In Tarrant County, as elsewhere in Texas, DWI stands for Driving While Intoxicated is a criminal charge that essentially makes it against the law to drive a motor vehicle while one is intoxicated.
A DWI arrest in Texas is different from a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) charge. The main distinction between the two deals with age. DUI is an age specific crime, which means that if a) the driver is under 21 years of age, b) has any detectable amount of alcohol, and c) is driving a motor vehicle he can be cited with DUI, which is a Class C misdemeanor.
In contrast, a DWI can be given to anyone regardless of age, and punishment for a first time DWI could result in up to 6 months in the Tarrant County Jail.
Why? The elements for Driving While Intoxicated are different than a DUI under Texas law. Specifically, for an officer to arrest a driver for DWI he must have probably cause to believe the driver is "intoxicated."
Under Texas criminal law, intoxication does not necessarily mean a person is driving "drunk" in the common sense of the word. Rather, it carries a legal definition, which means that a person is either a) the driver has lost the "normal" use of his, or her, mental or physical faculties or b) the person has a concentration of alcohol in the body of .08 or higher.
Now, here is where it gets interesting from a lawyers's standpoint....
The determination of "normal" is key in assessing whether a person has committed the offense of DWI, and it can be like trying to pin Jell-o to a wall in some cases. The reason is that "normal" use is determined not by the arresting officer or what we think is normal, but normal as it pertains to the accused driver.
Although this can often work towards your advantage, in some cases it can be the Tarrant County prosecutor's fall-back position in seeking a criminal conviction against you for DWI.
For example, let's say that you are pulled over by a Fort Worth police officer under suspicion of drunk driving. After conducting some field sobriety tests, the officer believes he has probably cause to arrest your for Driving While Intoxicated. Further, let's say that you are offered a chance to take a blood or breath test, which you give consent based on your feeling that you are not intoxicated. The results of the breath/blood test come back to show that your blood alcohol level is less than .08 as mandated by the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Despite having blown less than the legal limit, you find yourself arrested for DWI.
Why did this occur? Well, the prosecuting attorney can fall back on the "loss of normal use" prong of the DWI elements, which means that the Tarrant County DA's office will attempt to get a conviction against you under the theory that you did not have the use of your normal mental or physical faculties at the time you were operating a motor vehicle, because while you were driving you did [insert the reason you got stopped by the police here in most cases].
As you can see, there are many twists and turns to a DWI arrest, and it is considered a highly technical area of criminal law. For that reason, if you find yourself in the position of being arrested for a DWI you need to hire an experienced DWI lawyer that understands the criminal system in Fort Worth, Texas.
If you have been arrested for a DWI in Fort Worth, or within Tarrant County, and you would like to speak with a DWI Lawyer, please do not hesitate to contact our office by phone or send us a message.
