Houston DWI/DUI Lawyer

The State of Texas treats driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) cases seriously. This includes Houston, Texas, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Some commonly refer to DWI as "drunk driving." A first-time DWI is a Class B misdemeanor with 72 hours to 180 days in jail, a fine up to $2,000, the loss of driving privileges for up to a year, and a surcharge of $1,000 to $2,000 each year for three years to retain your driver's license. Collateral damage of a DWI conviction includes increased insurance rates and negative effects on your reputation, job, your relationships. Subsequent drunk driving offenses have even greater penalties. For example, a felony driving while intoxicated charge.

Note: If you have been charged with DWI, you only have 15 days after notification of a driver's license suspension to challenge the suspension.

If drunk driving resulted in a fatal accident, you could be charged with the second-degree felony of intoxication manslaughter. If your DWI resulted in injury, you could be charged with the third-degree felony of intoxication assault.

Hiring a good DWI lawyer or DWI law firm is the first step in maximizing your chances of a favorable outcome in a DWI case. Unfortunately, too many defendants charged with DWI end up pleading guilty for the wrong reasons. For example, they hire a "meet 'em and plead 'em" criminal attorney or criminal defense firm who convinces them to plead even though no adequate DWI case evaluation has been conducted. Or these defendants do not take the charges seriously and think a DWI conviction is no big deal. Or they mistakenly believe they have no defense to the DWI charges.

Many, including some lawyers who are not DWI defense attorneys, confuse a DWI with Driving under the Influence (DUI). A DWI is a more serious offense than a DUI. To obtain a DWI conviction, the prosecution must prove that the driver of a motor vehicle either had above a .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC), or lost the normal use of their mental or physical faculties due to the introduction of alcohol, a drug, or a combination of the two. A person can be charged with a DWI at any age, even if they are under 21 years old. A DUI can only be committed by a person under 21 years old. To prove driving under the influence, the State must prove the accused was operating a motor vehicle in a public place while having any detectable amount of alcohol in their system. This is a Class C misdemeanor, meaning a fine-only offense. Note that if police believe the accused is above a .08, then the accused can be charged with the more serious offense of DWI, even if they are under 21 years old. A DWI attorney is a DUI lawyer just as well and can handle driving under the influence cases.

Criminal defense strategies may exist in your drunk driving case, from challenging the lawfulness of the stop of your vehicle to the validity of any field or breath/blood/urine testing. It is crucial that you hire a drunk driving lawyer, meaning an attorney qualified to handle DWI cases. A lawyer who is not a DWI attorney, or who does not work at a DWI law firm, may well not understand all the strategies involved in DWI defense.

Neal's Houston DWI law firm / DUI law office has experience and expertise in intoxication offenses. Before deciding to open his own Houston criminal law office, Neal was a lawyer for over ten years with legendary Texas criminal defense attorney Dick DeGuerin, where Neal established an outstanding reputation in his own right. At the Houston law office of Dick DeGuerin, Neal defended DWI, DUI, and other intoxication offenses around the State of Texas. After completing 24 hours of training, Neal became certified as an expert in the administration and evaluation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, which are the roadside sobriety exercises that officers perform on those suspected of drunk driving. Neal is among an elite group of Texas lawyers who are both Board Certified, Criminal Law--Texas Board of Legal Specialization and in the College of the State Bar of Texas. An authority no less than the State Bar of Texas explains why you should choose a Board Certified lawyer.

Neal is a Houston DWI lawyer and DUI attorney. As a Houston DWI attorney, Neal has many times gotten DWI's dismissed or reduced around the State. Several times, he has convinced grand juries not to file charges for felony intoxication offenses. Of course, every case is different and individual results may vary depending on the facts of a case. Rest assured, your case is as important to Neal's DWI law firm as it is to you, as shown in testimonials about him.

For further information, read Neal's blog on DWI. Here is a popular post:

Top ten mistakes to avoid in a driving while intoxicated case

1. Not taking the matter seriously. A DWI conviction will follow you for the rest of your life. The additional insurance charges alone could cost you thousands of dollars. You need a DWI lawyer that regularly handles DWI's.

2. Not hiring a qualified attorney. DWI law is complex and you need a good DWI defense attorney who has experience and expertise in handling DWI cases. Contrary to what some believe, a DWI is hardly a "simple case that any lawyer could handle." Instead, a DWI typically requires that a diligent defense attorney spend many hours conducting a legal and factual investigation as well as preparing for trial. Hire the best DWI lawyer or top DWI law firm that you can afford.

3. Hiring an attorney based on the amount of the fee alone. The State of Texas has almost unlimited resources when it comes to DWI charges. Prosecutors, particularly in Houston and Harris County, take aggressive stances in DWI cases. You need to hire a DWI defense lawyer and pay a fee that allows the DWI attorney to put time and effort into your case to counter the prosecution. Attorneys must earn enough in the time they spend on your case to keep their doors open and make a living wage. If you do not spend enough, DWI attorneys will not be able to put in the time necessary to protect you. This is just simple economics. Like in many other situations, "you get what you pay for" applies to hiring a criminal defense lawyer. Don't learn this the hard way. After all, if you had heart problems, would you hire the cheapest cardiologist around?

4. Not requesting an administrative license revocation (ALR) hearing. Timely requesting an ALR hearing not only helps in trying to avoid a driver's license suspension but also gives your DWI defense attorney a chance to preview what cops will say at trial. Don't forget that you have only 15 days from the date of your DWI arrest to try and save your license.

5. Pleading guilty before an adequate legal or factual investigation: Many defendants just want to get their DWI case resolved. However, it is extremely important that the DWI defense lawyer diligently investigate the DWI case before even considering resolving it. Police errors, constitutional violations, or a poor investigation can lead to the dismissal of DWI charges. But if you quickly plead guilty, your DWI attorney will not be able to explore these possible avenues of relief.

6. Driving after your license has been taken away. This mistake is a no-brainer but bears repeating because it is routinely violated. Nothing complicates an existing case than a new criminal charge.

7. Not taking full advantage of your constitutional rights. You have a right to be free of any unlawful search or seizure. Police routinely violate these rights, which is how evidence is thrown out and cases dismissed. The best DWI lawyers look high and low for any violations of your rights.

8. Taking the prosecutor's first offer. The first offer is not a bargain; it's just to get rid of your DWI case with the least amount of work. Very few cases are dismissed or reduced to a non-alcohol charge at this stage. You do not give the judge an opportunity to rule on constitutional challenges. You give up your right to raise these issues and hold the prosecution to its burden of proof.

9. Assuming the breath machine is unbeatable. Like any machine, the police breath machine makes mistakes and is subject to being attacked. Just because you fail a breath test does not mean the prosecution automatically wins. The top DWI lawyers know how to attack this breath machine.

10. Waiting to hire a good DWI attorney. You only have 15 days to request an ALR hearing. If you have been arrested in Houston, Harris County, Texas, you will be in a criminal courtroom within 10 days of your arrest. Because of these quick timelines, you need to hire the best DWI law firm that you can afford.

Neal Davis discusses what you need to know about DWI cases