If you are convicted of a DWI in Bellaire, TX, you could face serious, lifelong repercussions. If the police believe you were drinking and driving, you could go to jail, lose your license, and face fines. In addition to the criminal penalties, your career, reputation, and family could also experience consequences. Do not waste time. As soon as possible after your arrest, call Blass Law for a confidential case evaluation. A Bellaire DWI lawyer can help you fight the charges you face.
How an Attorney at Blass Law Can Help you Fight Bellaire DWI Accusations
We can protect your rights while we build a strong case and defend you against the allegations made by the state. You can count on career criminal defense lawyer Jay Cohen to represent you in your Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing, and all necessary criminal court appearances.
We may be able to get the charges dropped, work out a plea deal, fight the charges in court, or negotiate a probated sentence and community supervision on your behalf. Let us go to work on your case today.
Our Approaches to Defending Your DWI Case
We can approach your DWI defense in several ways. Here are some of the tactics that our DWI lawyers in Bellaire, TX could use to build your case:
- Questioning the reasons for the arrest. To begin with, an officer must have probable cause for pulling you over or making contact. Next, there must be specific articulable facts for the officer to proceed to conducting a field sobriety test. If an officer did not have a valid reason or probable cause, we may be able to challenge your DWI charge.
- Breathalyzer issues. There are a variety of reasons why a breathalyzer test might give an inaccurate reading. The most obvious is the breathalyzer is junk. Some people have physiological or health issues that may cause an inaccurate reading. The officer may have been working with defective equipment, or the test may have been subject to some other malfunction.
- The test may have also been collected inappropriately. The Texas Breath Alcohol Testing Program Operator’s Manual gives specific directions for how these tests are to be conducted, and if someone failed to follow those instructions, your breathalyzer results could be inaccurate. We can investigate how your test was conducted and challenge your DWI on the grounds of inappropriate testing.
For a free legal consultation with a dwi lawyer serving Bellaire, call 713-225-1900
Get Started with a Bellaire DWI Lawyer on Your Case as Soon as Possible
There is no time to waste. There are many reasons why we need to get to work quickly on your DWI case.
For instance, to contest your license suspension, we need to do so within a strict time frame. We will need to make a request for an ALR hearing within 15 days after your arrest or 20 days for those facing disqualification of a commercial driver’s license (CDL). If you do not contact our team in time, we may no longer have this option on the table.
Bellaire DWI Attorney 713-225-1900
You Do Not Have to Fail a Breath Test to Get a DWI in Texas
At Blass Law, we can help you fight Bellaire DWI charges, no matter the circumstances that led to your arrest. In general, you may face an arrest and DWI charges if a law enforcement officer pulled you over and found:
- Your breath or blood tested at .08% or above the legal limit.
- The police believed you lost the normal use of your mental or physical faculties.
There are also several related crimes they could charge you with in relation to a drunk driving stop. If you are under the legal drinking age and have detectable alcohol in your system, you could face a driving under the influence (DUI) charge.
Open container charges are also common. If you refused to submit to a breathalyzer test, you can face additional penalties.
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A Texas DWI Conviction Comes with Serious Consequences
Before you go to court for a Texas DWI, you will face the administrative license revocation process, where DPS attempts to strip you of your driving privileges. The police officer who arrests you will take your license and issue you a temporary permit. The ALR is automatic and separate from your criminal case.
The only way to avoid the suspension is to challenge it in an administrative hearing. A Bellaire DWI lawyer can help you request this hearing from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and represent you.
What Are the First-Time Penalties When a Person Gets Their First DWI?
If you get convicted of a DWI, the loss of your license because of the ALR will likely take a backseat to other, more serious consequences. As a first-time offender, penalties may include:
- A $2,000 maximum fine
- Three days to six months in jail
- An additional license suspension, up to one year
In some cases, you may be able to get probation—called community supervision—instead of some or all of these penalties. This could require you to commit to a certain number of hours of community service, attend alcohol education classes, report regularly to a probation officer, and more. It could keep you out of jail and allow you to continue working or going to school.
Additional Charges May Call for Extra Penalties
You may be facing additional charges, depending on the circumstances surrounding your DWI. These may include the following:
- If you have a previous DWI conviction, you could face more serious consequences. This could include 30 days to one year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines for a second offense. A third offense is a felony charge, punishable by two to 10 years in prison and fines up to $10,000.
- Getting a DWI with a child in the car is also a felony offense. Your sentence, if convicted, could include six months to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
- You will likely also face additional penalties when sentenced if you had an open container in your vehicle or if you tested at .15 percent BAC or higher.
- If you caused an accident that resulted in injury or death, you can face intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter charges. Intoxication assault penalties are two to 10 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines, and a potential two-year license suspension. Penalties for intoxication manslaughter are between two and 20 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines, and a potential two-year license suspension.
Non-financial Consequences of a DWI
Jay Cohen and his team at Blass Law provide every client with strategic, aggressive representation. We understand that your livelihood, reputation, relationship with your family, and future opportunities are on the line, and we believe they are worth defending.
We will get to work to defend you in the face of these consequences following a DWI charge. We can answer any questions you have and help you understand the defenses that may be available to you. Then, your Bellaire DWI attorney can build a strategy that gives you the best possible chance to clear your name.
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Why Work with a Blass Law Bellaire DWI Lawyer?
Criminal defense attorney Jay Cohen has never worked for the prosecutor’s office and never fought against those who face DWIs and related charges. He has always been on the side of people just like you. He and his team can go to work today to protect your rights and build a strong defense on your behalf.
Other reasons to consider our team include:
- Jay Cohen is a Certified Practitioner and Instructor in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing. We have the background necessary to investigate your field sobriety results.
- Our past results for clients speak for themselves. We have gotten DWI charges dismissed for many past clients, even for those with multiple previous offenses and felony charges.
Our initial case evaluations are always confidential.
Reach Out to Our Attorneys About Your Bellaire DWI Today
Blass Law is here to help if law enforcement officers in Bellaire, TX arrested you on accusations of drunk driving or a related charge.
Call us 713-225-1900 for a confidential case review with a member of our team.
Call or text 713-225-1900 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
