A DWI in Texas is a charge that you need to take very seriously. It carries potential jail time, as well as the chance of driver’s license suspension and significant fines.
Being convicted of a DWI in Texas can adversely change your life for years going forward. It may leave you unable to pursue all of your dreams in life. You should prepare to defend yourself as vigorously as possible to try to avoid a DWI conviction.
How a DWI Conviction Can Negatively Affect Your Life
When police officers arrest you on suspicion of DWI, you may be worried about immediate concerns, like jail time or an inability to drive.
However, a conviction for drunken driving also has multiple long-term consequences. These can leave you feeling the effects of the DWI for years to come.
Employment Issues
If you are applying for a job where an employer must run a background check on potential employees, your DWI conviction will likely appear. Some employers may refuse to hire people who have a DWI conviction on their records. For jobs involving driving, not having a valid driver’s license or having a DWI on your driving record could exclude you from qualifying for the job.
In some professions where people must obtain a professional license, a drunken driving conviction may prevent you from receiving it. These professions can include doctors, nurses, lawyers, and teachers.
Financial Issues
Those who have a DWI conviction may find it difficult to obtain a loan. Offenders may see their credit scores decrease, leading to higher interest rates on the loans they can obtain.
Difficulty in Other Legal Matters
If you and your spouse are going through a divorce that involves child custody, a DWI conviction may leave you on the wrong side of the divorce court’s decisions. A judge may question your ability to keep your child safe because of the DWI.
Additionally, when you have a DWI on your record, your penalties will be far more severe should you receive another drunken driving conviction in the future. Choosing to fight the first DWI might help you should you run into future legal issues.
Housing Issues
Some apartment owners will not rent housing to someone who has a past DWI conviction. This can make the search for a place to live more challenging.
How Law Enforcement Focuses on DWI in Texas
Law enforcement takes a drunken driving charge very seriously. Whether it is local to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, throughout the state of Texas, or at the federal level, officers work hard to remove drunken drivers from the streets.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sometimes works with local law enforcement agencies to set up specialized DWI units. These may create DWI checkpoints and allow for extra police cruisers on the streets to search for drunken drivers during busy times of the year.
Local Prosecutors Seek DWI Convictions
Compared to a few decades ago, prosecutors are far more aggressive about seeking DWI convictions. They can use these conviction numbers to show the success of law enforcement and special DWI units. This emphasis on seeking convictions makes it far more difficult for you to win your case on your own. It is important to stick with a DWI attorney who understands drunk driving cases and has experience with them.
As a former prosecutor and state district judge, Randall B. Isenberg knows how the courts work, especially about DWI cases. Our team puts this knowledge to work for our clients’ benefit.
The Importance of Fighting Your DWI Charges
According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), some of the potential penalties for a first-offense DWI conviction include:
- A fine of up to $2,000
- Jail time of between three and 180 days
- Driver’s license suspension for up to a year
Should you have a child in the car at the time of your arrest or cause an accident, your penalties can be far more severe.
How to Fight Drunk Driving Charges
Because of the severity of the penalties involved in a drunk driving conviction, you may want to fight the charges. Our DWI lawyer can use multiple techniques to defend you.
For example, we may argue that the officers involved in measuring your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level made an error. If your BAC level is near the legal limit of 0.08%, we could argue that testing accuracy was lacking.
Sometimes, our strategy involves trying to negotiate with the prosecutor. We may agree to plead guilty if the prosecutor reduces the severity of the charge to something below a DWI offense.
Our DWI Defense Lawyers will Help You Fight the Most Serious Penalties
After a DWI arrest, you may be feeling a wide range of emotions, and you may be unsure how to proceed. That’s where Law Offices of Randall B. Isenberg can help.
We will work as hard as we can to defend you against these very serious charges. Do not sit back and hope things will resolve themselves in your favor. Call us today at (214) 696-9253 for more information about our services.
