Building A Defense Against DWI Charges

Being arrested for Driving While Intoxicated or Driving Under the Influence can be a frightening experience. For many, this is their first experience with the criminal justice system and it normally takes place on the side of the road after dark. Even after a night in jail, the nightmare is not done — your license may have been suspended, you could be facing jail time, even as a condition of probation, the judge may order you to install a deep lung device or ignition interlock on your car and the Texas legislature has passed laws increasing the punishment for each additional DWI you face. If you have been arrested for DWI, you need experienced legal help immediately to protect your license and your rights.

The TV ads that we all see certainly make it sound like a police officer can arrest you just because you consumed a few drinks and are driving home. Fortunately, that is not the law. First, a police officer must have reasonable suspicion in order to pull you over. That means they must either have credible information that you committed a traffic violation or other law violation or they must have a credible, articulable belief that you might be driving while intoxicated.

Second, for all persons 21 years of age and older, it is not illegal to drive after consuming alcohol. DWI requires you to be legally intoxicated. “But I wasn’t drunk!” Good! However, that is also not the legal standard. Intoxication, in Texas, is either not having the normal use of your mental or physical faculties due to the introduction of alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two into your system or having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.

In Texas, police officers must have a video system mounted in their patrol cars and use them to videotape what happens during a DWI stop. Police officers will also ask you to perform a number of “field sobriety tests” that they will claim supports their decision to arrest. A skilled defense attorney knows what to look for when evaluating not just your performance during the stop but whether the police officer performed the tests exactly like the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration requires them to be performed. If the officer failed to properly instruct you, failed to properly demonstrate the tests or failed to properly grade your performance then the entire testing, and the officer’s conclusions based on the testing, may be invalidated.

Let Us Help You Through Your DWI Experience

With years of experience as a chief prosecutor in a number of the courts that handle DWIs in Denton county, compounded with years of experience as a felony prosecutor that handled felony DWIs and other intoxication-related felonies, John Rentz has the experience to guide you and end your DWI nightmare. He can explain the difference between DWI and DUI, and he knows the standards that law enforcement officers are supposed to use and can accurately evaluate not only your performance during the roadside tests, but also whether the officer conducted the tests right as well.

If you face a blood or breath alcohol test, who better to represent you than a former prosecutor who has spent countless hours with the technicians who maintain the intoxilyzer machines in Denton county and who is familiar with the policies and procedures used by the phlebotomists at the major hospitals in Denton county? We will get you through any license suspension issues that you face along with providing you quality evaluations of your chances of victory in front of a jury and aggressive representation at trial.

Contact Us If You Have Been Charged With Drunk Driving

If you have been charged with a DWI, it is important to seek legal counsel as soon as possible. To schedule a consultation with Law Offices of John C. Rentz, P.C., call 940-488-1026 or contact us online.