For many observers, the charge of driving while intoxicated involves operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. While that is often the case, state law also prohibits driving under the influence of any controlled substance. These offenses could involve a driver exclusively un...
A coordinated effort involving more than 300 state, local, and federal law enforcement officers resulted in a sweeping drug arrest in Castro County on March 5, 2020. In total, more than 33 individuals will now face federal charges related to drug trafficking, weapons violations, and other offense...
In 2019, flight attendant Andre Riley was fired by American Airlines after registering a .05 on a breathalyzer while on the clock. Riley does not dispute that his body registered an elevated score on the breath test. He does, however, claim the high level did not occur as a result of alcohol cons...
Most people understand that the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) while driving is .08 percent. Drivers with tests reflecting that level of alcohol in their system or higher could face arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Houston. Not all drivers can say with certainty w...
For many, having a few drinks is a common part of socializing. Whether you are out at the bar or over at a friend's to watch a game, knocking back a few beers come with the territory. While a designated driver is the best option, some motorists decide to sober up long enough to “be fine to drive....
In a conspiracy that spanned from the Houston area to rural Kentucky, a Texas-based doctor and his associates are facing charges of conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud charges related a series of kickbacks and false billing claims. All told, the scheme involved an alleged $470,000 in kickbacks r...
Former Dallas Cowboy and Oakland Raider running back Darren McFadden was sentenced to four days in jail on February 20, 2020, in a Collin County courtroom. A two-time runner up for the Heisman Trophy, McFadden was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and resisting arrest in McKinney, Texa...
Most discussions revolving around the penalties for a first-offense driving while intoxicated conviction center around the potential maximum penalty you might face. In reality, most sentences handed down by the court fall far short of the maximum allowable sentence. Judges are given leeway in the...
There is nothing new or novel about the crime of money laundering. For years, federal authorities have aggressively pursued attempts to conceal the illegal origin of money by those who obtain it. What is new, however, is the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to facilitate these illegal transac...
Prostitution arrests are fairly common in Houston. Be that as it may, there is no guarantee these arrests will result in a conviction. With the right defense, it could be possible to beat a prostitution charge. Developing a winning defense is possible, but it could be challenging without the gui...
The deferred action for childhood arrivals program, or DACA, provides legal status certain undocumented individuals that were brought to this country as children but have lived here most of their lives. While the future of the program is uncertain, court orders have held the system in stasis for ...
On February 5, 2020, 30-year-old Gregory Smith was arrested on three counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault by Harris County deputy constables. After his arrest, law enforcement announced he was out on bond for a previous DWI at the time of the crash. The char...
For years, advocates have pushed for mandatory breathalyzers for any motorist convicted of driving while intoxicated. These regulations are designed to prevent convicted drunken drivers from getting behind the wheel with any alcohol in their system. The premise is simple: a driver must blow into ...
Breathalyzers, a/k/a breath test machines, are known for inaccurate reporting. The equipment must be calibrated on a regular basis and the test must be administered appropriately but mistakes are often made. Even then, when no errors are present, the devices can still return a false positive. C...
A typical arrest for driving while intoxicated involves a law enforcement officer pulling a driver over and concluding the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That is not always the case, however. On the afternoon of January 21, 2020, a New York man was arrested and charged with D...
Most drivers are familiar with the standardized field sobriety tests. Individually, these tests include the walk-and-turn, the one-legged stand, and horizontal gaze nystagmus tests. These tests are problematic under the best circumstances even when just used to detect alcohol intoxication, but th...
Drivers accused of a DWI in Houston typically learn two important things during their initial consultation with a DWI defense attorney. The first is that a DWI charge carries steep maximum penalties. The second is that in many cases, it is possible to avoid serving anything close to the maximum p...
If you have been arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated in Houston, you probably have plenty of concerns running through your head. How will this affect your job? Is it possible to defeat a DWI charge? Are the penalties steeper in Harris County? One question that you might struggle...
The typical Houston DWI arrest follows a similar pattern. First, you are pulled over by the police while driving down a public roadway. This can be for any moving violation or suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Next, the police investigate you. If they decide you are under the influence of d...
It is no secret that the vast majority of arrests for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Houston occur during traffic stops. Typically, police officers will pull over a suspect for some sort of moving violation or infraction. This could include anything from speeding to driving with expired tags....
In the early morning hours of New Years' Day 2020, a Bryan, Texas woman was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. The arrest occurred after her vehicle was discovered to have crashed through the side of a house. When the police arrived on the scene, the woman was still behind the whe...
After more than five months of litigation, WWE Superstar Jimmy Uso (real name: Joshua Fatu) was acquitted of driving while intoxicated charges in Escambia County, Florida. The trial followed an arrest outside of Pensacola, Florida on July 25, 2019. Prior History This marks a string of close cal...
For years, law enforcement and anti-drunk driving advocacy groups have pushed state legislators across the country to increase the required use of ignition interlock devices (IID). These devices are designed to prevent drunk driving by requiring the operator to blow into it prior to starting a ve...
Most of the talk about the value of a DWI defense attorney revolves around how they can help an innocent person beat a charge. There is no question that the police mistakenly arrest innocent people for DWI constantly. Some of those arrests are due to the false positives on a breath test. Others o...
For as long as driving while intoxicated has been a crime in Texas, there have been myths and misconceptions about the offense. Misconceptions about the law and false tips to beat a breathalyzer have always spread like wildfire, particularly in the age of the internet. These myths can be problem...
If you are facing DWI or other criminal charges in Texas, contact our office today to discuss your case, so we can begin working on your defense. Please provide only your personal email and cell phone number so that we can immediately and confidentially communicate with you.
