If you have been arrested for a driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge, be sure to contact an attorney immediately because you only have 15 days from the date of your arrest to request a license suspension hearing (ALR). This is very important because this is the only way you can try and prevent the suspension of your Texas driver’s license.
At Bristol & Dubiel our experienced Dallas drunk driving attorney, Murray L. Bristol, represents clients throughout North Texas. He understands how devastating an arrest for driving while intoxicated of alcohol and/or drugs can be. A DWI conviction can result in loss of reputation, costly fines, required attendance at alcohol-education classes, suspension or revocation of your Texas driver’s license, increase in or cancellation of your auto insurance, placing an ignition interlock device in your car, and, in some cases, jail or prison.
In North Texas, where most commuters travel the freeways and public transportation is generally lacking, losing the privilege to drive can be devastating to a person’s career, as well as one’s personal life. Our Dallas DWI attorneys approach each and every case with the care and attention you expect and deserve. Initially, we will request a license suspension hearing within 15 days of your arrest so that we can try to prevent your driver’s license suspension from happening without making DPS prove its case at a license suspension hearing (ALR).
If DPS proves its case at your ALR hearing, we can prepare an occupational driver’s license so that you are free to drive to work, school, and other essential household activities (assuming you qualify for one). Then, after our Dallas DWI attorney investigates – including a thorough review of police reports, witness statements, videos and your version of events – will work to achieve the best possible results on your behalf.
If you have been arrested for a DWI, be sure to hire a lawyer who is successful and experienced in DWI defense. Some attorneys only dabble in drunk driving law and are not equipped to handle the complicated legal and scientific nature of most DWI cases. An experienced defense attorney can identify police mistakes, unreliable breath, blood, and urine tests, and other legal issues that often make the difference between successful and unsuccessful results.
In Texas, it is the State’s burden to prove that you are intoxicated at the time of driving, and that you did not have the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of these substances, or any other substance in your body, or that you had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.
Some of the evidence the police gather to prove you are intoxicated are driving facts, Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus eye test, One leg stand, 9 steps Walk & Turn), number counting, ABC’s, finger test, Rhomberg test, and reading out loud. Defendants may challenge the validity of SFST results by showing the test was not administrated in the required standardized manner, therefore, the validity of the test results are compromised and are not valid. NOTE: the State must prove that it is the alcohol or drugs that caused you to fail these tests, not fatigue, health problems, unfamiliarity with the test or any other reason you may have.
Therefore, please contact our law firm for a free consultation with Murray L. Bristol, a Dallas DWI lawyer with vast experience, so that you can protect your rights and have your questions answered about your DWI charge.