DWI FAQ'S - Sugar Land DWI Frequently Asked Questions

If you refuse to provide a breath/blood sample, your refusal may be used as evidence against you at trial and your driver's license may be suspended for 180 days if this is your first offense, or 2 years if you have previously been convicted.  

If you have any question in your mind as to whether you will pass or fail, it is probably in your best interest to decline.  Remember, even if your consumption of alcohol has not resulted in the loss of the normal use of your faculties, a test result in excess of the legal limit is sufficient to convict you.  Submitting to the test, gives the prosecutor one more way to claim that you were intoxicated. 

A practical consideration is that by the time the police officer requests a sample of your breath or blood you are already under arrest.  Even if you pass the test you will go to jail.  After all the police will not "un-arrest" you.  Instead, the State will say that because the test was taken some time after the time of driving your alcohol concentration at the time of driving was higher than at the time of the test and that you have simply had time to "sober up."  The State will also argue that even if your alcohol concentration was not above the legal limit, you had lost the normal use of your mental and physical faculties as the result of alcohol consumption.  

When confronted with a request for a breath/blood/urine sample, you should ask the officer to allow you to contact an attorney for advice in making your decision.  The officer will probably tell you that you do not have the right to speak with an attorney at this point, but the average juror may view your request as reasonable.  Moreover this saves you form having to flatly refuse the officer's request. 

Yes.  The officer can not force you to take the tests.  However, at trial the prosecutor will argue that you refused to perform the tests because you knew you would fail. 

It depends on who you believe.  What is undisputed is that the manufacturer does not warrant or guarantee that the Intoxilyzer is fit for its intended purpose of determining the alcohol concentration in a sample of human breath.  The machine is a self-checking piece of equipment and the machine's operator will assume "all is well" unless the machine says it has a problem.  It is well-known among DWI attorneys that the machine will report proper functioning even in the face of having several of its key components disconnected.  Moreover, the computer program which performs the crucial calculations remains a secret.  

While it is a crime to drive while intoxicated or to drink alcohol while driving, it is not against the law to drive after having a few drinks so longs as the consumption of alcohol does not cause intoxication.  However, if you are stopped for any reason and the officer detects the odor of alcohol on your breath, it is likely that you will be arrested for driving while intoxicated

Absent unusual circumstances the answer is "no".  Most people convicted of a first DWI receive community supervision (probation), are required to pay a fine, perform community service, submit to alcohol counseling, report to a probation officer and abide by additional terms of community supervision.  So long as you successfully complete the community supervision, you will not be required to spend any time in jail with the exception of the time served immediately following your arrest. 

An ignition interlock is a breath alcohol analyzer, which is connected to a vehicle's ignition system. To start the vehicle, the driver must first blow a deep lung breath sample into the Interlock. The Interlock will measure the alcohol concentration in the breath and prevent the vehicle from starting if the alcohol exceeds a preset value.  A person arrested for a second or subsequent DWI will be required to have an interlock installed on his vehicle as a condition of bail.  Additionally, the court may require the interlock as a condition of community supervision. 

If you are convicted or plead guilty to a DWI, you are not eligible for deferred adjudication.  However, if the DWI is reduced to a non-DWI offense such as reckless driving, deferred adjudication may be an option.