When to Call a Houston Drunk Driving Lawyer

The state of Texas already has some of the tougher DWI laws, and many fear they are about to get even more severe. A man in Spring, Texas, bought a woman several drinks as they chatted in a bar. Later, the woman left, ending up driving the wrong way and killing two innocent victims. While this is certainly a tragedy, the man who bought the drinks may face criminal liability for his “role” in the accident. Dram shop liability laws as well as laws which hold hosts of a private party responsible for intoxicated guests who leave the party and cause an accident may have just gone one step further. It’s difficult to imagine that the age-old act of buying drinks for a person you meet in a bar could result in criminal charges. People who have been charged with DWI or have had criminal charges leveled against them for serving or buying drinks for another person could benefit from speaking with a Houston DWI attorney.

Long-Term Consequences of a DWI Conviction

There are so many extremely negative—and long-lasting—consequences of a DWI conviction that should you be accused of a DWI you must take these charges seriously and get the proper help early on in the process. A DWI conviction can cause you to lose your license for an extended period of time, be subjected to expensive fees and fines and have your auto insurance cancelled or at the least be forced to pay extremely high insurance premiums for years to come. You may be prohibited from owning a firearm, working with children, taking out a loan for college, running for public office, obtaining a professional license and you could even lose your job. With so much to lose, fighting DWI charges aggressively is imperative.

Helping You Avoid a DWI Conviction

An experienced Houston DWIlawyer has a variety of tactics which can be employed on your behalf once you have been charged with DWI. Even though the police and state prosecutor are held to higher standards of behavior, they don’t always follow those rules to the letter. In some cases police officers may pull you over without probable cause, or may search your vehicle without probable cause. A police officer may not stop you simply because he thinks you look suspicious; there must be clear reasonable suspicion which is more than the officer’s guess. Unless you are violating a specific traffic ordinance, an officer is not allowed to stop you. The police officer does not have the right to stop you simply to check your license and registration unless you have committed a clear traffic violation or there is articulable suspicion of a crime.

You could be detained longer than is reasonable for the police to investigate or a police officer may follow you into your residence with no invitation to do so. Further, as far as breath tests, blood tests and field sobriety tests, all rules of the Department of Public Safety must be followed to the letter and the Breathalyzer must be properly calibrated and properly used. Field sobriety tests are notorious for being unreliable due to the subjectivity of the test. Women wearing high heels can have serious difficulty walking on an uneven road shoulder even when totally sober. Those taking certain medications may be unable to balance well enough to pass the test and anyone who is extremely anxious and frightened following a DWI stop may be so nervous they are unable to pass the tests. As you can see, there are many ways a Houston drunk driving lawyer can help you, so don’t try to handle DWI charges on your own.