Thanks Santa!

Santa Clause came early to office this year. He was nice enough to leave behind a new Intoxilyzer 5000. This is the same machine that the Houston DWI law enforcement offices use to determine if someone is above the legal limit to drive a vehicle after drinking.

It is an advantage having a Houston DWI attorney with this machine. I have learned a lot about this machine over the years. Having one in the office is invaluable when defending DWI cases where the state is alleging that my client was over the legal limit when driving.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions about the Intoxilyzer 5000.

Happy Holidays!

A sad day in the Harris County Courthouse

I feel like the Houston, Harris County Courthouse is mourning today. The courthouse is a closed knit group of people. Most people respect each other and wish the best for everyone. It pains us when someone goes through a difficult period. Thus, it saddens everyone that Judge Don Jackson was found guilty of official oppression when he tried to strike up a relationship with a woman that was accused of DWI in his court. Judge Jackson was punished with a two year probation and has to serve 30 actual days in jail as one of the many conditions of his probation. Lastly, the judge was immediately barred from his position that he has had for the last 18 years. What a terrible way to end the year. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

Happy Holidays from the Harris County District Attorney's Office

The Harris County District Attorney's Office is feeling generous this holiday season. They are giving the citizens of Harris County a "no refusal weekend" for the rest of the year. The current schedule for the No Refusal program includes Thursday, Dec. 10; Friday-Saturday, Dec. 11-12; Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 17-19; Friday-Saturday, Dec. 25-26; and Friday-Saturday, Jan. 1-2.
Please keep in mind that the last four DWI no refusal weekends have resulted in over 900 DWI arrests in Harris County, Texas.

The imaginary line in a DWI arrest

As a Houston DWI Attorney I am constantly reviewing DWI video tapes. These video tapes show how a person performs the field sobriety tests. These are awkward tests that most people would never be doing in normal life, but they are suppose to be testing a person for clues to determine if the have lost their normal use of mental or physical faculties. One of the most annoying parts of the test for me is when a police officer asks a person to walk down an imaginary line. The officer does not indicate how wide this line is to the person when giving them the instructions, but counts it against them when the person steps off the imaginary line. I am always perplexed how the officer knows the width of the line if nothing was agreed to before the starting the test. For all we know that line may be two feet wide and the person never stepped off the line. Thus, an officer should give more detailed instructions in this phase of the tests before they say that this is an indication of intoxication.

Kerry's DUI charges dropped

There was a lot made of the DUI arrest of Alexandra Kerry's, Senator John Kerry's daughter, last month, but you will be hard pressed to find much information about the fact that the charges were dropped because of insufficient evidence. It is sad that it is likely they she will remembered as the Senator's daughter that was driving drunk despite the fact that she blew under the legal limit.

It is always important to contact a DWI attorney as soon as possible to discuss all your options.