see the inside of a criminal courtroom. One of the laws that you must know is the15-Day Rule. Whether you refused to take a blood, breath or urine test or you took one of these tests and your result is 0.08 or greater, you have only 15 days to request a special hearing in writing to preserve your right to drive. If you do not do this, your driver’s license will be suspended.
Please read the following important facts. If any of them are in your DWI arrest, the 15-Day Rule applies to you:
- You took the breath test or a blood test and your blood alcohol content was over the legal limit of 0.08;
- You refused to take a breath or blood test;
- You tried to take the tests, but the police officer stated that you “refused”; or
- You were under 21 on the day of the arrest and your test result was .02 or higher.
If you have been arrested for a DWI, you need to act fast and call our firm today. A DWI/DUI arrest does not automatically mean that you will lose your license or receive inflated insurance rates or other penalties. We can often postpone or prevent a driver’s license from being suspended. Call The Law Offices of Jonathan Zendeh Del, PLLC TODAY to find out more information and we will help you keep your driver’s license (Contact Us)
If you would like more information about the Texas DWI 15 day rule please see the Texas Transportation Code Section 524. More information about suspension of a Texas driver’s license can be found at the Texas Department of Public Safety.
What to do if you are pulled over on the suspicion of driving while intoxicated
- Find a safe place to pull over
As soon as an officer decides to pull you over for on the suspicion of drunk driving (DWI / DUI), he starts making observations that he will put in the officer report. The officer report can have a significant impact on the outcome of both your criminal trial and your ALR driver’s license hearing. One of the first things the officer does is make a mental note of how you pull your vehicle over. If you drive erratically, slow down too abruptly, or pull over in an unsafe location, the officer notes it in the report.
- Do not make any sudden movements
Officer officers are trained to be cautious and to protect themselves. Officer almost always approach a car from behind so they have a clear view and so the driver would have to turn completely around in order to shoot or attack them. Do not make any sudden movements and keep your hands on the wheel at 10:00 and 2:00.
- Be polite to the officer
When an officer pulls you over you are likely on video. Most officer cars now days have dash-mounted video cameras and officer-mounted microphones. Know that everything you do or say will be on video, and that video will make or break your court and ALR driver’s license case. If you are rude or hostile, the officer is likely do everything possible to get you convicted, including write an incriminating officer report. Know that you are on camera, and that a jury will likely one day view your arrest video. How do you want to look to a jury?
- Do not answer any potential incriminating questions and do not lie.
Upon being pulled over on the suspicion for driving while intoxicated (DWI), you are required to give an officer your name, driver’s license, and proof of insurance. That is all. When an officer asks you if you have been drinking, kindly say, “I invoke my fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.” Do the same when the officer asks you where you were coming from, where you are going, and if you are intoxicated.
- REFUSE ALL FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS.
You are not required to perform a field sobriety test. Field sobriety tests are not reliable indicators of intoxicated. Most people cannot do a field sobriety test proper even when sober. Kindly, knowing you are on camera, refuse all field sobriety tests.
- Refuse blowing in a hand-held breathalyzer that the officer has on the scene.
Roadside breathalyzers are notoriously unreliable and there are countless ways to skew their results. Do not provide a roadside breath sample.
- If arrested, refuse blood and breath tests.
In Texas, you are under no obligation and you are not required to provide a breath or blood sample. Do not provide one. Kindly tell the officer, knowing you are on camera, that you respectfully refuse to provide a blood or breath sample.
- Once released, write down everything that you can remember about the night you were arrested.
The more notes you take about your arrest the easier it will be for your attorney to fight the charges against you.Include in your notes things like the following.
- What you were doing and where you were doing before you drove?
- How much you had to drink?
- Did you inject, intentionally or not, any drugs?
- How long was it after you drank or did drugs that you were arrested?
- How did the officer behave?
- What did you tell the officer?
- How many police cars were on the scene?
- Where were you when you were pulled over?
- Where and when, if at all, were you read your Miranda rights?
- If you provided a breath or blood sample, how long had it been since you had a drink?
- Contact the Galveston, Texas DWI / DUI attorneys at The Law Offices of Jonathan Zendeh Del, PLLC.
You need and deserve an aggressive and experienced lawyer who will fight for you rights. Call The Law Offices of Jonathan Zendeh Del, PLLCtoday for a free DWI consultation in Galveston, Texas.
