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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 to obtaining evidence in a blood test case
– Cross Ex. of the State’s expert in a Breath Test Case
– Exposing Flaws in the Search Warrant of a DWI Blood Test Case
– DWI Trial Strategy
– Pretrial Motions to obtain Evidence to give your blood test expert
– Ethics in a DWI Trial
– Voir Dire Strategy : Positioning to Win

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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 prison.
b) The jury knows about your 2 priors

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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 To Know About the New ALR Rules.  I’ll stick to new things I learn. . . Mostly about the blood test cases, especially voluntary blood draws.  Because if it is a blood warrant case, SOAH just deals with the case as a refusal, so not much changes. 

The speaker said he spoke to a local SOAH judge, who said that he needs to really go over the new changes.  Because in their opinion, there have only been 5 attorneys who are now doing it correctly! (I assume I’m in that minority!!)

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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 Her speech was a significantly easier topic, considering Texas uses the old and outdated Intoxilyzer 5000.

First, you go through the setup stage during your cross examination.

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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.

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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 be 2 years or more later.  This means that the bill does not really save the person much.  It would be a better bill if the savings were upon entering the DWI court program.  I would even be in support if those savings were only temporary and became permanent after successful completion.  I think that would be a better idea.

 

Below is the text of the entire bill:

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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 maximum surcharge, instead of it being the automatic surcharge.  It would be based now on the "seriousness of the charge, the amount necessary to deter future violations, and an amount that maximizes collection."

I like the idea of this, except it doesnt seem to really say who determines how much the amount is, and why!  Nor does it seem to give you any kind of due process, like a hearing to present to a judge or magistrate why you think your surcharge should be less.  Basically it seems like a proposal with no teeth.

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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 allow the surcharge to be reduced by up to 80%.  Right now, anyone convicted of DWI 1st must pay 3,000 to the state over three years.  If you are convicted of DWI 2nd, it is 4,500 over 3 years, and if you blow over .16, it is $6,000 over three years.

I think this bill is a great idea, because it gives some incentives for someone to really turn their lives around.  The Drug court is usually reserved for those on DWI 2nd, so it is an important time in those offenders’ lives.

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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, you are not allowed early release off.  They are mostly major aggravated crimes involving weapons or sex offenses.  The worst of the worst.  But strangely enough, DWI was added to it.  This means if you get 2 years probation, you cannot get off early.

Not being able to get off probation early ties the hands of the judges and the prosecutors for people who have been sucessful on probation.  It takes away a lot of discretion for those in the know, that are put in their positions by the people that elect them.  This bill would remove the "DWI restriction" and allow somone on DWI probation to be released early.  It doesn’t make any other changes, such as making it not a final conviction, or removing from their record — simply letting them get off probation early.  Judges/Prosecutors usually only allow this if you have already completed all the terms and condtions of probation (commuity service, DWI classes, etc.).

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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 of DWI.  It amends the transportation code, which already has a list of "approved" people to pull blood.  This bill seems to add in an EMT or paramedic.  EMT’s and paramedics were specifically excluded from those allowed to pull blood from suspects.

Below is the entire proposed text of the bill:

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