Aside from keeping my driving privileges if I win my ALR hearing, what are the other benefits of this, how would I request for the hearing and how many days do I have to file it if I am charged with DWI in Houston, Texas?

Liezl
Houston, TX

If you’re charged with DWI in Houston, Texas, your request for an administrative license revocation (ALR) hearing should be received by the Texas Department of Public Safety no later than 15 days after receiving or are presumed to have received “Notice of Suspension.” In most DWI cases, that would be the 15th day after you were arrested. The notice of suspension is a sheet of paper which usually doubles as your “temporary driving permit.” At the bottom of your notice, you will see a fine print that would explain how to request an ALR hearing. You could request a hearing by calling on weekdays during normal business hours or you could also send your request through fax.

An ALR hearing should be requested whenever possible because even if you lose your ALR hearing, your DWI lawyer could obtain critical documents and information about your DWI arrest through the driver’s license “discovery” process. These information and documents would help in defending your DWI case in the criminal court.

What could be the elements that a person in Houston, Texas can be charged for DWI? How can they prove intoxication of the person while he was driving?

Archie

Houston, TX

A first offense for DWI in Houston, Texas is a Class B Misdemeanor and if we will legally define it, it would be a person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place. The elements of DWI include that the person, on or about a particular date, was operating a motor vehicle in a public place, in a particular county, while intoxicated. The streets, highways, parking lot, beach, etc. are considered public places. “Intoxication” is the term used for prosecution of DWI cases and has been specifically defined by the Texas legislature.

There are three different ways that the State of Texas my prove intoxication. The first one is by not having the normal use of physical faculties. The second one is by not having the normal use of mental faculties and the third one is having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. It is very important to note that the law provides for intoxication through the introduction of any intoxicating substance into the body. It would not be a defense for DWI if the person has valid prescription for a substance.

I just recently had the arraignment of my DUI case here in Houston, Texas and I pleaded not guilty so the case will continue. Would all be the evidence against me on my drunk driving arrest automatically be admissible in court?

Grant

Houston, TX

When the prosecution begin to prepare their DUI case against you in Houston, Texas, they start by collecting all the evidence that supports their claim that you were really driving under the influence. But just because the prosecutors have collected it and want to present it at trial does not mean that it is automatically admissible. There are actually strict legal requirements that determine whether a piece of evidence can be presented at trial. A very important part of making your DUI case is arguing that the evidence that the prosecution wants to present at trial does not meet these requirements and therefore cannot be used against you.

Your DUI lawyer can formally request for motion to suppress to ask the court to exclude certain evidence from a trial because it was obtained illegally or improperly by the police officer. An example is that your DUI lawyer can argue that the officer did not have probable cause to pull you over. Suppression motion would argue that the officer’s belief that you were drunk driving was not “reasonable.” That means that the officer’s justification for your DUI stop should be something he actually saw. If motion to suppress will be successful, all the evidence that was made possible by pulling you over can also be suppressed.