A DWI arrest sets two separate cases in motion at once. Most people don’t realize it until they’ve already missed a deadline. Knowing what’s ahead helps you make good decisions early, when you have the most options. A Houston DWI lawyer can walk you through every step of the Texas DWI process, from arrest to appeal.
Two cases, not one
- The criminal case: brought by the prosecutor, this is the DWI charge that can lead to jail, fines, and a permanent record.
- The civil license case (ALR): run by the Texas Department of Public Safety, this decides whether your driver’s license is suspended. You have just 15 days from the date you receive your notice of suspension to request an ALR hearing, or your license is automatically suspended. Fifteen days. It’s the most time-sensitive step in the entire process.
The stages of a Texas DWI case
- Arrest and booking, followed by bail or a personal bond. Bond conditions can include an ignition interlock, even before you’re convicted.
- The ALR clock starts: request the hearing within 15 days to protect your license.
- Arraignment and first setting, where the charge is formally presented. Your first court setting usually comes within a few weeks.
- Investigation and pretrial: your lawyer gathers the evidence (the stop, the breath or blood test, the reports) and files motions to suppress anything obtained illegally.
- Resolution: the case is dismissed, resolved by plea (which may include deferred adjudication for an eligible first offense), resolved through pretrial diversion, which ends in a dismissal and is open to many first-offense Harris County cases, or set for trial.
- Trial, when it’s the right move, where the State must prove intoxication beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Appeal, if you’re convicted at trial and legal errors affected the outcome, see appealing a DWI conviction.
Why early action changes everything
Move fast. The best outcomes come from getting involved early, hitting the 15-day ALR deadline, preserving dashcam and bodycam footage before it disappears, and finding the weaknesses in the State’s case from the start.
Magistration and bond: the first 48 hours
After booking, the jail has to bring you before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours after the arrest, in person or by video (Code Crim. Proc. art. 15.17). The magistrate tells you what you’re charged with and explains your rights, and bail is set. Most people call this the arraignment. It isn’t, and our arraignment hearing FAQ explains the difference.
The bond conditions matter more than people expect. On a repeat DWI, the magistrate is required to order an ignition interlock on your car unless the magistrate finds it wouldn’t be in the best interest of justice, and it has to be installed within 30 days of release (art. 17.441). On a first DWI, a magistrate can still impose reasonable conditions tied to community safety (art. 17.40(a)). Break one and the court can revoke your bond and send you back to jail on a preponderance of the evidence (art. 17.40(b)). We read every condition with you before you leave our office, because a missed interlock appointment can put you back in custody before the case has really started.
The license case, day by day
The officer usually serves the notice of suspension at the arrest. From the day you get it, DPS has to receive your written hearing request within 15 days (Transp. Code § 524.031). If it doesn’t, the suspension takes effect on the 40th day (§ 524.021), and it can’t be probated. For a failed breath or blood test, the suspension is 90 days with no alcohol or drug enforcement contact in the prior 10 years, and one year if there was one (§ 524.022). A timely request puts the suspension on hold until the administrative law judge rules (§ 524.032(d)). If you do end up suspended, you can apply for an occupational license so you can keep driving to work, and DPS puts an interlock restriction on every occupational license issued after an ALR suspension or a DWI conviction. We request the hearing for every client. Our ALR hearing page covers what happens there.
Discovery: what we get from the State
Once we make a timely request, the State has to produce the offense reports and any written or recorded statements by you or the witnesses, officers included (Code Crim. Proc. art. 39.14(a)). The duty covers other material documents and objects too. It also has to turn over anything that tends to negate guilt or reduce punishment, whether we ask or not (art. 39.14(h)). In a DWI, that means the bodycam and dashcam video, the dispatch records, the breath test records or the blood lab file, and the officer’s notes on the field sobriety tests. As a certified SFST instructor, Jay grades those tests against the standardized procedure the officer was trained to follow. Expert witness disclosures come later: either side can demand the names of the other side’s experts, and they’re due 20 days before jury selection (art. 39.14(b)).
How the case ends
A DWI case ends one of four ways: a dismissal, pretrial intervention, a plea, or a trial. In Harris County, pretrial intervention is a guaranteed dismissal if you complete the terms. Deferred adjudication is available for a first DWI only under strict conditions, which our deferred adjudication FAQ spells out. We don’t recommend any of these until we’ve seen the video and the test records.
A timeline from one arrest
Say you’re arrested on Saturday, March 7, and the officer hands you the notice of suspension that night. You see a magistrate by Monday at the latest. Your ALR request has to reach DPS by March 22. If it doesn’t, your license is suspended on April 16. Your first court setting comes a few weeks after the arrest, and by then we’ve already asked the State for discovery.
DWI process questions
If I win the ALR hearing, is the criminal case over?
No. The license decision is a civil matter and it’s independent of the criminal charge (Transp. Code § 524.012(e)). But the hearing gives us the officer’s testimony under oath, and we use it in the criminal case.
Can I keep driving while the case is pending?
Yes, unless your license is suspended or a bond condition says otherwise. If you request the ALR hearing on time, your license stays valid until the judge rules.
Just arrested? Contact Blass Law now
The 15-day license clock is already running. Contact Blass Law for a confidential case evaluation or call (713) 664-4000 so we can get to work protecting your license and your record.
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.