Houston DWI Lawyer | DWI Defense in Houston, TX

In the last few weeks we have been contacted by clients who are unable to get in contact with the their lawyer.  I can understand an criminal attorney not being able to return a client's phone call immediately because they are in trial or stuck working on something extremely important.  Regardless, with the ease that we are able to communicate today it is not difficult to make contact with a client via instant messages, text, email or a phone call.  This puts the client at ease and lets them know that their attorney is not ignoring them.  At the outset, the lawyer and the client should have a preferred method of contact and identify the best time for the client to make contact with them.  For most criminal lawyers, it is best to telephone them in the afternoon if you want their undivided attention.

Not coincidentally, and related to the lack of communication between attorneys and their clients  when I start discussing what the client knows about their case I quickly realize that the lawyer has neglected to inform their client about the alleged facts.  If a defendant has not been before a probable cause judge they are usually unclear regarding the facts of their case.  Thus, at the very least, the hired attorney should go over the offense report with their client.  A criminal defense attorney in Harris County, Texas may obtain a copy of the offense report, but must sign a confidentiality agreement that prevents them from sharing the report in full detail with their client.  However, this does not preclude them from discussing the facts contained in the report with their client. This allows the client to understand why they were charged with a crime and discuss with their lawyer what really happened. 

I remember in law school a professor spending an entire class emphasizing a client's chief complaint about their attorney is that they do not communicate with them.  Additionally, failure to return a client's phone call is the most likely way a lawyer will get a grievance filed against them. 

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As a criminal lawyer in Houston I always get questions from my friends about why more athletes do not get charged with crimes.  They point to isolated cases like Kobe Bryant where there was talk of him being charged with sexual assault better known as rape.  They understand that some sports are violent, but a lot of athletes go beyond the game.  For the most part, the Government has refrained from charging athletes for behavior that would be considered criminal.  I think the action of this Cuban baseball player would be considered to be criminal behavior. In fact, it is likely he would be charged with aggravated assault in Houston Texas.

If you have been charged with a sexual assault in Houston please contact our law firm at (713) 242-1779 to speak with an attorney that is experienced with defending sex crimes in Houston or click here to visit our website.

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As a Houston DWI lawyer I have come across a few memorable DWI videos during my time, but I have never come across one where the police officer leaves the decision to arrest someone to chance.  That is exactly what a Humble, Texas police officer decided to do in a drunk driving case that I was representing recently.  The short version of this incident is that the officer, after stopping my client for a traffic violation states on video that if my client's girlfriend answers his phone call and comes to the scene to pick him up he will not arrest him for DWI.  The catch of course, is that if she does not answer the phone he will be booked for DWI.  Unfortunately luck was not on his side that night.  His girlfriend failed to answer his call.   Meanwhile, the officer neglects to have my client perform any field sobriety tests to actually determine if he is intoxicated before arresting him.  This is comparable to flipping a coin before deciding to arrest someone.

Once I brought these facts to the prosecutor's attention she could not believe this was the case.  After viewing the video for herself she was equally astonished and eventually dismissed the case.  My concern is that this officer is not going to be reprimanded or told that his actions were improper.  Is this really how the Humble,Texas police are going to decide how to arrest someone for DWI?  Has anyone come across an officer claiming to release someone to a friend or family member based on a chance phone call, or was this an isolated incident?

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Frequently, after a drunk driving arrest in Houston a person may not have access to their vehicle because it was involved in an accident.  In the past, this caused  some complications in the Harris County courts because most Houston criminal court judges required an interlock machine to be placed in the accused's vehicle despite the likelihood that the vehicle is sitting in a body shop somewhere. Further, the judge would require the accused to get the interlock for any vehicle that they would have access to drive, be it a rental car or a shared spouse's car.  When the accused states that they will not have access to any other vehicle other than the one involved in the accident the court becomes skeptical since this would make it very difficult for most people to get around Houston. Therefore, the Court normally requires the accused to sign an affidavit that states they will not drive during their time on bond or the court will make the accused get the expensive SCRAM device (over $400 a month).  Now, there is a third and better option available.  The accused may be afforded the opportunity to use an interlock device at home.  With this new interlock machine the judge's fears are put to rest and the accused may forego  the costly expense of the SCRAM.

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 You've no doubt read the recent news regarding Toyota Camry recalls. I came across an online story of a man convicted of vehicular manslaughter in Minnesota. Koua Fong Lee was sentenced to 8 years in prison after being accused of speeding and crashing into cars in front of him killing 2 people and paralyzing a third person. Lee contends that his car sped up on its own and is now asking that his 1996 Toyota Camry be reexamined. Toyota has issued a recall for several models and years of its vehicles, but the 1996 Camry is not one of them.

The case highlights the challenges with prosecuting and defending car accidents that may or may not rise to criminal negligence. The Houston Press recently wrote a story regarding the Harris County District Attorney's Office prosecution of car accidents that they believe rise to the level of Criminal Negligent Homicide.

Catherine Evans, Chief of the Harris County District Attorney's Office Vehicular Crimes Section, is quoted explaining the factors that are taken into consideration when deciding whether to charge someone. "What were the ambient conditions? What was the weather like? The lighting, the equipment on the different vehicles if you had different vehicles involved. You're also looking at the behavior and the actions of the victim, the other driver in the case, because it's often a situation of two people making a series of bad choices or acts, so you need to have an understanding of what caused it or how those events contributed to the crash."

If you live in a big city like Houston that is big on highways and not so big on public transportation you will spend a significant time on the public roads. Accidents happen everyday all over town. Sometimes the result of these accidents is death. But is the death as a result of an accident criminal? It could be. Drive safe.

If you are need of a Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer contact Texas Board Certifed Attorney Mario Madrid at 713-877-9400.

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It seems like the Harris County District Attorney's Office is not budging from the second court date DIVERT decision put in place last month.  This decision requires that anyone wishing to enter the DIVERT program must make that decision by their second court date.  Unlike other misdemeanor charges this seems inconsistent in respect of how quickly a decision needs to be made.  In response,  the Harris County, Texas misdemeanor judges should recognize the unfairness of this policy and allow these cases to proceed down a different track than the other cases that are heard in their courts.  While this has worked well for several years the new DIVERT program throws things off because it is unlikely that an attorney that is handling a DWI case that is eligible for the program is able to make a full assessment before the second court date.  In a perfect world the ALR hearing would be concluded, the video would be reviewed, testifying experts will give their input, the offense reports will be completed and will be in the possession of the lawyer handling the case.  A two week reset does not come close to allowing all of this to occur because of the time constraints.  I would suggest that cases that are deemed to be DIVERT eligible be given a forty five day reset  time frame from their initial court date appearance so most of the preliminary investigation can be accomplished and all parties may make an informed decision before proceeding. 

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