Recent Blog Posts
Financial Cost Comes with DWI Conviction
This is the second in a two-part series about the ways that a driving while intoxicated conviction can harm you beyond legal penalties, such as prison time. The last post focused on how a DWI on your criminal record can affect your ability to obtain or retain employment. There are other ways that a DWI conviction can take money out of your wallet, both directly and indirectly.
Auto Insurance
It should come as no surprise that your auto insurance expenses will increase after a DWI conviction. Drivers with a DWI conviction can have difficulty finding:
- A reputable insurer who will cover them;
- The same level of coverage as before their conviction; and
How a DWI Can Hurt Your Job Prospects
The consequences of a driving while intoxicated conviction can extend beyond the punishments that a court issues you. Prison time, fines and restricted driving privileges can be the immediate outcomes of a conviction. However, people with DWI offenses on their criminal records can face societal limitations on their basic living needs, such as obtaining employment and credit. This is the first in a two-part series on the extended consequences of a DWI conviction. This first part focuses on how a DWI conviction can hurt your ability to obtain or keep a job.
Retaining Employment
Your first employment concern if you are convicted on a DWI charge is whether you can keep your job. Texas is an at-will employment state, meaning that many employers do not need a reason to terminate an employee. For employees protected by contracts, there may be language in the contract that allows an employee to be terminated if he or she is convicted of certain crimes. If your conviction results in significant prison time, you are highly unlikely to keep your job. If you avoid prison time, there are several factors that may determine whether your employer retains you, including:
Texas Woman Falsely Accuses Officer of Sexual Assault During DWI Arrest
Police officers have a responsibility to behave professionally and respect the rights of a person they suspect of committing a crime, such as driving while intoxicated. Police misconduct during an arrest can force prosecutors to dismiss criminal charges or a court to find in favor of the defendant. Dashboard and body cameras are meant to keep police officers accountable by recording visual and audio evidence of what happened during the arrest. However, those investigating alleged police misconduct can also use video evidence to disprove a false claim. For instance, video footage seems to debunk a Texas woman’s allegation that a police officer sexually assaulted her during her DWI arrest.
Allegations
A police officer stopped a 37-year-old Texas woman in May for a traffic violation, which led to her arrest on suspicion of DWI. The woman’s family reportedly contacted a civil rights attorney because the woman claimed that the arresting officer sexually assaulted her and threatened violence. The accusations included that:
Medical Condition Can Affect DWI Breath Test Results
A 64-year-old woman in Canada was recently arrested for refusing to submit to a breath test after a police officer stopped her for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Police suspended the woman’s driver’s license for 90 days and impounded her vehicle. However, the woman claims that she did not refuse the test but was unable to complete it due to a chronic lung disease. The woman has a condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which restricts her breathing ability. When the woman could not sustain her breath long enough to give a sample, the officer assumed that she was purposefully not complying. Drivers suspected of DWI should inform officers of health conditions that may affect the outcome of a sobriety test.
Breath Test Accuracy
Older Drivers More Susceptible to Effects of Alcohol
Senior citizens are generally at greater risk of traffic accidents and violations than an average adult driver. Their driving skills can diminish with age because their physical reactions are slower and their vision and hearing are weaker. Seniors who choose to drink and drive will also see an increased danger of being stopped by police and arrested for driving while intoxicated. Though it is a difficult adjustment, seniors must understand that alcohol will have a more pronounced effect on their driving skills than when they were younger.
Processing Alcohol
Social drinkers often anticipate their level of driving impairment by the number and types of alcoholic drinks they consume. They learn what their own limits are, though it is not an exact science. However, senior citizens should not expect the drinking habits they formed at a younger age to affect their driving skills in the same way:
Police Targeting Drunk Drivers Near Bars Does Not Equal Entrapment
Police officers know the times when and places where people are most likely to commit a driving while intoxicated offense. Thus, police cars are often parked near bars and entertainment venues late at night, looking for drivers who show signs of impairment. This may seem unfair if you are one of the unfortunate people pulled over. Some defendants wonder whether this form of targeting qualifies as entrapment. However, it is rare to be able to prove that a police officer is guilty of entrapment in a DWI case. Claiming that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to pull you over is a more successful defensive strategy.
Entrapment
The legal definition of entrapment is when a police officer induces a defendant to commit a criminal offense which the defendant would not have otherwise committed. An officer watching for drunk drivers near a place where people have been drinking does not qualify as entrapment because the officer is not inducing the driver to:
Field Sobriety Test Not Enough to Prove Intoxication
Field sobriety tests are one of the initial tools police officers will use to determine whether someone is driving while intoxicated. Officers administering the tests are looking for signs of delayed reactions, poor coordination and an inability to follow directions, which may show that the driver is impaired. Officers and prosecutors have come to assume that certain standard tests are reliable in predicting intoxication. However, the tests do not definitively prove intoxication. Defendants can contest their DWI charges if the evidence relies too much on the field sobriety test results.
Test Origins
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted the standard field sobriety tests based on a California study conducted during the late 1970s. Police officers were asked to judge whether subjects were intoxicated by using various field sobriety tests. Researchers identified three tests as having the highest accuracy rates:
Texas Man Claims DWI Laws Discriminate Against Alcoholics
A Texas man recently garnered attention when he contested his driving while intoxicated conviction by arguing that a Texas DWI law is unconstitutional. Specifically, he claimed that the 0.08 blood alcohol concentration limit discriminates against alcoholics. Neither the trial court nor the appellate court found the argument convincing, upholding the man’s conviction. There are reasons to question whether the BAC limit is an accurate measure of a driver's impairment. However, the defendant’s argument had little chance of succeeding because he was asking for special treatment, not equality.
Case Details
The defendant was facing his fourth DWI conviction when he attempted to quash the charges by challenging the constitutionality of Texas’ DWI law. A first or second DWI conviction is a misdemeanor unless there are aggravating factors. A third DWI conviction is a third-degree felony, which may result in:
Golf Carts Fall Under DWI Law
Occasionally, you may read a story about someone who was charged with driving while intoxicated after a crash involving a golf cart. Because the vehicle is normally used for recreational purposes, it is common for people driving golf carts to also enjoy a few drinks. Driving a golf cart while intoxicated does not seem the same as driving a car because of the smaller size and power of the vehicle. However, Texas law treats it as a crime if you are caught.
Using Golf Carts
DWI laws apply to golf carts because Texas law classifies them as motor vehicles. Their use is regulated in different ways than a normal motor vehicle:
- Golf carts do not need a license plate or proof of insurance;
- A golf cart driver needs a driver’s license only when driving it on a public street;
- Golf carts may be driven on public streets only within a gated community or on roads near a golf course; and
Lowering BAC Limit Would Increase Criminalization of Drivers
A recent report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that all states lower the blood alcohol concentration limit to 0.05 for charges of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol. The report states that:
- Deterioration in driving skills starts before people reach the 0.08 BAC limit; and
- Countries that use a 0.05 BAC limit have seen a decrease in vehicle accidents.
To be clear, there are no signs that Texas is considering lowering the legal limit. However, Utah became the first state to adopt a 0.05 BAC limit with a law it passed last year. The change is scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 30. Depending on the results, other states may pass similar laws. If the federal government supports the new BAC limit, it may offer incentives to states that comply. The goal of lowering the BAC limit is to increase driver safety. There are a couple of reasons why it may instead increase the criminalization of drivers:
