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 made contact with my client because he was involved in a collission. The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and glassy eyes.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST. My client did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). He said he didn’t know he could refuse them. The Officer said my client exhibited all 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Officer said that my client displayed 7 of the 8 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The Officer said that my client swayed, used his arms for balance and put his foot down 5 times on the One Leg Stand test.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of his driver’s license.

We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension. We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. His LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

One out of every five drivers on the road after midnight is under the influence of something, according to MADD TEXAS. The key is knowing what police officers are looking for when you’re on the road.

Corporal David Daniels is assigned to the Austin Police Department’s DWI Task Force. On a recent Saturday night, he combed North Lamar down to William Cannon and through the streets of downtown looking for drunk drivers.

A DWI charge usually starts off as a routine traffic stop.

“We look for violations, running red lights or speeding. Intoxicated drivers have a hard time maintaining their lane of traffic,” Daniels said.

And, if you’ve had anything to drink – even just one – get ready to prove you’re not drunk. Daniels said officers conduct sobriety test any time a driver indicates they’ve been drinking. More than a dozen officers are looking for drunk drivers on any given night.

Sometimes, when drivers correctly refuses to walk the line or follow their eyes with the officer’s flashlight, it’s off to the BAT bus. It stands for Blood Alcohol Testing. The small white school bus is stationed at different locations on different days as a faster way to process drunk drivers.

In Texas 42.5 percent of DWI arrests were wise enough to refuse to take a BAC test, according to a state report. Read the rest of this entry »

My client was arrested for DWI in Travis County, Texas by a trooper with the Texas Highway Patrol. The officer made contact with my client because he said she ran into the back of a motorcycle and then drove into a ditch. The trooper reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from her breath and bloodshot glassy and watery eyes.

My client felt as if the trooper had made up his mind to arrest her regardless of how she did on the test, so she REFUSED THE FIELD TESTS. My client REFUSED A BREATH SAMPLE, as well. She did however admit to drinking 3 glasses of wine and 2 beers.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of her driver’s license. We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension. We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. Her LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by a Deputy with the Travis County Sheriff’s Department. The deputy stopped my client for swerving. The deputy reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and that he slurred his words when he spoke.

My client PROVIDED A BREATH TEST. My client didn’t know he could refuse the tests. He provided two breath specimens with a reported BAC of .140 and .142.

My client also did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The Officer said my client exhibited all 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Officer said that my client displayed 4 of the 8 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The Officer said that my client put his foot down and refused to continue on the One Leg Stand test.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of his driver’s license. We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension.We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. His LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving marks its 25th anniversary. The organization certainly has much to celebrate: Deaths from drunk driving are down more than 35 percent since the early 1980s. We no longer chuckle at the bumbling drunk who can barely get his key into the ignition — we scorn him.

Unfortunately, MADD has come to outlive and outgrow its original mission. By the mid-1990s, deaths from drunk driving began to level off, after 15 years of progress. The sensible conclusion to draw from this was that the occasional drunk driver had all but been eradicated. MADD’s successes had boiled the problem down to a small group of hard-core alcoholics.

It was at about this time that MADD began to move in a different direction, one not so much aimed at reducing drunk driving fatalities but at stripping DWI defendants of basic criminal rights. MADD also seemed to expand its mission to one of discouraging the consumption of alcohol in general — what critics call “neo-prohibition. Read the rest of this entry »

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer said he stopped her because she was weaving.

The officer reported that he detected an odor of alcohol from my client and had glassy and watery eyes. My client PROVIDED A BREATH SAMPLE. She provided two breath specimens with a reported BAC of .19 and .201. She REFUSED THE FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS. She stated that she didn’t know she could refuse the breath test. Her previous attorney never told her she could refuse. This was especially frustrating since this was not her first DWI.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. After challenging the legal sufficiency of the stop, it was apparent that the Judge was going to grant our Motion to Suppress all the evidence. The prosecutor agreed to outright DISMISS THE DWI. (No probation, no fine, no community service)

The wonderful thing about this is that we will now file a motion to have all the arrest records destroyed. This will allow my client to legally deny that she was EVER arrested for this charge. Also, had she been convicted of the 2nd DWI, she would have faced mandatory jail time.

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 because he ran a red light.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but he did do the standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs).The officer reported that my client had an odor of alcohol coming from his breath and his eyes were glassy. The officer said my client exhibited 5 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client failed to touch heel to toe, turned improperly and stepped off the line on the Walk & Turn test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client plead to a Non-DWI offense ticket with a small fine. We were also able to get the Non-DWI case deferred, so after the deferral period, we will be able to have that record sealed.

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 because he ran a red light.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but he did do the standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs).The officer reported that my client had an odor of alcohol coming from his breath and his eyes were glassy. The officer said my client exhibited 5 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client failed to touch heel to toe, turned improperly and stepped off the line on the Walk & Turn test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client plead to a Non-DWI offense ticket with a small fine. We were also able to get the Non-DWI case deferred, so after the deferral period, we will be able to have that record sealed.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by a Trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Trooper reported that my client was stopped because he traveled at a high rate of speed right next to the stopped Trooper, when the Trooper had his overhead lights on.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but he did do the standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs).

The Trooper reported that my client had an odor of alcohol coming from his breath and his eyes were glassy. The Trooper also stated that my client also slurred his words. The Trooper said my client exhibited 4 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Trooper said that my client lost his balance during instruction, turned improperly and took the wrong number of steps on the Walk & Turn test. The Trooper said that my client exhibited 3 clues of intoxication on the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a traffic ticket with a small fine.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by a Trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Trooper reported that my client was stopped because he traveled at a high rate of speed right next to the stopped Trooper, when the Trooper had his overhead lights on.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but he did do the standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs).

The officer reported that my client had an odor of alcohol coming from his breath and his eyes were glassy. The officer also stated that my client also slurred his words. The officer said my client exhibited 4 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client lost his balance during instruction, turned improperly and took the wrong number of steps on the Walk & Turn test. The officer said that my client exhibited 3 clues of intoxication on the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client pled to a traffic ticket with a small fine.