Dallas Multiple DWI Lawyers

Deferred Adjudication Is Not Available on a Repeat DWI

HB 3582 (2019) made deferred adjudication available for certain first-offense misdemeanor DWIs with a BAC below 0.15%. A second, third, or subsequent DWI is not eligible. A plea to a repeat DWI produces a final conviction, and for felony DWI cases, a permanent felony record.

Injury, Death, and Child Passenger — Related Felony Charges

A repeat-DWI defendant who causes harm does not stay on the § 49.09 ladder. The state charges a different offense:

• Intoxication assault — § 49.07. Third-degree felony (or second-degree felony if the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, or EMS personnel on duty, or if the victim suffers a traumatic brain injury resulting in persistent vegetative state). 2 to 10 years (or 2 to 20), fine up to $10,000, and 160 to 600 hours of community service.
• Intoxication manslaughter — § 49.08. Second-degree felony (or first-degree felony if the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, or EMS personnel on duty). 2 to 20 years (or 5 to 99 or life), fine up to $10,000, and 240 to 800 hours of community service.
• DWI with child passenger — § 49.045. State jail felony (180 days to 2 years) for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a passenger under 15 years of age. This is a stand-alone felony triggered by the presence of a child passenger, independent of any prior DWI history.

Firearm Consequences of a Felony DWI

A third or subsequent DWI is a felony, and that classification triggers firearm consequences beyond the criminal sentence:

• Federal law — 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Any person convicted of a felony is permanently prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. The prohibition is lifetime and applies to misdemeanor felony convictions in Texas (state jail felonies) as well as traditional felonies.
• Texas law — Penal Code § 46.04(a). A person convicted of a felony may not possess a firearm before the fifth anniversary of release from confinement or supervision, and after that date may possess one only at the person’s residence. The federal prohibition continues past the Texas five-year window.
• Texas constitutional carry. House Bill 1927 (effective September 1, 2021) permits most adults to carry a handgun without a license, but the statute does not restore rights lost by felony conviction. A felony DWI defendant cannot use constitutional carry.

Other Collateral Consequences

• Professional licensing. Nurses, CDL holders, teachers, real estate agents, pharmacists, and many other licensed professionals face separate board proceedings after a repeat DWI conviction.
• Immigration. DWI offenses, particularly felony DWI and DWI with child passenger, can trigger removability for non-citizens under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2).
• Employment. Background checks reveal DWI convictions indefinitely, and many employers (particularly in driving-related industries, government, healthcare, and security) decline to hire felony DWI offenders.
• Housing. Felony convictions affect public housing eligibility and create barriers to private rentals.
• Insurance. Auto insurance costs rise substantially, and the SR-22 filing requirement can extend for years.
• Voter registration. In Texas, a person convicted of a felony is ineligible to vote while in prison or on probation or parole; voter registration can resume after the full discharge of the sentence.

How Multiple DWI Cases Are Defended

Challenging the Priors

A DWI enhancement requires the state to prove the prior conviction. Pen-pack judgments with incomplete records, out-of-state convictions that do not qualify under § 49.09(c), convictions obtained without counsel, and defective judgment documents are all areas where a supposedly rock-solid prior can be knocked out (which, in turn, reclassifies the case downward).

Fourth Amendment Challenges

Traffic stops, DWI investigations, blood warrants, and arrest procedures are constrained by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, the Texas Constitution, and the Code of Criminal Procedure. Suppression motions attacking the stop, the probable cause affidavit for any warrant, the arrest, and any custodial statements are routine and frequently decisive.

Forensic Challenges

Ethanol analysis is performed by headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID); drug testing is performed by LC-MS/MS. Attack points include sample collection, preservative balance, chain of custody, instrument calibration, internal standards, column chemistry, measurement uncertainty, and microbial fermentation during storage. As an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, Deandra Grant reads the underlying data packet rather than the one-page report. As a former prosecutor, she knows how the state uses that data.

Standardized Field Sobriety Tests

Deandra Grant is an SFST instructor. She teaches the same curriculum the officers in your case were trained on, which allows her to identify administration errors that invalidate the results.

Pretrial Motions

Motions to suppress, motions in limine, motions to quash enhancement paragraphs, and Daubert/Kelly challenges to state experts frequently shape a repeat-DWI case long before trial.

Where Dallas County Multiple DWI Cases Are Heard

Second DWI cases in Dallas County are filed as Class A misdemeanors in the Dallas County Criminal Courts. Third and subsequent DWI cases are filed as third-degree felonies in the Dallas County Criminal District Courts. Both sit at the Frank Crowley Courts Building at 133 N. Riverfront Boulevard.

Frequently Asked Questions

I had a DWI 20 years ago. Does it still count?

Yes, if it was a final conviction. Texas has no lookback period. Any prior DWI conviction, regardless of age, counts for § 49.09 enhancement.

Is there a way to avoid jail on a second DWI?

A defendant convicted of a second DWI faces a mandatory minimum of 72 hours of actual jail time under § 49.09(a), even with probation. Whether that is the only jail time served, or whether significant additional incarceration follows, depends on the case and the resolution negotiated or reached at trial.

Can I get probation on a third DWI?

Yes, probation is available on a third DWI, but whether it is offered or granted depends on the case, the prior history, and the court. Third-DWI probation is substantially more restrictive than misdemeanor-DWI probation and typically includes extensive treatment, supervision, and interlock requirements. A conviction remains a final felony, with all the collateral consequences that follow.

Can I get deferred adjudication on a second or third DWI?

No. Deferred adjudication is not available for any second or subsequent DWI under HB 3582. A plea produces a final conviction.

Does a felony DWI mean I lose my gun rights forever?

Under federal law, yes. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) imposes a permanent federal prohibition on firearm possession after any felony conviction. Texas law under § 46.04(a) is narrower, imposing a five-year post-release prohibition with a limited residence-based exception thereafter. The federal ban continues past the Texas window.

About Deandra Grant Law

Deandra Grant Law is a Texas criminal defense firm with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Denton, Waco, and Rockwall. Our DWI practice is built on forensic training that matters especially in repeat-DWI cases, where the enhancement paragraphs depend on documentary proof of priors and the punishment consequences of a conviction are at their harshest.

Deandra M. Grant, Managing Partner

• More than 30 years in practice, focused on criminal defense and DWI
• Former prosecutor
• J.D.; M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology
• ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist from the American Chemical Society
• Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) Instructor
• Texas Super Lawyer since 2011
• Author of 17 law books including The Texas DWI Manual
• Executive Director, DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA)

Douglas E. Huff, Partner

• ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist
• Digital forensics and electronic evidence training
• Extensive North Texas DWI trial experience

James Lee Bright, Of Counsel

• National federal criminal defense practice
• Admitted to all four Texas federal districts, the District of Columbia, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States

Contact Our Dallas Multiple DWI Attorneys

A second or third DWI is not a case to handle without experienced counsel. The enhancement paragraphs, the mandatory minimums, the interlock requirements, and the felony-conviction consequences all produce exposure that is multiples of what a first DWI carries. The earlier counsel is involved, the more options remain.

Call Deandra Grant Law at (214) 225-7117 to schedule a consultation. We serve Dallas County and surrounding North Texas counties from our Dallas office.