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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. E...

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. whil...

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...

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 ...

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 ...

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 bl...

An alleged drunk driver was involved in a major crash on May 24th 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...

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 dr...

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 polic...

Law enforcement regularly claims their motto is to “protect and serve.” This often means undertaking welfare checks on individuals that may be in distress. No matter the stated welfare intention of the officers, these welfare checks often result in the arrest of the person they are checking on. T...

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 ...

As the result of a hit-and-run accident in Houston on Sunday, May 3, police have arrested a local man on charges of driving while intoxicated and felony murder. According to prosecutors, they have gone so far as to request that the court deny bail entirely. According to the police report, 62-yea...

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 b...

After being arrest for DWI, many judges now require--and the law requires in certain situations--an ignition interlock device to be installed in any vehicle you drive as a condition of your bond while your case is pending.  In the event you are convicted of driving while intoxicated, you can expe...

Over the years, countless defendants in driving while intoxicated (DWI) cases have prevailed at trial thanks to inaccurate breath test results. Defense attorneys have had success showing a jury that failure by the police or a crime lab could have resulted in a false positive blood alcohol concent...

In a previous blog post, we discussed the potentially exculpatory evidence that might be contained in police body camera footage. However, this is not the only type of video evidence that could be useful in your driving while intoxicated (DWI) case. While many DWI stops take place on the side of...

When it comes to investigating a charge of driving while intoxicated (DWI), the power of the police is not unlimited. They cannot simply pull over a car on a hunch that the driver is intoxicated. That does not mean the police cannot take aggressive steps to pursue drivers they believe are intoxic...

As we have discussed previously, Texas is one of only a handful of states that does not legally permit the police to set up checkpoints to screen for drunken drivers. While most states allow the police to operate these checkpoints if they meet certain conditions, the practice is barred entirely i...

Thanks to the Constitution of the State of Texas, you are entitled to bail following an arrest under state law. Like with many rights, your ability to obtain release from jail after paying a bail amount has certain limitations. While rare and uncommon, it is possible for the courts to deny bail t...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the “stay at home” orders that have come with it are impacting nearly every aspect of our daily lives. One unexpected development brought on by coronavirus fears and quarantine is an increased rate of domestic violence allegations in Houston and across Texas. This "fear"...

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States, the Department of Justice promised to take aggressive steps against anyone attempting to fraudulently profit from the pandemic. In March of 2020, the Justice Department took its first action against a Texas-based website selling a fa...

Anyone who has faced prosecution for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Houston can tell you that the process is never easy. The stress of potential jail time and fines alone can weigh heavily on anyone. This process has only become more difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state of emerg...

Following suit with jails across the country, Harris County is taking steps to release a large number of non-violent offenders due to the risk COVID-19 spreading in the jail. Not all non-violent offenders will be released, including some individuals convicted of driving while intoxicated. On Mar...

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones is no stranger to fighting. Unfortunately, his next battle will be with the state of New Mexico following an arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. According to Albuquerque police, officers responded to a repo...

Law enforcement in Houston has made a strong effort to stem prostitution in recent years. In addition to more aggressive prosecution of prostitutes and Johns alike, the police have also stepped up their efforts to increase arrests so police departments can receive federal grant money.  One of the...