A driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrest can happen at any time – while driving home from dinner on Market Street or a night at a friend’s home. Even if you are not driving intoxicated, you can face charges if police believe your behaviors indicate you are. Unless you fight this type of charge aggressively and strategically, you could face lifelong repercussions.
Protect your future. There are strategies we can take to defend your case or reduce your charges. Our Jacinto City criminal defense lawyer from Blass Law can help.
Why Choose Blass Law to Represent You in Your Texas DWI Case?
At Blass Law, we understand that your reputation, career, education, and future are important to you – and it is worth it to aggressively protect them. We use our expertise in standardized field sobriety testing, local resources, and experience with DWI law to create the best possible strategy in your defense.
Here are some reasons why Blass Law could be the right choice for you:
Founder Jay Cohen Knows How Field Sobriety Tests Should Be Conducted
Our founding attorney, Jay Cohen, is certified as a practitioner and instructor of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests in Texas. This gives us key insight into the sobriety testing process – and whether your field sobriety tests were conducted properly.
Blass Law will scour the evidence in your case to determine if your tests were conducted properly. If they were not, we build a case to challenge the validity of the officer’s observations that lead to your charges.
Jay Cohen also has additional training as a drug recognition expert for driving under the influence of drugs and can use this experience to scrutinize your case’s evidence.
A History of Criminal Defense
Jay Cohen has always been a Houston criminal defense lawyer. Unlike many DWI lawyers, he has never been a prosecutor and fought against people like you.
At Blass Law, we have always been on your side. If you choose us to represent you during your Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing and every step of the way during your criminal case, we will fight for the justice you deserve in Jacinto City. We will ensure that you are supported throughout the process.
Our Results in Past DWI Cases
At Blass Law, our case results speak for themselves. We know what it takes to seek the best possible outcome for you.
Some of our past results for clients include:
- Second DWI misdemeanor: In one case, a client was pulled over for driving with one headlight and asked to undergo a field sobriety test. The client refused. After being charged with a misdemeanor, our team was able to help the client secure a judgment of not guilty.
- DWI misdemeanor: After being pulled over for speeding 15 mph over the limit for the area, our client failed all field sobriety tests and was noted for belligerence with officers. However, we were able to get his case dismissed during trial.
- DWI misdemeanor: Our client was driving while fatigued and registered a .242 breath test. He was found not guilty.
We Offer Confidential Consultations
We offer confidential consultations to those who have been charged with a DWI. During the consultation, we can listen to your side of the story and inform you on how we can help. By the end of the consultation, you will know your legal rights and how we can protect you from a criminal conviction.
A member of our team is available for a consultation. Contacting us soon after you have been charged with a DWI will give us an ample amount of time to develop a solid defense strategy. We want you to have the best chance at fighting your DWI charge.
Blass Law Can Help With Any Type of Jacinto City DWI Case
The strict Texas DWI laws allow the police to arrest you for DWI when:
- BAC testing shows you have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or above, or
- The police believe you have lost the normal use of your mental or physical faculties due to the introduction of alcohol or drugs into your body.
This means that even if you refuse BAC testing, you can still be arrested for DWI.
Another type of related charge is driving under the influence (DUI). To be charged with DUI, you must be under the legal drinking age in Texas at the time of the stop. The state has a zero-tolerance policy for those under 21 who are driving under the influence. Any detectable level of alcohol in your blood may cause you to face a DUI charge.
Other related enhanced charges you could face include:
- Open container in a vehicle: This comes with a minimum jail time of six days.
- DWI with a passenger under the age of 15: This can result in being sentenced to six months to twenty four months in state jail, fines, and a license suspension.
- Intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter: Intoxication assault refers to a DWI accident that results in injury. Intoxication manslaughter refers to a fatal DWI crash. Both are considered felonies and, if convicted, may come with longer jail sentences and fines.
We handle all these types of DWI and DWI-related cases. Reach out to us as soon as possible after your arrest so our DWI lawyer in Jacinto City, TX can go to work for you.
Contact Us Promptly for Help with Administrative License Revocation (ALR)
In addition to penalties you may face if convicted, everyone arrested for a DWI or other related charges faces an automatic suspension of their driving privileges known as an Administrative License Revocation (ALR).
You could face this revocation even if our DWI lawyer eventually gets your charges dropped or win your case.
The only way you can stop this administrative penalty is to challenge it through an ALR hearing. After getting arrested and receiving your notice of suspension, you have 15 days to request a hearing through the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). If you contact our attorney in time, we can help you with the process.
Potential Strategies for a DWI Defense in Harris County, TX
Our goal is to seek the most favorable outcome possible in a DWI arrest and criminal case. We will review your charges and put together a defense strategy based on the facts of your case and the circumstances of your arrest.
We may do so by:
- Getting the charges against you dismissed
- Going to trial and winning your case
- Working to prevent the prosecutors from moving forward with increased charges
- Getting the charges against you reduced
- Working out a plea deal to reduce the penalties
- Working out a deal for community supervision (probation) instead of jail time or other penalties
Call us as early as possible so we have time to request an ALR hearing and represent you during this process. Contacting us early also means that we can help protect your rights throughout the process of your case.
The Consequences of a Jacinto City DWI Are Serious
For both first and second offenses, most DWI charges are misdemeanors.
What Are the Consequences of a First DWI?
Penalties for a first offense include:
- Up to $2,000 in fines
- Up to six months in jail
- Loss of your license for up to one year
- Additional fines up to $4,500
What Are the Consequences of a Second DWI?
- Up to a year in jail
- Up to $4,000 in fines
- Loss of your license for up to two years
- Additional fines up to $6,000
Having an open container in the vehicle or a high blood alcohol concentration level (0.15 or greater) can enhance your penalties as well.
In some cases, prosecutors charge a DWI as a felony offense. The consequences of a felony conviction under TX § 12.01 are even more significant.
A third DWI conviction may result in:
- Up to $10,000 in fines
- Two to 10 years in prison
If you face charges of drunk driving or a related offense in Jacinto City, Texas or elsewhere in Harris County, Blass Law is here to help.
Future Consequences of a DWI Conviction
If you are convicted of a DWI, you could be facing serious consequences far into the future. Some of these consequences could include:
- You could be fired from your current job. In some cases, if employers find out about a criminal conviction, they could fire you from your current position. Serving jail time could cause you to be out of work for a long enough time to where your job will need to replace you. If you are unable to drive because of your conviction, your ability to get to work reliably could impact your employment status.
- You might have trouble finding future employment: During the hiring process, many employers check to see if applicants have a criminal record. A DWI conviction could stay on your record forever. This can negatively impact future job searches because employers might choose candidates with a clean record over someone with a criminal conviction.
- Professional licenses could be suspended or revoked. Some professional licenses are subject to being removed or revoked if there is a criminal conviction on your record. This could result in the loss of your current job or difficulty finding future jobs.
- Your insurance rates could be increased. Both your automobile and life insurance premiums could rise. After getting convicted of a DWI, you could be seen as more high-risk to your insurance company and will have to pay more for your insurance. The company you get life insurance through could cancel your policy completely if your contract permits.
- Your eligibility to get into college or receive a scholarship could be affected.
- If you are a member of the military, your military status could be affected. You could potentially be discharged from the military if you are convicted of a DWI. Other consequences could include getting denied for future promotions or security clearance.
After being convicted of a DWI, you could be facing the consequences for the rest of your life. Our team can do what it takes to help you avoid a DWI conviction. We can work tirelessly to get your charges reduced or dismissed so you don’t have to suffer the consequences of a criminal conviction.
Our Jacinto City DWI Lawyer Can Get to Work Protecting Your Rights Today
You do not have to try to navigate this process on your own or accept a conviction when the state files charges against you. A DWI lawyer from Blass Law will protect your rights and fight to minimize the impact your arrest has on your future. You are considered innocent until proven guilty, and we can work hard to maintain your innocence.
Contact our firm today for your confidential case evaluation with a member of our team. We can go to work on your case right away. The sooner you contact us after a DWI charge, the more time we have to build a solid defense so you can avoid a criminal conviction.