If you drive while intoxicated and cause a wreck with injuries, you will face the serious criminal charge of intoxication assault — a felony under Texas law. Upon conviction for this offense, you could spend years behind bars. You will also have a permanent criminal record that can prevent you from getting a job or working in your profession.
Do not try to fight this serious charge on your own. An intoxication assault lawyer in Highland Park can protect your legal rights and mount the most robust possible defense on your behalf. Attorney Randall Isenberg has more than 30 years of experience, including his time working as a chief felony prosecutor and district court judge. Put this insight and depths of knowledge to work for you today.
Call us at 214-696-9253 for help.
Potential Penalties for an Intoxication Assault Conviction
You will face a minimum of third-degree felony criminal charges for intoxication assault, punishable as follows:
- 2 to 10 years in prison
- Up to $10,000 in fines
- Up to a 2-year driver’s license suspension
If the victim in your case was a first responder in the process of carrying out their job, you will face a second-degree felony charge, punishable as follows:
- 2 to 20 years in prison
- Up to $10,000 in fines
- Up to a 2-year driver’s license suspension
You will also face more serious charges and penalties if you have a prior conviction for drunk driving, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter, or if you had a passenger in your vehicle under the age of 15.
In addition to the penalties above, the court can also order some or all of the following conditions:
- Supervised probation
- Community service (up to 600 hours)
- Substance abuse treatment
- Ignition interlock installation
- Restitution to the victim
Your conviction will remain on your public record permanently, which can affect your ability to rent a home, get a job, or get into a good university. And, because this is a felony offense, you will also lose your right to vote and to own or possess a gun.
What an Intoxication Assault Lawyer Can Do for You
The seriousness of an intoxication assault charge significantly exceeds that of a basic drunk driving charge. Before discussing your case with police or making a deal with the prosecutor, consider speaking to an intoxication assault attorney first.
DWI attorney Randall Isenberg has spent more than 30 years in the Texas criminal justice system. With experience as a felony prosecutor and state judge — as well as a criminal defense attorney — he understands how the system works and how the prosecution will go about building their case against you.
When you trust our team to represent you, we will:
- Protect your legal rights
- Provide answers to all your questions
- Help you explore your options
- Represent you in court
- Represent you at the DMV hearing
Our primary goal is always to get your charges dismissed or reduced. To accomplish this, we will go immediately to work analyzing all the available evidence in your case, in search of potential legal rights violations or errors the police made during your arrest or investigation.
We will use any issue we find as the basis for negotiating with the prosecution or filing a motion in court to have your case dismissed.
If we cannot accomplish our goal of getting your case thrown out or the charges reduced acceptably, we stand prepared to fight for you in court. With a charge as serious as intoxication assault, the prosecutor must meet a high burden of proof. This provides us with the opportunity to introduce reasonable doubt and make the most persuasive possible case in your defense.
How the Statutes Define Intoxication Assault
The three elements of a basic drunk driving charge, as defined by the Texas Penal Code, are as follows:
- You drove a motorized vehicle;
- You drove the vehicle in a public place; and
- You lacked the physical or mental ability to do so safely at the time
The common standard for proving the third element is chemical testing for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) with a result of 0.08 or above. However, the police can arrest you without chemical testing if an officer believed you were statutorily intoxicated.
A fourth and fifth element must be present for an intoxication assault charge:
- You caused an accident due to your drunk driving
- The accident caused someone to suffer serious bodily injury
You can also face intoxication assault charges for an accident involving a boat or watercraft. If you operated any of these and caused an injury accident as a result, you will face the same charges and penalties.
Potential Intoxication Assault Defense Strategies
The way we fight your case will depend on the specific circumstances of your arrest and the evidence we have to work with. However, the charge of intoxication assault offers several points that lend themselves to building a legal case.
Some of these include:
Chemical Testing for BAC
Breathalyzer and blood testing for BAC can produce false positive results for many reasons, including errors made by the testing technician or the lab. Highland Park DWI lawyer Randall Isenberg will explore this possibility thoroughly in your case.
Accident Causation
For the court to convict you of intoxication assault, the prosecutor must prove that your drunk driving was the direct cause of the accident. Even if the BAC evidence stands, we can introduce doubt that it caused the crash.
Injury Causation
The prosecutor must also prove that the accident directly caused the victim’s injuries. So, even if your drunk driving did cause an accident, we can explore the possibility that the victim’s injuries had another cause.
Injury Extent
The statutes indicate that an intoxication assault victim must sustain a life-threatening or permanent injury. Often, prosecutors will pursue intoxication assault charges even if the victim’s injuries did not meet the statutory definition for this crime.
As you can see, our legal team will have many options to explore as we build your case. For that reason, you should discuss your options with us before making any statements to the police or talking to the prosecutor about a potential plea arrangement.
Schedule Your Free Case Review with an Intoxication Assault Lawyer
To ensure you have the information necessary to make an informed decision about your future, the Law Offices of Randall B. Isenberg provides free consultations and case evaluations. If you currently face intoxication assault charges and would like to explore your options, contact us at 214-696-9253 to get started.
