Houston DWI Lawyer | DWI Defense in Houston, TX

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. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

One of the requirements of the Harris County District Attorney's Office for anyone arrested for drunk driving or DWI to be considered for the DIVERT program is that they do not have any prior incidents with law enforcement.  This is the initial consideration for anyone that is going to enter the DIVERT program.  When a person is arrested for any crime in Harris County, Texas an appropriate bond is to be assigned.  Typically, a first offender's bond for a DWI in Houston, Harris County will be $500.  I have noticed lately that more personal recognizance bonds are being given for first time offenders.  This should be the rule instead of the exception for anyone that is a candidate for DIVERT in Harris County, Texas.  Some may say that if someone can not make a $500 bond they will not be able to pay for all the fees associated with the program.  Nonetheless, Judge Roger Bridgwater indicated at the initial DIVERT meeting with the defense bar that there would be a sliding scale for those that could not afford all the fees for the DIVERT program.  Granting a PR bond would offset the future costs for the person, allow them to be on bond while going through the DIVERT process and not have someone incarcerated for something that is going to take months to resolve.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Now that the DIVERT program in Houston is about six months old attorneys are coming across several issues.  Several Houston DWI attorneys have told me that their clients are not  in compliance with the DIVERT contract which, according to the DIVERT contract these defendants are subject to jail time. These attorneys are hopeful that they will be able to keep their clients from going to jail.  Will the Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) enforce the agreement?  What will the judge do if they have a hearing on the matter?   Is the agreement even enforceable?  I am curious as to what the final result will be in the upcoming cases. 

Mark Bennett provides another opinion in his blog as to why the HCDAO is changing the DIVERT program so capriciously. He concludes that the HCDAO doesn't know what they are doing with regard to the DIVERT program.

Also, Dane Johnson writes in his blog that the HCDAO is reconsidering the two week reset rule that was implemented last week.  A rule that did not make any sense to anyone in the misdemeanor division in the first place and caught everyone else off guard.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I understand as a Houston DWI attorney that the Houston DWI DIVERT program is a novel concept for Harris County,Texas.  I further recognize that with a new program tweaks will be made to make improvements.  However, it seems that the Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) is continually making changes to this program.  This causes confusion to all the parties involved.  Whether you are misdemeanor judge, a misdemeanor prosecutor, a DWI attorney, or an accused changing the rules weekly leaves everyone uncertain as to how to proceed. 

I have been patient with the program up until now.  This week the HCDAO decided that a defendant needs to decide if they want to be considered for the DIVERT program by their second court setting.  This is patently unfair and lends itself to the biggest complaint against the program, that is coercive.  

My non-DWI clients do not need to decide anything within two settings, but somehow my DWI clients must make a life changing decision is less than a month now.  That is unacceptable!  Anyone that is a candidate for the DIVERT is someone that has never had contact with the police or the criminal justice system before their DWI arrest.  They are afraid, confused, and intimidated by the system.  This is not the best time for them to make such an important decision.  Moreover, in a lot of instances a DWI attorney can not properly analyze a case after one setting.  There are too many variables involved before they can properly advise their client. 

This change will undoubtedly lead to another deluge of initial cases being screened in order to meet the two setting decision deadline since, being evaluated does not require the defendant from accepting the conditions offered.  Ultimately, this will lead to more people rejecting the DIVERT program because no one enjoys being bullied into doing something.  Perhaps, this is what the HCDAO is trying to accomplish.  If it is they may find an increase in attorneys setting cases for trial.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As one of the few Spanish speaking DWI lawyers in Houston I represent a fair amount of Spanish speaking people that are charged with the crime of driving while intoxicated.  While they may not speak English they are still lawfully residing in the United States.  Some are citizens with others being resident aliens, or in the United States under some sort of Visa.  Some are here with proper documentation while others are in the process of getting their status sorted out.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) was initially clear about what type of people would be accepted into their DIVERT program, or so I thought.  They were only accepting people that were in this country lawfully.  One would think that this is straightforward enough, but actually like most other things with the DIVERT program this is ambiguous  Now I have been told, if a person is in the process of obtaining his residency and not yet a citizen or permanent resident they will not qualify for the DIVERT program.  While the Federal government allows them to stay in this country indefinitely the HCDAO does not allow them to enter the DIVERT program.  This is difficult for my clients to comprehend when they are doing everything required of them by the Federal law.  Is the HCDAO being too selective of people when it comes to their DIVERT program or just  too exclusive since they do not have an issue allowing them to go on probation for the same DWI charge.  Regardless, this leaves my clients in DIVERT limbo.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As a Houston DWI Attorney I am grateful that the Harris County District Attorney's Office is implementing the DIVERT Program.  One question that has gone unanswered thus far is whether a DWI with a child passenger, a felony, will qualify for the new program?  I am hopeful that the administration will treat this first time offender the same as one that is charged with a misdemeanor.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link