Texas DWI Resources & Help

Is My Texas Driver License Suspended if it’s Confiscated by Police?

The only time HPD or any other law enforcement agency will (generally) take your Texas Driver License is if you refused consent to a blood draw. If they took your license it isn’t immediately suspended.

However, if you’re stopped by HCSO or HPD, and don’t have your license on you while driving, you’ll likely be taken to jail for identification purposes in which matters can only escalate for a negative end.

Your Texas Driver License isn’t officially suspended until you receive, by mail, an official letter titled “Notice of Suspension”. Once you get this notice you’ll have roughly 15 days to challenge the suspension via a process referred to as an ALR (Administrative License Revocation) hearing.

If you neglect to challenge the suspension of your driving privilege it will take effect within roughly 30-40 days of the date on the Notification of Suspension letter.

What Options Do I Have If I’m Arrested for Drunk Driving?

Although the situation may seem hopeless, you have a few options available to you if you were arrested for DWI in Houston. The main options you’ll have are as follows;

  • Your legal team can fight for a full dismissal of the charges against you.
  • Your DWI lawyer can attempt to strike a deal with Harris County prosecutors by using your plea as a bargaining tool.
  • Your defense attorney can take the case to a full blown courtroom jury trial.

If you’re arrested for DWI in Houston then you’ll likely be forced by the judge to seek and retain legal counsel for your case. When you’re represented by an experienced legal team it greatly raises your chases of either beating the Houston DWI charge outright, or drastically reducing the detrimental factors in the aftermath of the conclusion of your case.

The legal team of Houston DWI Lawyer Tad A. Nelson, led by ACS/CHAL Lawyer Scientists Tad Nelson & Amber Spurlock, are frank when leveling with people about the truth regarding their case. Even though they’ve won some seemingly impossible cases, they’ll be upfront with you about which direction we think is best for your case.

What Happens When My DWI Case Goes to Court

When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor DWI offense in Houston they’ll have to appear in court within 30 days of the arrest. If you immediately retain the representation of another qualified DWI lawyer in Houston, you won’t have to appear in court so soon.

During the interim, your legal representation will engage the Harris County District Attorney on your behalf, and further investigate the charges against you. Also, during this time, our legal team will have prepared the required legal documents that are related to your case, settled on a defense strategy (if needed), and will have forwarded all pertinent information to the Harris County Clerk. Once this is complete, your case will be on the court’s docket and we’ll notify you of your court date.

7 to 11 weeks after your initial court appearance, length of time depending on how backed up the Harris County Criminal Justice Center’s dockets are, our legal team will, again, engage the D.A.’s office for the purpose of finding the best* way to finalize your case.

About 1½ to 3 months afterwards, if your legal team has identified & prove any violations of your Constitutional Rights, they should motion the court for evidence suppression on those grounds. Then, once it’s your lawyer’s turn in court, there will be a couple of options available if fighting the accusations;

  • you can stand trial by judge,
  • or you can stand trial and be judged by a carefully selected jury** of your peers.

*Best should be taken to mean best for you.
**If the offense is a misdemeanor Houston DWI you’ll be judged by six jurors versus a jury of 12 for felony trials.

What’s the Penalty for a Texas DWI Conviction?

DWI Lawyers in Houston are often asked this question by their clients and potential clients. We always explain that the punishment depends on;

  • the situation that created the arrest,
  • the specific DWI offense,
  • and any prior criminal history of the accused with a special focus on prior Driving While Intoxicated offenses and convictions

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