Bryan / College Station DWI Lawyer

One of the common criminal charges a student may face while in the Bryan-College Station area is an arrest for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).

While the charge of DWI may be common in a college environment, it is not something to take lightly. A first time DWI carries a potential punishment of up to 6 months in the Brazos County Jail, plus a maximum fine of up to $2,000. Also, you will be facing two potential license suspensions with additional surcharges from DPS of around $3,000. Add the increased cost of insurance and that it could create a permanent criminal record, it quickly becomes clear that a DWI in Texas is a serious matter.

What should you do if arrested for a DWI while attending school? Contact an experienced DWI lawyer in the Bryan - College Station area as soon as you get out of jail.

There are several reasons why you should contact an attorney focused on DWI cases, but chief among them is that an initial evaluation will need to be made quickly in your case to make some determinations on how to proceed, and if you wait then some of the options available to your DWI lawyer may be lost if you failed to act quick enough.

For example, Texas law permits only 15 days for your defense attorney to contest the suspension of your driver's license and request an administration hearing on the matter. The 15 day clock begins to tick on the date you were given notice of your suspension, which is normally through a form read during your arrest. The hearings can be beneficial, because at times information is uncovered that has led to the dismissal of the actual DWI itself.

Another advantage of hiring a DWI lawyer soon after your arrest and taking advantage of the administration hearing procedure is that it delays DPS' ability to suspend your driver's license beyond the 40 day period stated in the DIC form. In short, by contesting the suspension a judge must hold a hearing to determine whether the government has a right to suspend your driver's license.

Of note, if you miss the 15 day deadline then it is presumed that you consent to the automatic suspension, and this is another important reason to start the fight early against your DWI.

How can a DWI lawyer help?

There are many things that your DWI attorney will do, and considering contesting the administration suspension is just but one of the things that will be looked at in your defense. Without providing an all-inclusive list, an experienced DWI lawyer will look at whether there was a legal basis for stopping you to begin with and then analyze if probable cause existed to suspect you were intoxicated.

Even if a valid reason existed for the police officer to come into contact with you and probable cause existed for a DWI arrest then a skilled DWI lawyer will start to working to see if there might be another way to get the case dismissed.

If you need a DWI lawyer in the Bryan - College Station to advocate on your behalf, please do not hesitate to contact our office today.

DWI arrests in the Bryan College Station area are quite common. Perhaps it is because of the student population; however, arrests for DWI have substantially increased throughout Texas over the past years.

What was once considered an insignificant crime 20 or 30 years ago has exploded into a complex and very technical area of criminal defense law with high stakes for those accused of a Driving While Intoxicated or related offense. For example, a first time DWI arrest in Bryan/College Station, or elsewhere in Texas for that matter, means you are facing up to 180 days in the county jail, plus a fine up to $2,000. In addition, you face additional civil penalties assessed by DPS, including likely the loss of your driver's license and more fines. Subsequent DWI arrests can bring even harsher penalties, including a felony conviction in some cases.

If you have been arrested for a DUI or DWI in the Bryan / College Station area you need to speak with an experienced DWI lawyer as soon as possible, because normally you start losing rights 15 days after the arrest. To speak with our office about help concerning an alcohol related offense, please contact us today!

David P. Lamb, Attorney at Law

Criminal Defense and DWI Lawyer serving the College Station, Bryan, and the Brazos County area.

Alcohol and college are two things that have gone together for decades (if not centuries), and with this combination the charge of Public Intoxication is never far away.

Texas law states that a person commits a Public Intoxication offense (commonly referred to as a PI) when that person is in a public place, intoxicated, and he or she might endanger themselves or another. Although being at a bar on a Thursday night seems like an obvious place that one might find themselves arrested for Public Intoxication in College Station (since the code explicitly includes places licensed under the Alcoholic Beverage Code), it could just as easily be standing outside of your friend's apartment. With regard to endangering themselves or another, this is about as vague as it can get; however, a good rule of thumb is that if the police officer thinks you are going to hurt yourself or someone else then your probably going to get a P.I.

If you are arrested for Public Intoxication then you can normally expect a few things. First, you're probably going straight to jail. Second, you are looking at a substantial fine. Finally, if you receive a conviction then expect a criminal record for an alcohol related offense. If at a later time, you find yourself arrested for a DWI in College Station, or elsewhere, then you can bet your last dollar that the prosecutor is going to bring up your Public Intoxication conviction if given a chance.

Also, a conviction for Public Intoxication might be the deciding factor between you and another candidate when applying for an internship for job.

For this reason, it is import to fight the Public Intoxication charge from the beginning.

David P. Lamb, Attorney at Law

Criminal Defense and DWI Lawyer serving the College Station, Bryan, and the Brazos County area.

The charge of DUI is often confused with the charge of DWI; however, in Texas there is a distinct difference between the two.

A DUI is only given to persons under the age of 21 that have "any" detectable amount of alcohol in there system. In contrast, a DWI can be given to persons under, and over, 21 years of age. While both are charges most people would like to avoid, the DWI is a much more serious charge in the opinion of most criminal defense lawyers.

Unlike a DUI where the case centers on the age of the driver without regard to the amount of alcohol in the body, the main factor in a DWI is the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or whether the driver has lost the normal use of his physical and/or mental ability. Since DWI is not an age specific crime, and the issues is alcohol concentration in the body, a person under 21 year of age can be arrested for DWI.

David P. Lamb, Attorney at Law

Criminal Defense and DWI Lawyer serving the College Station, Bryan, and the Brazos County area.