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Houston DWI Lawyer

Houston DWI Lawyer

A DWI arrest doesn’t make you a criminal. It makes you a person who needs a plan.

Right now you’re probably replaying the stop in your head — the lights, the questions, the tests, the cuffs. Take a breath. What happens next matters a lot more than what happened last night, and what happens next is our job, not yours.

I’m Jay Cohen. I founded Blass Law in 2009, and I’ve spent my whole career on one side of the courtroom — defending people. Never a prosecutor. Call (713) 664-4000 for a free, confidential consult. No BS, no judgment, just a straight answer about where your case stands.

Why People Facing a DWI Hire Jay Cohen

Most DWI lawyers cross-examine the State’s science from the outside. Jay learned the science itself:

  • ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist — a designation from the Chemistry & the Law Division of the American Chemical Society held by only a small group of attorneys nationwide
  • Certified practitioner and instructor in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) — Jay doesn’t just know the tests the officer gave you; he’s qualified to teach them
  • Certified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)
  • Trained in forensic chromatography — the actual lab method behind Texas blood-alcohol results
  • Founding member, DUI Defense Lawyers Association; member, National College for DUI Defense; appointed to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission by Gov. Abbott in 2024

Here’s why that matters: almost every Houston DWI case rests on three pillars — the stop, the field tests, and the chemical test. The State assumes you’ll take their numbers at face value. We don’t. We pull the maintenance records, the raw lab data, and the video, and we check their work. Often, it doesn’t hold up.

The Science Is Our Home Field

The breath machine

The Intoxilyzer doesn’t measure your blood alcohol — it estimates it, using assumptions about your body that may not be true for you. Radio interference, mouth alcohol, acid reflux, even a low-carb diet can push a reading up. See how we challenge DWI breath tests.

The blood draw

Texas labs analyze blood with headspace gas chromatography. Jay is trained in that exact discipline — so instead of accepting the lab’s one-page report, we read the underlying chromatograms and audit how your sample was drawn, stored, and run. Fermentation in the vial, expired tubes, and sloppy chain of custody are more common than the State would like you to know.

The roadside tests

The three standardized field sobriety tests are graded on strict NHTSA rules — and officers break those rules constantly. Jay is a certified SFST instructor. When the officer’s technique is wrong, the “clues” are worthless, and we show the jury exactly why. See how we challenge field sobriety tests.

First Things First: The 15-Day Clock on Your License

Your criminal case and your driver’s license are two separate fights. If you refused testing or blew over the limit, DPS moves to suspend your license automatically — and you have only 15 days from the date you receive your notice of suspension to request the hearing that stops it. Miss the deadline and the suspension just happens.

Requesting that hearing also gives us an early shot at cross-examining the arresting officer under oath, months before trial. Don’t sit on it. Here’s what happens at an ALR hearing.

What You’re Facing: Texas DWI Penalties

Straight talk — here’s the exposure under Texas Penal Code Chapter 49:

Beyond the courtroom: surcharges, insurance, background checks, professional licenses, immigration consequences. That’s exactly why the goal is to keep a conviction off your record in the first place — Keeping Innocent People Innocent® isn’t just the tagline, it’s the strategy.

How We Fight Houston DWI Cases

Every case is different, but the playbook starts the same way — we make the State prove every link in its chain:

  1. Was the stop legal? No reasonable suspicion, no case. Harris County officers make illegal stops more often than you’d think, and the video usually tells the truth.
  2. Was the arrest supported by probable cause? “Odor of alcohol and red eyes” is not intoxication.
  3. Do the field tests survive scrutiny? Instructor-level review of every clue the officer claims.
  4. Does the chemical test survive scrutiny? Machine records, lab audits, raw chromatography data.
  5. Should you take a plea at all? We’ll tell you honestly. If a deal is truly your best outcome, we’ll negotiate it hard — but we prepare every case like it’s going to trial, because that’s what gets the good offers.

Real Results for Our Clients

Not Guilty
DWI — Harris County Jury Trial
Client, who is a commercial driver, was involved in an accident. Client failed all of the field sobriety tests both at the scene and the station.
Not Guilty
DWI — Harris County Jury Trial
.242 breath test — Client was sleeping in a moving lane of traffic, failed all field sobriety tests.
Not Guilty
DWI 2nd — Fort Bend County Jury Trial
Client, a lawyer, was driving with one headlight, admitted to drinking, refused field sobriety tests.
Not Guilty
DWI — Harris County Jury Trial
Client was sleeping in his vehicle in the middle of the roadway, failed all field sobriety tests. Blood test showed carisoprodol, meprobamate, alprazolam, hydrocodone, norhydrocodone, and dihydrocodeine.
Case Dismissed
DWI 3rd (Felony) — Motion to Suppress Granted
.128 blood alcohol concentration and alprazolam — Client was a habitual offender, pulled over for failing to use a turn signal. Failed all field sobriety tests.
Dismissed
Felony DWI, 3rd Offense — Montgomery County
.471 blood alcohol concentration — Client was pulled over for failing to maintain a single lane of traffic, found to be intoxicated, failed all field sobriety tests.
Dismissed Mid-Trial
DWI — Montgomery County Jury Trial
Client pulled over for driving 60mph in a 45mph zone. Failed all field sobriety tests miserably, including high kicks during the one leg stand. Belligerent with the police officer.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See all case results →

Every Kind of DWI Case, Handled

DWI on marijuana or THC · DWI on prescription drugs · CDL drivers · 4th DWI · DWI probation issues · occupational licenses · professionals with licenses on the line · clearing an old DWI from your record

What to Do Right Now

  1. Write down everything you remember — the stop, what was said, the tests, timing.
  2. Calendar day 15. The ALR request deadline is unforgiving.
  3. Stop talking about the case. Not to friends, not on social media, and definitely not to investigators.
  4. Call us: (713) 664-4000. The earlier we’re in, the more evidence we can preserve — video gets overwritten, machines get “recalibrated,” memories get convenient.

Houston DWI FAQs

How much does a DWI lawyer cost in Houston?

Less than a conviction. Fees depend on whether your case is a first-offense misdemeanor or a felony headed to trial, and we’ll quote you a flat picture up front at the free consult — no surprises. When you weigh it against surcharges, insurance hikes, and a permanent record, fighting the case is usually the cheaper path.

Can I beat a DWI if I failed the breath or blood test?

Yes — people do it every week in Harris County. A number is only as good as the machine, the operator, and the lab that produced it. We’ve seen breath scores undermined by medical conditions and maintenance failures, and blood results undone by how the sample was stored and analyzed. That’s the whole point of the forensic approach.

Should I have refused the tests?

That decision’s already made, so don’t beat yourself up either way. A refusal gives the State less evidence but triggers a longer license suspension; a failed test gives us science to attack. Either way, there’s a defense path.

Will I lose my license?

Not automatically — but you must request an ALR hearing within 15 days of receiving your notice of suspension. Even if a suspension eventually lands, we can usually get you an occupational license so you can keep driving to work.

Is a first DWI worth fighting?

Almost always. A first conviction follows you for life in Texas — there’s no automatic expunction. Beat the case or resolve it the right way, and you may be able to clear or seal your record entirely.

Talk to a Houston DWI Lawyer Today

The State already has a lawyer working on your case. You should too. Call Blass Law at (713) 664-4000 for a free, confidential case review — the earlier we start, the more we can do.

Blass Law PLLC · 917 Franklin Street, #400, Houston, TX 77002. Proudly serving Houston and surrounding communities including Sugar Land, League City, Baytown, and Pearland.

The Texas statutes behind these charges

Everything the State has to prove against you is written down in Chapter 49 of the Texas Penal Code, and it is worth reading the actual language instead of somebody’s summary of it. The core offense is Section 49.04, driving while intoxicated. Having a child under fifteen in the car moves it to Section 49.045, DWI with a child passenger. Prior convictions are what turn a misdemeanor into a felony, and the rules for that live in Section 49.09, enhanced offenses and penalties. If somebody was hurt, the charge becomes intoxication assault under Section 49.07; if somebody died, it becomes intoxication manslaughter under Section 49.08. Texas also criminalizes operating things other than cars while intoxicated: a boat under Section 49.06, an aircraft under Section 49.05, and, yes, an amusement ride under Section 49.065.

Still figuring out what you are up against

Most people land here a few days after an arrest with no real idea what happens next. If that is you, start with what a DWI charge in Houston actually involves, then read what happens on a first DWI in Texas and how long probation runs on a first offense. And before you say another word to anyone, look at the five mistakes we see people make during a DWI arrest. Most of them happen in the first hour, and every one of them is avoidable.

Other Houston DWI situations we handle

A DWI charge does not carry the same weight for everyone. Often the real exposure has less to do with the arrest itself than with what you do for a living, what you own, or where you live. If you run your own company, the risk reaches your contracts, your commercial insurance, and your professional reputation as much as your license, which is what we cover for a Houston small business owner facing a DWI. Gun owners have a separate problem, because a pending charge and a final conviction affect your right to carry in different ways, and that is the subject of our page on DWI and your firearm rights. Students can lose financial aid and face campus discipline on top of the criminal case, which we address for a Houston college student arrested for DWI. If you were arrested here but licensed somewhere else, two states now have a say in your driving privileges, and our page on an out-of-state DWI arrest in Houston explains how that works. Pilots answer to federal reporting rules that run on their own clock, covered in flying while intoxicated. Riders should read our page on a Houston motorcycle DWI, because the stop, the balance-based field tests, and the injuries all play out differently on a bike. Two conditions turn up constantly in bond and probation orders and are worth understanding before you agree to them: the SCRAM alcohol monitoring bracelet and the Texas open container rule. And if what you want is simply a map of the months ahead, start with the Texas DWI process from arrest to resolution.

More DWI Defense Topics

Reviewed by Jay Blass Cohen, founder of Blass Law PLLC — ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, certified Drug Recognition Expert, and SFST instructor, serving Houston since 2009. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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