What if I have multiple DWI cases pending?

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WHAT IF I HAVE MULTIPLE DWI CASES PENDING?

If you have multiple DWI cases pending, the prosecution may use those offenses as punishment evidence against you in trial, revoke your bond on the initial DWI charge, or recommend a harsher penalty for a DWI conviction.

 

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Form Submissions have a fast response time. Request your free consultation to discuss your case with one of our attorneys over the phone. The use of this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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Can a passenger have an open container in a motor vehicle while it’s being driven?

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Can a passenger have an open container in a motor vehicle while it’s being driven?

DWI Lawyer Trichter & LeGrand

No. The State of Texas prohibits any passenger from having an open alcoholic container in a passenger area of the vehicle.

Unless the person is a passenger in the living quarters of a motor home, a limousine, a bus, a taxi, or a motor vehicle designed, maintained, or used primarily for transportation of persons for compensation.

Sec. 49.031. of the Texas Penal Code covers the law around an open alcoholic container in a motor vehicle.

POSSESSION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE IN MOTOR VEHICLE

(a) In this section:

(1) “Open container” means a bottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount of alcoholic beverage and that is open, that has been opened, that has a broken seal, or the contents of which are partially removed.

(2) “Passenger area of a motor vehicle” means the area of a motor vehicle designed for the seating of the operator and passengers of the vehicle. The term does not include:

(A) a glove compartment or similar storage container that is locked;

(B) the trunk of a vehicle

(C) the area behind the last upright seat of the vehicle, if the vehicle does not have a trunk.

(3) “Public highway” means the entire width between and immediately adjacent to the boundary lines of any public road, street, highway, interstate, or other publicly maintained way if any part is open for public use for the purpose of motor vehicle travel. The term includes the right-of-way of a public highway.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses an open container in a passenger area of a motor vehicle that is located on a public highway, regardless of whether the vehicle is being operated or is stopped or parked. Possession by a person of one or more open containers in a single criminal episode is a single offense.

(c) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b) that at the time of the offense the defendant was a passenger in:

(1) the passenger area of a motor vehicle designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation, including a bus, taxicab, or limousine; or

(2) the living quarters of a motorized house coach or motorized house trailer, including a self-contained camper, a motor home, or a recreational vehicle.

(d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

(e) A peace officer charging a person with an offense under this section, instead of taking the person before a magistrate, shall issue to the person a written citation and notice to appear that contains the time and place the person must appear before a magistrate, the name and address of the person charged, and the offense charged. If the person makes a written promise to appear before the magistrate by signing in duplicate the citation and notice to appear issued by the officer, the officer shall release the person.

If you’ve been arrested for having an open alcoholic container in a motor vehicle, call us 24/7 to speak with an attorney. Our DWI attorneys can help you understand your rights and aggressively defend you.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CASE

Get A Fast Response

Form Submissions have a fast response time. Request your free consultation to discuss your case with one of our attorneys over the phone. The use of this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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Do I have a choice to refuse to perform police field sobriety testing?

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Do I have a choice to refuse to perform police field sobriety testing?

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Yes, you can refuse the police field sobriety tests. Police officers have many tools that they use to help them determine whether a person is intoxicated for DWI purposes.

Field Sobriety Tests: Tools of the trade

Many of these tools are the subject of great debate as to whether or not they are accurate and/or reliable indicators of intoxication. 

The favorite roadside tools of the officer are the portable breath test (PBT) device and standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs). 

There is no “implied consent” statute that requires you to submit to either a PBT or SFSTs, so you may decline the invitation to take them.

Refusing Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty

Many innocent drivers do refuse to submit to a PBT because the specimen given is not preserved and the devices are generally not accepted in the scientific community as being accurate or reliable. 

Further, many innocent drivers refuse to submit to the SFSTs because they feel they are uncoordinated and are very nervous so any test results will not accurately reflect their sobriety.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CASE

Get A Fast Response

Form Submissions have a fast response time. Request your free consultation to discuss your case with one of our attorneys over the phone. The use of this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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If I’m arrested for DWI, when do I have an absolute right to an attorney?

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If I’m arrested for DWI, when do I have an absolute right to an attorney?

DWI Lawyer Trichter & LeGrand

Under our federal and state constitutions, you have an absolute right to an attorney at your trial if you are arrested for DWI

However, such is not the case in every pretrial stage which precedes the trial. 

Indeed, in some pretrial stages, a person in custody has a right to assistance of an attorney for one purpose but not for another purpose, i.e., for assistance in answering police interrogation questions, but not for deciding whether or not to take a breath or blood test.

Generally speaking, any person in police custody wherein it would be objectively viewed as being under arrest – even if the person has not been told that is so – is entitled to be informed of his rights to remain silent, to have assistance of a lawyer prior to and during any interrogation, to have a free attorney if he is financially unable to hire one, and to terminate any such interrogation.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CASE

Get A Fast Response

Form Submissions have a fast response time. Request your free consultation to discuss your case with one of our attorneys over the phone. The use of this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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Do I have the right to use the telephone to call an attorney for DWI assistance?

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Do I have the right to use the telephone to call an attorney for DWI assistance?

Trichter & LeGrand DWI Lawyers

No. There is no statute or court decision that provides that the police must allow you access to a telephone in order for you to speak to an attorney for DWI assistance and advice. 

However, you do have the right to stop all interrogation questions until your lawyer is present.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CASE

Get A Fast Response

Form Submissions have a fast response time. Request your free consultation to discuss your case with one of our attorneys over the phone. The use of this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

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