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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 Posted on June 06, 2020 in Uncategorized

Thousands of people converged upon Galveston's beaches in mid-May, throwing caution and COVID precautions to the wind as they celebrated Go Topless Jeep Weekend on the Bolivar Peninsula's Crystal Beach.

And, though critics at first focused on the danger apparent in having so many people obeying so few pandemic safety precautions, by the end of the weekend the lack of social distancing was possibly the least serious outcome. That one weekend alone yielded at least 200 arrests and two gunshot victims.

The shootings occurred, according to police, after a fight broke out between a group of men with a group of women joining the melee before long. One man fired into the crowd, injuring two other men, who were airlifted to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for treatment.

The arrests were mostly alcohol and traffic-related. Nearly 200 people over the course of the weekend were arrested or assault, driving without wearing a seat belt, DWI, and public intoxication.

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 Posted on June 06, 2020 in Uncategorized

Recently, a driver in Houston was arrested for DWI after crashing a vehicle into someone's home, damaging the house and leading to the arrest of the driver. Driving a vehicle into a house, building, sign, another vehicle, or other property is actually much more common than many people realize.

Every year, all around the United States, impaired motorists cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $51 billion in drunk driving property damage. For this reason, numerous laws protect the rights of property owners and allow for people to recoup the damages incurred by another person's bad decisions.

If you are involved in an alcohol-related auto accident, you will be responsible for any property damage that was caused by the crash. This means you may face both criminal and civil charges for drunk driving. Not only could you go to jail and be hit with fines, but you will also very likely have to pay for any damages that were caused by your impairment. The good news is that your automobile insurance should cover the property damage (civil charges).

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 Posted on May 05, 2020 in Uncategorized

An alleged drunk driver was involved in a major crash on May 24^th in Houston before fleeing the scene. After returning to the scene of the crash, the driver was arrested on felony counts of intoxication assault and failure to render aid.

The accident occurred at approximately 9:20 p.m. on Sunday, May 24^th in Southwest Harris County. According to police, 18-year-old Kevin Lozano was traveling southbound on Highway 6 near Pavilion Point. Lozano allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way, turning left across oncoming traffic. Lozano's Nissan Maxima was struck in the passenger side by another vehicle traveling the opposite direction.

Lozano then allegedly fled the scene of the accident before eventually returning. According to the police report, Lozano admitted returning to the accident scene after feeling guilty. Although the occupants of the other vehicle had minor injuries, both of Lozano's passengers required emergency aid.

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 Posted on May 05, 2020 in Uncategorized

One of the unexpected side effects of the COVID-19 lockdown in Houston was a sudden, steep drop in the number of arrests for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Harris County. Now that sectors of the economy are re-opening, the rate of DWI arrests in Houston appears to be playing catch up.

The drop in DWI arrests during the COVID-19 lockdown was stark compared to 2019 figures. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the number of arrests for DWI in Houston was slightly higher than the year before. This was true up until the week of March 6, 2020. Although bars and restaurants did not close for another two weeks, it appears social distancing measures may have led to a slight decrease in the number of arrests. The arrest rate fell dramatically in the week of March 17, 2020. The weeks following the closure of bars and restaurants throughout the city saw a steady drop that eventually resulted in approximately 50 percent fewer DWI arrests from one week to another. This remained the case for several weeks until the figures began creeping up again.

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 Posted on May 05, 2020 in Uncategorized

On May 22, 2020, a 17-year-old was arrested in College Station under suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Despite being a minor, he was charged as an adult with DWI and other charges. Two other people were also arrested after the 17-year-old allegedly crashed his truck following a police chase.

The arrest occurred after a police chase culminated in an accident near Southwest Parkway East. The chase occurred at approximately 9 p.m. in the evening. It began after the pickup truck operated by Compton nearly struck a police car stopped at an intersection.

According to the police report, the officer followed the 17-year-old and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The 17-year-old fled and at some point allegedly reached 90 miles per hour while speeding through residential areas. Fearing a crash, the officer slowed down and called for additional units to search for the driver. In the meantime, the young man lost control of his vehicle and crashed.

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 Posted on May 05, 2020 in Uncategorized

You can be an actor (e.g., Tim Williams) or an NBA star (e.g., Steve Francis) or just about any well-known person, and it won't matter to the police in Houston when they arrest you for a DWI. Some might say that's a compliment – but it's not. Far from it. It's not a result of upholding fairness but a testament to their ruthlessness. If you are someone with financial means, though, you're more likely to fight the charges because you can easily afford an attorney. Others may question the value of it because (1) they think they'll be convicted anyways, so (2) why expend the money when the outcome won't help them. You could be a real estate agent, a teacher, a pharmacist, nurse, pilot, accountant, doctor, licensed money manager, or a construction worker, and you may choose to plead guilty or accept a plea deal because you feel morally guilty, don't know your options and just want to put this embarrassing event behind you.

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 Posted on May 05, 2020 in Uncategorized

For many people, boating and alcohol go hand in hand. While arrests for boating while intoxicated (BWI) are relatively uncommon, it is worth remembering that a conviction could have significant consequences. Like with a drunken driving charge, it is possible to defeat a BWI case at trial.

There are some important differences between these cases and standard DWI arrests since this offense occurs on the water. This is due in part to the challenges law enforcement face when attempting to competently investigate BWI cases. These challenges are highlighted by the limited use of field sobriety tests in these cases.

Law enforcement has access to a series of seated field sobriety tests that allegedly work floating on a lake. That said, these tests face the same reliability issues that standard field sobriety tests have.

Seated Field Sobriety Tests on Water

A limited number of studies have reviewed sobriety exercises that are used by law enforcement while floating. The accuracy of these seated float sobriety tests is questionable at best. These tests include the "palm pat" exercise and fists on the chest exercise that is downright silly.

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 Posted on May 05, 2020 in Uncategorized

In Texas, law enforcement aggressively pursues charges of driving under the influence of marijuana. Despite this aggressive approach, there are major problems with establishing intoxication in a marijuana DWI case. There are substantial problems with obtaining an accurate reading of a driver's blood alcohol concentration, but those issues pale in comparison to the difficulty of testing a driver for marijuana intoxication. A saliva-testing system under development in a Texas lab the state hopes will be a viable form of testing for marijuana DWI cases.

The problem with the current system involves the length of time marijuana can remain in a person's system. Many tests can identify remnants of marijuana in your system, but these tests cannot identify if you are under the influence of the drug. In fact, some tests cannot determine if you have imbibed marijuana recently.

THC Levels and Intoxication

Another problem with investigating a marijuana DWI case is that the science is not clear on what level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) constitutes impairment. Scientists disagree, with some suggesting as low as 1 nanogram of THC per millimeter of blood could lead to intoxication. Other researchers have found that 15 nanograms of THC should be the standard. The leading researchers indicate that no per se drug level can be set based upon scientific research and that any per se level set is purely political, not scientific.

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