Well, there’s a new law in town, and the local police and District Attorneys are already pushing it hard. Its a DWI with a breath or blood alcohol level of .15 or more. The amended text of Penal Code 49.04 reads: (d) If it is shown on the trial of…
It seems as if the Federal Government is now getting into the mix of deciding what the individual states should and should not be allowed to do to punish first time DWI / DUI offenders. Today, an article in the USA today explained that the Federal Government has a pending bill that would…
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…
Thanks to Robert Guest for pointing out to me that I was mentioned on Dallas/Ft Worth’s 1310 the Ticket. They pulled up this blog, and the entry HERE. Apparently, they show’s Gordon Keith was talking about Charles Barkley’s recent DUI arrest. They were examining the difference between DUI and DWI. However, I…
Austin, TX DWI Lawyer Jamie Spencer recently posted about whether or not someone should "call out" of those arrested for DWI or other crimes on blogs. He explains: I don’t blog about so-and-so got arrested for such-and-such. It’s -Not my style -Seems like making fun of people in the same…
Frisco is now voting on whether or not to allow longer alcohol serving hours for bars and restaurants. The proposed (bill?) will allow restaurants and bars to serve until 2 AM, instead of the current Midnight. I have been approached by many friends and colleagues about the possibility of Frisco…