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

Recently, the Gregg County (Longview) sheriff made the proclimation that if you drink and drive this independence day weekend - you will go to jail.

In December 2006, Gregg County commissioners approved a grant to participate in the statewide “Drink, Drive, Go To Jail” campaign with the funding being provided by the Texas Department of Transportation.

This grant provides resources necessary to conduct DWI enforcement throughout the holiday periods to increase the arrests of folks that drink and drive.

Captain Ken Hartley with the Gregg County Sheriff’s Department says; “We’d just like to remind people to drive responsibly. Don’t drink and drive. Enforcement will be out there and it’s not worth that chance and certainly not taking a chance of hurting yourself or others.”

Well, here lies the rub….it is not against the law to drink and then drive as long as two things are true: 1) you are at least 21 years of age, and 2) you are not intoxicated. I believe that the Sheriff is setting up a great argument for the fact that people are going to be arrested that don’t meet the above criteria. 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 reported that my client was stopped for driving at night without her headlights.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but she performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which she was unaware she could refuse.

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from her breath and had bloodshot, glassy 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 displayed several clues on the Walk & Turn test, including: stepping off line, failing to touch heel to toe, stopping during the test and turning incorrectly. The officer further stated that my client exhibited 3 of the 4 possible clues on the One Leg Stand test, including: using her arms to balance, swaying and putting her foot down 4 times.

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 and paid a small fine.

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 doing 47 in a 30 mile-per-hour zone.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST and some of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). However, she did perform the HGN (eye jerking) test, which she was unaware she could refuse.

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from her breath, had bloodshot, glassy eyes and confused speech. The officer further stated that my client admitted to having 4 tall rum and cokes. The officer said my client displayed all 6 of the possible clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer stated that my client had trouble keeping her balance and that she refused to complete the remaining field sobriety tests, including the Walk & Turn test and 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 non-DWI offense.

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department’s DWI Unit. The officer reported that my client was stopped for going 55 miles per hour in a 40 miler-per-hour zone and swerving off the roadway.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which she was unaware she could refuse. She should have known she didn’t have to do that tests, since this was not her first DWI arrest.

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from her breath. 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 displayed 6 of the 8 possible clues on the Walk & Turn test, including: losing balance during the instructions, stepping off line, taking the wrong number of steps, failing to touch heel to toe, stopping during the test and turning incorrectly. The officer further stated that my client exhibited all the clues on the One Leg Stand test, including: using her arms to balance, swaying, hopping and putting her foot down.

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 and paid a small fine.

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 after rear-ending another car at a red light.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which she was unaware she could refuse.

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and great difficulty standing and filling out the accident forms. 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 failed to touch heel to toe, stepped off line and used her arms to balance during the Walk & Turn test. The officer further stated that my client used her arms to balance, swayed and put her foot down four times 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 non-DWI offense and paid a small fine.

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 without headlights at nighttime.

My client REFUSED THE BREATH TEST, but she performed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs), which she was unaware she could refuse.

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from her breath and that she had glassy, 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 lost balance during the instructions, turned improperly, failed to touch heel to toe, stepped off line and used her arms to balance during the Walk & Turn test. The officer further stated that my client put her foot down and swayed 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 non-DWI offense and paid a small fine. This will allow us to have the DWI arrest removed 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 almost hitting the police cruiser, coming to a complete stop at a green light, then making a left turn without signaling intent.

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

The officer reported that my client emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath and had bloodshot, glassy 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 refused to follow instructions during the Walk & Turn test. The officer stated that my client lost his balance during the instructions for the test, turned improperly, failed to touch heel to toe and began the test before being instructed to. The officer further stated that my client put his foot down, swayed and used his arms to 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, this is particularly good because it will allow us to have the DWI arrest completely erased from his record. THis win was especially nice because my client is in the education profession and would have lost his job of 18 years had he been convicted.

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 failing to signal intent to change lanes and failing to maintain a single lane.

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

The officer reported that my client emitted an odor of alcohol from his breath, had red, watery eyes and dilated pupils. 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 lost his balance during the instructions and used his arms to balance during the Walk & Turn test. The officer further reported that over a quarter of a pound of marijuana was found in my client’s trunk during the search incident to his arrest.

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 agreed to pay a small fine. We also got the Marijuana case reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. This will allow us to have the DWI arrest 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 was stopped for doing 46 in a 30 mile-per-hour zone.

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

The officer reported that my client emitted an odor of alcohol from his breath, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. 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 turned improperly and stopped while walking during the Walk & Turn test. The officer stated that my client swayed and used his arms to maintain 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 agreed to pay a small fine. This will allow us to have the DWI arrest 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 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.