Dallas Defense Attorney

Driving under the influence of alcohol or other mind-altering substances could get you into serious trouble, whether or not you are involved in a motor accident.Because of the severity of the penalties involved in Texas, if you are arrested on any driving charges involving substance abuse, you need to immediately contact a really good Dallas DWI lawyer.If you have been arrested for driving while intoxicated in Texas, this is regarded in a very serious light.  These are some of the penalties you can expect against you.Starting with a first drunk driving conviction, you could find yourself in jail for anything from 72 hours to 180 days, and have to pay a fine of up to $2,000.  Your licence could be suspended for typically between 90 and 365 days.  On top of that, there is a DWI surcharge of $1,000 per year, for three years.If, however, you have a child (under the age of 15) as a passenger in the car, the picture changes somewhat.Your jail sentence could be as much as two years, and your fine could be up to $10,000.  Your surcharge and license suspension penalties would remain the same.If you have been arrested for a second or subsequent offense, the penalties that will be meted out to you will go up exponentially, depending on how many times you have be caught before.  Your convictions remain on record and influence future DUI criminal cases for a period of ten yearsWhat your DWI attorney, Dallas will do is first of all examine the procedure that was followed by the police when they arrested you and subsequently.  There is a rigid protocol required to be followed in the legal system, and your lawyer will first make sure there are no loopholes or any mistakes on the part of the law enforcement agents.The next thing your DWI attorney Dallas will do is examine the whole case against you to find any extenuating circumstances.  You have to remember that the state of Texas explicitly forbids reduction of DWI charges to lesser criminal offenses.  However, your DWI attorney may be able to subject the terms of a DWI conviction to a more favorable plea bargain.With all this in mind, you may be wondering what constitutes illegal levels of BAC (blood alcohol content).  Because of different reactions by different people to drinking alcohol, the only truly safe way to be sure your blood alcohol content is not too high, is not to drink at all when you intend to drive the same day.Although the legal limit of alcohol consumption is only reached at 0.08 BAC, Texas has a zero tolerance stance with regard to mind altering substances.  If your driving is erratic in any way, even though your BAC is within limits, you can still be charged if any alcohol is found in your blood at all!The general estimate for an average adult of about 155lbs is that he or she will reach the 0.08% limit on drinking three glasses of dry wine, five cans of beer, or four tots of spirits.  But your BAC could reach this percentage before this, depending on your body’s absorption rate and other physical factors.If, after you have been aprehended, you are found to have a really high BAC, that is, 0.16 or above, you will have to pay an additional surcharge of $2,000 per year for three years.Probationary drivers, and drivers below the age of twenty one are not permitted to have any trace of alcohol in their blood.  In other words, 0%!