Thought I’d give the "live blogging" thing a try today. Today I am attending the DWI Defense Project seminar at the Belo Mansion in Dallas. Topics covered today are: – Felony DWI Jury Selection – Blood Testing: What you must know about the science – Defending Hospital Blood Draws – ALR: The key…
Right now I’m listening to a speaker talking about Felony DWI Jury Selection, and really Felony DWI’s in general. Felony DWI’s are a much different beast than the misdemeanor DWI. This is because of: a) The punishment range. Felony DWIs (usually DWI 3rds or higher) have punishment ranges from 2-10 years in…
Well, the ALR Update and "They key to obtaining evidence for a blood test case" is going on now. So far, all of the updates that were given, I have covered in the past. Most of them deal with items I have already gone over in a the past post "Everything You Need…
So far, the best lecture has been put on by Attorney Mimi Coffee. Mimi practices in Ft. Worth, and also Dallas, I believe. She went over how to knock a breath test down, piece by piece, and get show how low the score could be. Her speech was a significantly easier…
I get this question all the time: Can I keep my license from being suspended in a DWI? I thought the license suspension was automatic. The answer is, YES, you can keep your license from being suspended. I previously explained the ALR process (Administrative License Revocation) in a past post. I get…
A new bill proposed in the Senate by Senator Whitmire seems to be the same as that of HB 1906. The bill deals with lowering the surcharge for someone who successfully completes the DWI/Drug Court program. As I stated before, this only helps someone that completes the course, which can…
A new House Bill proposed by Representative Coleman affects the surcharges assessed on those convicted of DWI. Right now, if you are convicted of DWI first, you owe the state $3,000 over 3 years just to keep your driving privledges. The bill seems to say that the 3,000 is now a…
A third new DWI bill proposed by Representative Guillen deals with the DWI surcharge for those convicted of DWI, but completed the DWI/Drug Court program. I have spoken about the DWI/Drug Court program in the past. In Collin County, the only DWI /Drug Court is in Judge Ray Wheless’ County Court #4. This bill would…
The second bill relating to DWI Defense has been proposed by Representative Dutton. I think it is a fantastic idea. The crux of the bill changes Sec 42.12, which is the community supervision (probation) section of the code. Right now, there are certain crimes that if convicted and placed on probation,…
I noticed that in the past few days, a few new DWI bills have been proposed. I found 5 imparticular that may be of consequence to the DWI defense world. The first, proposed by Texas Rep Riddle. From what I can see, it related to who can pull blood from a person suspeced…