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10 Major Mistakes People Make After Being Arrested for DWI in Texas

10 MAJOR MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE AFTER BEING ARRESTED FOR A DWI IN TEXAS

  1. Not taking the matter seriously. The criminal charge will follow you forever, if you are convicted. If you are convicted, there is no way to expunge this criminal record and it will be available for anyone in the general public to discover through a simple background check. If convicted, this conviction can be used to enhance your sentence on any other DWI or any other misdemeanor case. The third DWI arrest would usually be filed as a felony case. If convicted, you will pay thousands of dollars in fines, court costs, increases in insurance premiums and effective September 1, 2003 expensive surcharges from the Texas Department of Safety.
  2. Not hiring an experienced attorney. The law of DWI has become very complex and specialized in this day and age. An attorney experienced in DWI defense will be able to recognize and detect weaknesses in the State's case and know how to argue them successfully in your defense. Issues regarding admissibility of technical evidence such as breath test results, blood test results, and standardized filed sobriety tests can be successfully recognized and litigated in court by an experienced attorney.
  3. Hiring an attorney based on the lowest fees. The State of Texas has tremendous resources available to them and their only goal will be to convict you of this charge. If you pay a low fee to a defense attorney, he or she will not be able to put in the time and experience that is necessary to protect and successfully defend your case. When it comes to criminal defense lawyers, you will get what you pay for.
  4. Driving after your license has been suspended. Being arrested for driving with a suspended driver's license after you have already been arrested for the offense of DWI can be extremely serious. You could be required to serve up to 180 days in jail if convicted of this offense. You will have to post a higher bond, and appear in the same court as your DWI offense.
  5. Failing to contest license suspension for a breath test refusal or failure. Many people think that contesting the license revocation hearing is not worth their time and effort. Sometimes this hearing can be successfully defended and the license can be saved from being suspended. Furthermore, the lawyer usually will get to question the arresting officer under oath. This testimony may be able to be used in your favor in a later DWI trial.
  6. Not taking full advantage of your constitutional rights. You have the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, you have the right to remain silent and not give evidence against yourself. You have the right to have an attorney represent you. You have a right to a fair trial, including being judged by a jury of your peers.
  7. Taking the prosecutor's fist plea bargain offer. Generally, the first plea bargain offer from the prosecutor is not in your best interest but merely an attempt to move you off of the court's docket with the least amount of work by the State. A full investigation and an evaluation of the State's evidence always work toward the advantage of the citizen accused.
  8. Failing to appear in court. If you fail to appear while on bond to your assigned court and court date, the court will issue a warrant for your arrest and forfeit your bond. You will then be arrested with a higher bond being set for you to be released.
  9. Talking to people about your case. The law says that anything you say to anyone who is not your attorney is not protected by the attorney-client privilege and can be used against you in court.
  10. Representing you in court. Quite simply, you would be a fool to try and represent yourself against the government. It is essential that you hire an attorney to represent you when you are accused of a crime.

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