Posted on August 08, 2020 in Uncategorized

Many false DWI arrests occur simply because the driver was unwittingly showing symptoms or behavior that made the officer suspect DWI. One particularly unusual example was reported in Phoenix, Arizona last year when a female driver experienced a panic attack during a routine traffic stop-and ended up being arrested.

According to reports, police pulled the woman over after observing her allegedly commit several moving violations. The woman, who had a fear of men in general and police in particular, began to enter panic attack mode after the cops harshly called for her to pull over on the police car intercom and due to the "intimidating attitude" of the cop who approached her. She explained her anxiety to the police, and they requested a female officer to come to the scene. Instead, more men showed up. They began performing sobriety tests after detecting a faint smell of alcohol. The driver admitted to having a drink four hours earlier and blew a.02 on the breath test-well below the legal limit. Still, despite her repeated efforts to convey her behavior was caused by anxiety, they arrested her on suspicion of DWI. The woman has since filed suit against the police department.

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Uncategorized

Ketogenic diets are extremely popular now, and with good reason. By cutting out carbohydrates and pushing the body into a state of ketosis, which forces the body to burn stored fat instead of sugar, people can lose large amounts of weight quickly, without feeling deprived or hungry.

And, unlike most other diets, alcohol is not forbidden on a keto diet. Rather, dieters are told that a couple of glasses of red wine or a vodka and soda water are fine, as the sugar content is low. Many keto dieters even enjoy that they get a buzz from alcohol more quickly when they're following the diet than when they're not.

But, not only should keto dieters be careful of overconsuming because their alcohol tolerance is lower on the diet, even teetotalers on keto should be wary of taking breathalyzer tests. Recent studies have shown that the chemical reactions that happen in the bottom during ketosis can trick a breathalyzer into thinking that you're intoxicated, and that can lead to you getting charged with DWI.

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Uncategorized

When 53-year old Houston resident Thomas Gorsuch first met Harris County police officers on May 6th, he had a lot to "bare." In a state of heavy intoxication, Mr. Gorsuch drove his car while nude on North Sam Houston Parkway West, startling both drivers and pedestrians.

Officers asked Mr. Gorsuch to put his clothes back on and exit the vehicle, but he refused. After failing field sobriety tests, he was arrested on charges of intoxication and interfering with public duties.

Texas state has its fair share of bizarre DUI cases that involve drunkenness and nudity. In 2016, a 19-year-old A&M Texas student taking a selfie while semi-nude and drunk crashed her vehicle into an empty police car. Police found an open bottle of wine next to her during the arrest.

In 2012, officers found country singer Randy Travis drunk and naked after crashing his car in Tioga. The video of his arrest made rounds throughout the web and media.

Intoxication and Texas Law

Although these incidents are humorous for readers, intoxication makes people act in ways that embarrass them later on – and gets them in trouble in court. Without strong legal representation, these actions weaken a case and receive little sympathy from a jury.

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Uncategorized

Police officers investigating a car crash in Bryan, Texas, found 72-year-old Robert Ray in a state of impairment. The surprise wasn't that Mr. Ray was drinking, but that this was his 17th DWI conviction. The judge considered Mr. Ray a risk to the community and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Although Mr. Ray did not harm himself or others, some incidents lead to fatalities. In February, a Texas man with multiple DWI charges made a wrong turn while driving drunk. His actions caused a collision that killed the 20-year-old man in the other car. The perpetrator is now facing a murder charge.

San Antonio tops the nation in DWI arrests. Between 2003 – 2012, over 13,100 Texans lost their lives due to a drunk driving incident. The reality is that many drivers are repeat DWI offenders, and their actions impact their lives and the lives of others.

Multiple DWI offenses are relatively common, but some can cause lengthy prison convictions or even life sentences. One example is the sentencing of Round Rock resident Bobby Stovall to life in prison after his 9th DWI conviction.

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Uncategorized

In addition to strict penalties and long-term consequences even for a first offense, DWI defendants in Texas now apparently have a new and imminent threat to contend with, one that has nothing to do with the law: a potentially deadly virus.

As the Texas Tribune reports, 73-year-old James Allen Smith of Bastrop was only scheduled to serve six months in a Huntsville prison as part of a drug/alcohol rehabilitation program after he pled guilty to a DWI charge in January. By June 11, he was dead.

Smith is just one among an astonishing number of inmates to die from coronavirus in the Texas prison system. With at least 84 inmate fatalities and counting, Texas currently ranks second-highest in the nation for COVID-19 prison deaths as the disease continues to spread across the state. Some of the victims were days away from release.

Texas is not alone. COVID infections in prisons across the U.S. are skyrocketing, typically at a rate 2.5 times greater than that of the general population. For drivers convicted of DWI, this issue presents a much more imminent danger than just license suspension or jail time. Even a short time behind bars can result in potentially lethal exposure to the disease.

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Uncategorized

What began as a night of merrymaking for a young father of four turned into a deadly altercation that led to his death near a Wendy's drive-thru.

On June 12^th, CCT camera footage shows police officer Garret Rolfe shooting Rayshard Brooks 3 times as he tries to flee arrest. Mr. Brooks did not pass a field sobriety test and admitted to having a drink while celebrating his daughter's birthday.

The footage shows Mr. Brooks cooperating with the officers for at least 40 minutes before the incident. During handcuffing, Mr. Brooks tries to run away after taking a taser away from the officers.

Officer Devin Brosnan stands on Mr. Brook's shoulder after the shooting and allegedly kicks him while down. For two minutes, neither officer attempts to give Mr. Brooks medical aid.

Mr. Brooks died from excessive bleeding and internal organ damage during treatment at a local hospital.

He was 27 years old.

Unjustifiable Deadly Force

The officers maintain that Rayshard Brooks was using the taser on them while running away. In Texas, assault against a police officer is a serious charge. However, there needs to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the assault took place.

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 Posted on July 07, 2020 in Uncategorized

Texas bars may be closed again due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, but that didn't stop some Texans from making the mistake of getting behind the wheel while intoxicated over the July 4 holiday. In Harris County alone, 29 drivers were arrested over the holiday weekend and charged with DWI-essentially double the number of DWI arrests in the county compared to last year.

July 4 DWI-By the Numbers

Across the nation, the Fourth of July is statistically the most dangerous time of year for drunk driving accidents and fatalities-so much so that the entire month of July sees more drunk driving fatalities than any other month of the year. Let's look at a few specifics:

• Over the July 4^th weekend of 2018, 193 people died in traffic accidents, with more than 40 percent of those fatalities attributable to alcohol.
• Between 2010-2017, the Fourth of July holiday saw a total of 1192 DWI-related deaths, for an average of 42.5 DUI fatalities per day.

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 Posted on June 06, 2020 in Uncategorized

The state utilities police officers that they proffer as expert witness, when in fact they are just police officers with police training. That training does not in and of itself make them expert witnesses. The manner in which they testify in court and the verbiage they are trained to use makes them sound like they have more expertise than they actually have. Board certified DWI lawyers know how to easily challenge and defeat these state "expert witnesses". Use of legitimate expert witnesses can also be helpful to the defense in certain Texas driving while intoxicated trials. In fact, there are some circumstances where the right expert witness could be the difference between an acquittal and a conviction.

The use of these experts should not be taken lightly. In many cases, calling these witnesses can be costly. What's more, not all expert witnesses will be useful in every DWI trial. To determine if expert testimony is right for your defense, speak with a Houston Board Certified DWI defense attorney right away. Below, we discuss three of the most common types of expert witnesses used during DWI trials.

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 Posted on June 06, 2020 in Uncategorized

Arrests for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) have certainly decreased since Texans began staying home to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, but not as much as you might expect.

In Houston's Harris County alone, there was a 45% drop in DWI cases through April, compared to the same period last year, and a 44% drop in cases just from March. Fort Bend, Montgomery, and Galveston counties also all reported significant decreases in DWI cases. But during a time when everyone is supposed to stay home, with bars and restaurants only recently reopening, and doing so at 25% capacity, it's surprising to see that so many Texas are still driving after drinking.

Liquor stores have been considered essential businesses throughout the shutdown and restaurants have been allowed to sell alcohol to-go, both of which have allowed people access to alcohol. But with fewer places open and thus fewer places for drinkers to go, many expected the number of DUI and DWI arrests to drop even more.

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 Posted on June 06, 2020 in Uncategorized

Dallas residents were shocked in early May when police officer Senior Corporal Sean Paul Mock was arrested and booked into Dallas County jail on one count of driving while intoxicated. The kicker? He was on the job when he got caught.

Mock, aged 34, was taken into custody at about 2:15 a.m. while he was on duty and sitting in a parked squad car. He posted a $500 bond and was released. Officials have not released any additional information related to his arrest. He has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

In Texas, someone can be found guilty of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) if they are found operating a motor vehicle in a public place with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of.08. Also, any individual who is found to not have full control of their mental or physical faculties due to the consumption of drugs or alcohol can be considered intoxicated, regardless of their BAC. It is not clear what Mock's BAC was at the time of his arrest.

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