Giving up without a fight after getting charged with a DWI marijuana offense could be one of the worst mistakes you ever make. That one decision could change the course of your life and make you regret that choice for years.
Texas has a reputation for being tough on people charged with alcohol or drug offenses. You will want to work with a Farmers Branch DWI marijuana lawyer to help you get the best outcome possible in your circumstances. At the Law Offices of Randall B. Isenberg, we work relentlessly and aggressively to get our clients the best results available in their situations.
Potential Outcomes After Getting a DWI Marijuana Conviction in Farmers Branch, Texas
You might not realize how getting a conviction for a DWI marijuana offense can impact your life now and well into the future, particularly if this is your first time. Many people mistakenly think that all they must do is show up at court, pay a fine, and waltz out of the courthouse, back to their ordinary life.
The reality is often much different, especially if you do not get the help of a criminal defense lawyer. Instead of that rosy, fictitious future, the reality could look more like this:
- Your boss does not like having employees with criminal records, so they fire you, even if you do not have to go to jail and your job does not involve driving.
- If you do have to go to jail, your employer might hire someone else to replace you because you cannot do the job if you are in jail.
- If your job involves driving, you stand a strong chance of losing your job because it could be too expensive for your employer to keep you employed with the likely increase in their insurance premiums caused by your DWI. Also, your employer has a higher risk of liability in the event of a future accident involving you at the wheel.
- Do not assume you can easily walk into a new job if you lose your current one. Many jobs require background checks, which include criminal record and driving record. If a prospective employer could choose between two equally qualified candidates, but one has a DWI conviction and the other does not, the difference might tip the balance in their favor.
- You can lose thousands of dollars of income if you must go to jail.
- The judge can assess thousands of dollars of fines at the sentencing.
- Your personal automobile insurance premiums will increase dramatically and stay elevated for years.
- If your career requires you to have a professional license with a state board, the board could revoke your license, particularly if your DWI involved an accident with injuries or fatalities.
- Sometimes, people never outlive the social stigma of having a conviction of a DWI. Also, people will assume with a marijuana DWI, that you were driving drunk and drugged, even if that is not the case.
Crossing your fingers and hoping for the best is not the way to approach things if you get charged with a DWI marijuana in Texas. You will want to have a strong Farmers Branch marijuana DWI lawyer fighting for you.
Our firm’s founder has more than 30 years of experience. He has served as both a prosecutor and state district judge.
The Elements of a DWI in Texas
You can get charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Texas if you operate a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. The Texas Penal Code § 49.01 defines intoxication, for purposes of a DWI, as:
(A) not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or
(B) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
In other words, you can get convicted of a DWI in our state if your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeds the legal limit or if your ability to drive safely was impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a combination of substances. Your BAC might be under 0.08, and still, you could get a DWI.
The justification for the second type of DWI charge, the one that does not require a high blood alcohol concentration, is that everyone responds to alcohol a little differently. One person might “feel” the effects of alcohol after consuming much less than another person. Still, a conviction based solely on allegations of impairment could be subjective and unfair.
How a Marijuana DWI Is Different from a Standard DWI in Dallas County
There are three ways a person could get a marijuana DWI in Texas, as opposed to a standard DWI.
- Their BAC exceeded the legal limit, and a blood test revealed the presence of marijuana in their system.
- They had some alcohol in their system, albeit below the legal limit, and a blood test revealed the presence of marijuana in their system.
- They did not have any alcohol in their system, but a blood test revealed the presence of marijuana in their system, with or without the combination of other drugs.
The penalties for a marijuana DWI in Texas are the same as for a standard DWI.
Penalties Texas Imposes on People Convicted of a DWI
According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT), a judge can sentence a person convicted of DWI to fines of up to $2,000, $4,000, or $10,000, depending on whether this is the defendant’s first offense, second offense, or third offense. In addition to these fines, the judge will impose state fines of $3,000, $4,500, or $6,000 at the sentencing hearing.
Maximum jail or prison time, depending on whether it is a first, second, or third offense, can be up to 180 days, one year, or 10 years. Also, a person convicted of a DWI can lose their driver’s license for one or two years.
See the Results Our Lawyers Get for Our DWI Clients
You do not have to take our word for it that we get great results for our DWI clients. Our results page lists examples of our victories in getting charges reduced or dismissed for our clients.
Every case is different, so your result might vary, but we fight hard to get our clients the best results possible in their circumstances.
Call Now to Get Started on Your Defense
You can get started now by reaching out to the Law Offices of Randall B. Isenberg today. A team member is available to hear about your situation and determine how we can best help you.
