The state of Texas has strict DWI laws. Under the Texas Penal Code, you can be convicted of drunk driving if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is higher than 0.08. As any good Austin DWI defense attorney will tell you, many people make major mistakes when they are pulled over for a traffic stop. If you have been pulled over, you need to know what to do to protect your legal rights and to ensure you don’t face severe DUI/DWI penalties.

In the United States, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Defendants have no obligation to help the prosecution prove their case; instead, the state of Texas has the burden of proof in DWI cases. One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a defendant is voluntarily agreeing to blow into the machine or submit to a blood test.

Refusing to Blow or Give Blood Subjects You to a Civil Penalty

There is a lot of confusion about whether or not motorists in Texas are legally required to take a breathalyzer test or give a blood sample. The answer is a resounding no. You are fully within your rights to refuse to blow into the machine. A Texas police officer cannot physically force you to take a breathalyzer test.

This is not to say that there are zero consequences for a refusal. When you get a license from the Texas Department of Public Safety, you are inherently agreeing to take a breath test when asked to do so during a traffic stop. If you refuse a breathalyzer test, you will be subject to automatic civil penalties. To be clear, a refusal is a civil infraction. Your Texas driver’s license comes with an implied contract that you will submit to a breath test or blood test. Refusal to do so is a breach of that contract. Upon refusal, you will likely be arrested, your license will be taken, and you will be issued a piece of paper that acts as your temporary license and serves you notice of suspension.

With all that being said, an experienced Texas DWI defense attorney will likely tell you that you should still refuse to submit to a breath test or blood test. Why? Because if you are being asked to perform those tests, you are almost certainly about to be arrested for drunk driving regardless of the results. At this point in your interaction, the police officer is most likely attempting to secure additional evidence of your guilt.

Avoid Criminal DWI Punishment: Exercise Your Right to Refuse to Blow or Give Blood

Being convicted of the criminal offense of drunk driving carries a much greater penalty than does the civil infraction of a refusal to blow into the machine or submit to a blood test. Once you have been suspected of drunk driving, you need to take care to protect your legal rights. While you should always remain polite with the responding police officers, you are under no obligation to answer questions or assist them with their criminal investigation.

At this point, the best thing that you can do to protect your own best interests is to exercise your right to request access to your Austin criminal defense lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to guide you through the legal process, helping you protect your rights, your freedom, and your driving privileges.

As an Austin DWI attorney, I have defended several people who have been served a DWI charge. DWIs in Austin are serious business and can lead to problems for everyone involved, especially if the DWI resulted in an accident. While I don’t condone drinking and driving, there is nothing wrong with throwing a few back – as long as you are doing it responsibly and make good decisions when it comes to getting home. Austin is well-known for its clubs and fun bars, and you should be able to enjoy them. See my recommendations for the best bars around the city, and remember everyone: be smart before getting in your car.

1. Bar Inception

Within the walls of a bar called the Clive Bar lies another small bar called Bar Illegal (despite its name, it is actually legitimate). It is disguised as an inside shed that few pay attention to, but it serves drinks specifically from southern Mexico. If you are lucky enough to grab a drink inside Bar Illegal, you will certainly feel like your drinking experience is a dream within a dream.

2. The Bar-thel

On a street in downtown Austin that many few as disreputable is situated another bar called the Midnight Cowboy. What was once a brothel during prohibition is now a small luxury bar that only serves 8 people at a time due to its small size. Unlike other bars, you have to make a reservation as a group to get in.

3. Bar with an Ego

The bar Ego actually doesn’t have much of one. The place is really a dive, and it is really great. It boasts everything from no windows to graffiti all over the bathroom stalls, but the best parts are their cheap drinks and awesome karaoke. After enough drinks, everyone will think you’re Eric Clapton, but don’t let that give you too big of an ego.

4. Aged Bar

The Lulu’s Christmas Bar isn’t famous for their aged wines, just the fact that really old people go there to drink. What’s so great about that? I don’t know, but if drinking with your parents isn’t your scene, think about hitting up The Roosevelt Room instead. There they try and teach kids in their 20s how to actually appreciate good alcohol so they will be ready to drink with the old timers at Lulu’s.

5. The Handle-Bar

If you want to feel like a kid again, this hipster-inspired bar is probably your best bet. While enjoying all of your drinks, you can also play on their adult jungle gym, get into some adult Jenga, or ride their seesaw. They really take “Keep Austin weird” seriously.

6. Get a Mugshot Bar

We don’t want you to get arrested for anything, but if you want some good drinks and a picture to remind you of how sloshed you were, the Mugshot bar has a famous photo booth that accepts credit cards. Just make sure Mugshot doesn’t turn into another mugshot.

Austin DWI Attorney

I don’t want to see you in my office after you’ve been arrested for drinking and driving after bar hopping, but if you do end up in trouble, you need a good attorney. Call me, Robert Littlefield Buford III, Attorney at Law, to get the best legal representation for your DWI in Austin.

Many people think that DWI charges cases are cut-and-dry, meaning that if they are charged with driving while intoxicated, they will be convicted and have to face the penalties that accompany a Texas DWI conviction. This is simply not true. Like with all other criminal offenses, an individual charged with DWI is innocent until he or she is proven guilty, which requires the court to make use of available evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual was driving while his or her blood alcohol content was .08 percent or higher. This is why you should work with a DWI lawyer to defend your case if you are charged with this offense.

How Can a DWI Lawyer Help Me with my Case?

There are a few ways a DWI lawyer can help you with your case’s defense. These include, but are not limited to:

• Your lawyer can conduct his or her own investigation of the evidence presented by law enforcement. Remember, the court has to prove that you were driving while intoxicated through the evidence it collects and present, which can include data from your field sobriety test, the results of your Breathalyzer test, the original arrest report detailing your behavior prior to being pulled over, witness testimonies, and video surveillance of the arrest. Your lawyer can point to discrepancies between pieces of evidence and determine if any are not admissible in court, having them removed from the case;
• You have rights, such as the right to legal counsel and the right to refuse to say anything that might incriminate you. A lawyer knows these rights and can advise you about how to exercise them and how to interact with law enforcement and the court; and
• Your case has multiple components. In addition to your criminal hearing for DWI, you can request an administrative hearing to fight your driver’s license suspension within 15 days of your arrest. Your lawyer can not only request this hearing, but advocate for you through it, keeping you on the road until your case is resolved.

Why Should I Specifically Work with an Austin DWI Lawyer?

If you were arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas, it is best that you work with a lawyer who is familiar with the local court system and the specific road where your arrest took place. This local knowledge will help him or her defend your case by discussing specific aspects, such as local traffic patterns, in detail. A local lawyer will also be familiar with the nuances of the Travis County Criminal Court at Law and the people working within its system, such as the judge who will hear your case.

Work with an Experienced Austin DWI Defense Lawyer

If you have been charged with DWI, do not wait to start working on your defense with an experienced Austin DWI lawyer. Contact Robert Littlefield Buford III, Attorney at Law, today to set up your free legal consultation in our office.

When you are suspected of drunk driving, police in Austin and throughout Texas must still respect your constitutional rights. This includes the right to be free from any unreasonable search of your person. A search is considered unreasonable if law enforcement does not first obtain a warrant or establish there is some “exigent” or emergency circumstances that excuses the lack of such a warrant. Any evidence obtained by the police in violation of these requirements cannot be used against you at trial.

Texas Courts Clamp Down on Warrantless DWI Blood Tests

In DWI accident cases, one of the most common searches that a defendant may face is a blood test. A blood-alcohol test is often the key piece of evidence used to convict a person of DWI and related offenses, such as intoxication manslaughter. Police and prosecutors often attempt to conduct such blood tests without a warrant, but Texas courts have increasingly rejected such efforts.

In 2014, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that “warrantless, nonconsensual testing of a DWI suspect’s blood does not categorically fall within any recognized exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement.” But the Court did not say that all warrantless blood tests were illegal. Rather, it held the government could not create a blanket exception to the warrant requirement for DWI blood tests. Depending on the circumstances of a particular case, a warrantless blood test may still be deemed legal.

Still, the Court’s decision offers DWI defendants an important tool in challenging the evidence against them. For example, on May 10 of this year, a Texas district court of appeals reversed a defendant’s conviction based largely on a warrantless blood test. This case was of particular interest given the defendant was not convicted merely of DWI, but felony murder arising from an alleged act of drunk driving.

The defendant was returning home from a bar when he struck a motorcycle. The motorcycle operator suffered fatal injuries. Police officers responding to the scene disagreed as to whether the defendant appeared intoxicated. Some officers took the defendant to a nearby hospital, where they ordered a blood test without the defendant’s consent—he had refused it—or attempting to obtain a warrant. Following a trial, a jury convicted the defendant of felony murder.

On appeal, the defendant challenged the admissibility of the warrantless blood test. The appeals court agreed that the police had violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. The court cited the testimony of the lead Texas Department of Public Safety officer at the scene, who said he took “zero steps” to obtain a warrant, even though at least 90 minutes elapsed between the accident and the blood test. Indeed, although the accident occurred after midnight, local police “had a process in place to assist officers in obtaining warrants.” The policy simply ignored that process and the defendant’s constitutional rights. Accordingly, the court said the defendant was entitled to a new trial, one where the blood test results cannot be introduced as evidence against him.

Stand Up For Your Constitutional Rights

Cases like the one above illustrate the importance of constitutional safeguards against warrantless, non-consensual searches. If you face criminal charges as the result of alleged drunk driving, or if you have been struck by a drunk driver in Austin, it is important you retain an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer or an Austin DWI accident attorney who can help ensure the courts and law enforcement respect your rights. Contact the Austin DWI lawyers at The Law Office Of Robert L. Buford today if you require immediate assistance.