TEXAS LAW On DWI

Texas DWI Facts & Information

Austin Texas DWI Defense Attorney - Know Your Rights on DWI Law

A breath test or field sobriety test does not automatically prove you guilty.

According to the federal government, accuracy of field sobriety tests are as follows:

  HGN test......................77%

  Walk and turn.............68%

  One leg stand.............65%

Evaluating A Texas Drunk Driving DWI Case and the Deciding Factors. In most Texas DWI cases, there are 3 pieces of evidence that are open to interpretation of the law.

Police Reports:

The police report is only the officer's interpretation.

Were you properly read your Miranda warnings?

Did the police officer stop you for a valid reason?

Were any statements made by you coerced, taken out of context, or misinterpreted?

Important:

The Intoxilyzer 5000 assumes that everyone has the same blood breath partition ratio, hematocrit ratio and assumes that all samples are at an air temperature of 93.2 F. Texas DWI Law does not utilize any methods which would allow for a retest of samples given. The computer software is proprietary and is not available to scientific peer review. There are many things which have been shown to affect a breath test score. These machines are generally not available for inspections by anyone outside of law enforcement. Texas does not allow for non-law enforcement or government personnel to become certified as breath test technical operators. Much of the Texas breath program remains limited to outsiders despite a generally assumed belief that these machines have undergone and passed wide general scientific review.

Field Sobriety Tests:

Police make arrests on the basis of probable cause. This is not the same thing as "beyond reasonable doubt." It is not a police officer's job to determine if someone is guilty. Many police offers choose to arrest on the basis of caution.

There is much technical training for a police officer in the field of Texas DWI Law. There is no law in Texas which states they must keep up their training on a yearly or any other type of basis with respect to standardized field sobriety training. Many police officers do not make any form of notes on the side of the road with respect to numerous details. Most police officers do not include mitigating or exculpatory information in their reports, mainly negative observations.

Where there distractions during the testing? Were you nervous or tired during the testing?

If there was a video taping of the event, does it accurately depict your true state of sobriety at the time, or was it unfairly effected by perhaps traffic, poor lighting, noise, or lack of sound.

What is your true balance and coordination?

Do you have any physical disabilities that can cause false results?