Common Houston DWI Defense Tactics

In the state of Texas, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is referred to as driving while intoxicated, or a DWI. If you’ve been charged with a DWI, it’s in your best interest to work with an experienced Houston DWI defense attorney. Your freedom is important and an experienced attorney can help protect your rights with these common DWI defense tactics.

DWI Defense: An Improper Traffic Stop

One of the most common defenses used to combat a DWI charge is that the traffic stop was an improper one. The claim made by your defense attorney, after conducting plenty of research and gathering the evidence, will be that the officer involved did not have probable cause to initiate the traffic stop.

Field Sobriety Test Accuracy

An experienced criminal defense attorney will defend against a DWI charge by going after the accuracy of the field sobriety tests administered to the defendant. These tests are issued during the traffic stop and include walking in a straight line, balancing on one foot, and following an officer’s finger or pen with only the eyes. The eye test is known as the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) and is the test challenged most often by attorneys.

Accuracy of Portable Breathalyzer

Your defense attorney can also challenge the accuracy of the portable breathalyzer that was administered at the scene of the traffic stop. For example, the attorney might question the training of the police officer to administer such a test. Or, the calibration of the device could be challenged. Another issue that can be discussed is if the defendant vomited or had indigestion at the time the test was issued. Both of these can hinder the results of such a test.

Blood Test Chain of Custody

An experienced Houston DWI defense attorney will also question the blood test chain of custody. Is it possible that the blood test sample given by the defendant was tampered with? Was the blood sample mishandled, lost, or switched with someone else’s sample? All of these questions are important to ask in the defense of a DWI charge.

Are you facing a DWI charge in Houston? It’s best to work with an experienced defense attorney who knows the courts and the common defense tactics used to fight such a charge.