Austin Texas Drunk Driving Defense, Ken Gibson, Attorney at Law

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer reported that my client was stopped for driving the wrong way on a one way street.

My client provided a BLOOD TEST SAMPLE and performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). She didn’t know she could refuse all the tests.

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from her breath and had bloodshot eyes. The officer said my client displayed all 6 of the possible clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client used her arms to maintain balance, turned improperly and stopped during the test on the Walk & Turn test. The officer stated that my client swayed and hopped to maintain her balance during the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know that we were going to fight. Eventually the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a minor traffic ticket and paid a small fine. This is especially good because it allows us to have any mention of the DWI arrest completely erased from her record.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer reported that my client was stopped for driving through a flashing red light without stopping.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but did do the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which he was unaware that he could refuse.

The officer reported that my client had bloodshot, glassy eyes as well as an odor of alcohol coming from his person. The officer said my client showed 4 of the 6 possible clues on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client displayed 5 of the 8 possible clues during the Walk & Turn test, including: losing balance during the instructions, failing to touch heel to toe, using arms for balance, turning improperly and stepping off line. The officer stated that my client showed all 4 possible clues of intoxication during the One Leg Stand test, including: hopping and using arms to maintain balance, swaying and putting his foot down twice.

We took the case to court and let the State know that we intended to fight. Eventually the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a minor traffic ticket and paid a small fine. This will allow us to have his DWI arrest completely removed from his record.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer reported that my client cut across two lanes of heavy traffic without signaling then struck a guardrail on the highway entrance with enough force to deploy both of the airbags in her vehicle.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST AND THE STANDARDIZED FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS (SFSTs), which she knew she had a right to refuse.

The officer reported that my client had slurred speech, red, glassy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol emitting from her breath. The officer said my client admitted to having a couple of glasses of wine, one beer and one mixed drink. The officer stated that my client refused to perform any of the SFSTs.

We took the case to court and let the State know that we were going to fight. Eventually the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a non-DWI offense, which will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from her record.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer reported that my client ran a red light.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but did perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which he did not know he could refuse.

The officer stated that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath, that he had bloodshot and watery eyes and that he was unsteady. The officer further stated that my client admitted to drinking about 5 beers over the course of the night. The officer reported that my client displayed all 6 of the possible clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer stated that my client used his arms for balance and stepped off line during the Walk & Turn test and that he put his foot down during the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight. The prosecutor eventually agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a non-DWI offense, which will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from his record.

My client was arrested for DWI in Travis County, Texas by a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The trooper reported that my client was stopped for having a defective license plate light.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but performed one of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which he did not know he could refuse.

The trooper stated that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath, had slurred speech and that he relieved himself in the trooper’s presence. The Trooper also stated that there was an open container in my client’s car at the time of the stop. The trooper reported that my client had great difficulty following instructions during the HGN (eye jerking) test, and that he displayed all 6 clues of intoxication. The trooper also said my client refused the Walk & Turn test and the One Leg Stand test due to back and leg problems.

We took the case to court and let the State know we intended to fight. The prosecutor eventually agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a non DWI offense, which will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from his record.

My client was arrested for DWI in Travis County, Texas by a trooper with the Texas Highway Patrol. The trooper reported that my client was doing 65 in a 60 mile-per-hour zone.

My client provided a BREATH TEST. He also performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. He didn’t know he could refuse ALL the tests.

The officer reported that my client had red, glassy, bloodshot eyes, a strong odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and that he swayed while standing. The officer stated that my client displayed each of the 6 clues on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer also said that my client showed 4 of the 8 possible clues on the Walk & Turn test, including: losing balance during the instructions, failing to touch heel to toe, stepping off line and turning improperly. The officer said that my client showed all 4 of the possible clues of intoxication on the One Leg Stand test. The officer noted that she suspected my client was under the influence of drugs.

We took the case to court and let the State know that we were going to fight. Eventually the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI. My client didn’t have to plead to anything. This will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from his record.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer reported that my client failed to signal when making a turn.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but he did perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which he did not know he could refuse.

The officer reported that he detected a strong odor of alcohol on my client’s breath and that his speech was slurred. The officer further stated that my client admitted to having a few beers. The officer reported that my client showed all 6 clues on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client showed 4 of 8 possible clues on the Walk & Turn test, including: losing balance during the instructions, failing to touch heel to toe, turning improperly and stopping during the test. The officer also stated that, during the One Leg Stand test, my client used his arms and hopped to keep balance.

We took the case to court and let the State know that we intended to fight. Eventually, the prosecutor DISMISSED THE DWI and my client pled to a non-DWI offense. This will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from his record.

State legislators have passed the bill which would re-write the law that made it illegal to obscure any part of a license plate.

The Texas House last week approved the legislation; the Senate approved it earlier. (S.B. 360)

Under the new law, provided it is signed by the Governor, states license plate holders are not in violation of the law as long as the license plate number is visible and most of the name of the issuing state is visible and not altered.

The problems with license plate covers began with the passage, in 2003, of the revisions to Section 502.409 of the Transportation Code. The purpose of the bill was to prevent the use of products that would obscure information on license plates (like the reflective spray) and circumvent the effective use of photo radar and law enforcement cameras.

Some law enforcement agencies took this change in the law to extremes. Some agencies have even stopped motorists and issued citation for obscuring the starry night or the cowboy on horseback riding along the bottom of the plates even if the plate number and the word Texas were clearly visible.

One citation for an obscured license plate out of Fredericksburg resulted in the person being charge with a DWI. That case was appealed up to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. (State v. Johnson)

The Court of Criminal Appeals decision highlighted the absurdity of the law, but still held that the officer had the right to stop and cite the person. It would have been interesting to see what the court would have done, had it not been part of a DWI case.

§ 31.124 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code states, “an enforcement officer may stop and board a vessel . . . and may inspect the boat” to determine whether it is in compliance with the various provisions of the Code.

What this means for the average lake-goer is that an officer has the power to stop his or her boat without probable cause or a reasonable suspicion to believe that a crime has been or is about to be committed. Basically, a law enforcement officer may board any boat, for absolutely any reason and, once aboard, may legally come into contact with evidence of a possible crime, like boating while intoxicated.

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas recently discussed whether or not this statute violates the 4th Amendment’s ban on illegal searches. The court held in Schenekl v. State that it does not.

It may be difficult to understand how a random stop, unsupported by probable cause, could be constitutional. The court, in making this determination, applied a two-prong test, weighing the State’s interest in the search against the individual’s right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law enforcement. Read the rest of this entry »

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the University of Texas Police Department. The officer reported that my client ran a stop sign. (See my previous post on UT Police’s aggressive DWI enforcement)

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which he did not know he could refuse.

The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol. The officer stated that my client showed all 6 clues on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer further stated that on the Walk & Turn test my client lost his balance during the instructions, turned improperly and stopped while walking. The officer also said my client swayed and used his arms to balance during the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight. The prosecutor eventually agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a traffic ticket with a small fine. This will allow me to have the DWI arrest completely erased from his record.