Denton Felony DWI Attorneys

A felony DWI charge in Denton County is a case that can take years of your liberty, end a career, and follow you for the rest of your life. The Texas Penal Code treats intoxication offenses that result in serious injury, death, repeat convictions, or the presence of a child in the vehicle as felonies, and the Denton County Criminal District Courts impose real prison time on people convicted of them.

Deandra Grant Law defends people charged with felony DWI in Denton County. Our defense is built on the forensic science that drives these cases (blood alcohol analysis, gas chromatography, drug toxicology, and accident reconstruction). Call (214) 225-7117 to discuss your case.

What Makes a DWI a Felony in Texas

A DWI is ordinarily a misdemeanor. Texas law elevates a DWI to a felony in four circumstances, each governed by Chapter 49 of the Texas Penal Code.

DWI Third or Subsequent — Texas Penal Code § 49.09(b)

A DWI becomes a third-degree felony when the person has two or more prior DWI convictions, regardless of how old those priors are. Texas has no “washout” period for DWI enhancement. A conviction from 25 years ago counts the same as one from last year.

Punishment range: 2 to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000.

Intoxication Assault — Texas Penal Code § 49.07

A person commits intoxication assault when, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, by reason of that intoxication the person causes serious bodily injury to another. “Serious bodily injury” means injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

Punishment range: Third-degree felony; 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, plus 160 to 600 hours of community service. Enhanced to a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years) if the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel on duty, or if the victim suffers a traumatic brain injury resulting in a persistent vegetative state.

Intoxication Manslaughter — Texas Penal Code § 49.08

A person commits intoxication manslaughter when, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, by reason of that intoxication the person causes the death of another.

Punishment range: Second-degree felony; 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, plus 240 to 800 hours of community service. Enhanced to a first-degree felony (5 to 99 years or life) if the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel on duty.

DWI with Child Passenger — Texas Penal Code § 49.045

A person commits this offense by operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, when the vehicle is occupied by a passenger younger than 15. The state does not have to prove any prior DWI conviction; a first offense is a felony.

Punishment range: State jail felony; 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000.

Consequences Beyond Prison Time

The prison range is only the headline. A felony DWI conviction carries consequences that begin the moment of arrest and continue long after any sentence is served.

• Driver’s license suspension. A felony DWI conviction triggers a license suspension under the Texas Transportation Code. A separate Administrative License Revocation (ALR) suspension is also triggered at arrest for anyone who refuses or fails a breath or blood test. The deadline to request an ALR hearing is 15 days from the date of the notice of suspension.
• Mandatory ignition interlock. Under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.441, a court must require an ignition interlock device as a condition of bond in most felony DWI cases. Interlock is also required as a condition of any occupational license.
• No deferred adjudication. House Bill 3582 (2019) made deferred adjudication available for some first-offense misdemeanor DWI cases with a BAC below 0.15%. It remains unavailable for any felony DWI offense. A plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony DWI produces a final conviction.
• Firearm rights. A felony conviction results in the loss of the right to possess a firearm under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)) and restricts state carry rights under Texas Penal Code § 46.04(a). Texas’ constitutional carry law (House Bill 1927, effective September 1, 2021) does not restore rights lost through felony conviction.
• Professional licensing. Nurses, pharmacists, CDL holders, teachers, real estate agents, and many other licensed professionals face separate administrative proceedings before their licensing boards after a felony DWI.
• Immigration consequences. Felony DWI, and particularly DWI with child passenger or intoxication assault/manslaughter, can trigger removal, inadmissibility, or denial of naturalization for non-citizens.
• Civil liability. An intoxication assault or manslaughter case is almost always accompanied by a parallel civil lawsuit by the injured party or the decedent’s family.

How We Defend Felony DWI Cases

Felony DWI cases are won on the science. Nearly every felony DWI prosecution in Texas today turns on a blood test result, a toxicology report, or an accident reconstruction, and each of those areas has specific failure points a trained defense lawyer can identify.

Blood Alcohol Analysis

Blood alcohol in Texas is measured by headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Attacking a blood result requires understanding the instrument, the validation studies, the internal standard calibration, the column chemistry, and the chain of custody from the hospital or DPS laboratory. 

Drug Toxicology

Drug-related DWI cases typically rely on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) confirmation. The pharmacology of the drug, whether the concentration correlates with impairment, active versus inactive metabolites, and the timing between the alleged driving and the draw are all contestable. We work with board-certified forensic toxicologists to challenge what the state claims the numbers mean.

Accident Reconstruction

In intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter cases, the state must prove that the defendant’s intoxication caused the injury or death. That is a causation question separate from impairment. Independent accident reconstruction, event data recorder (EDR) downloads, and scene analysis frequently show that intoxication was not the cause.

Field Sobriety and Drug Recognition Evaluations

Deandra Grant is a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) instructor. She teaches the same curriculum the officers in your case were trained on, which means she can identify administration errors that invalidate the results the state wants to rely on.

Constitutional and Procedural Challenges

Traffic stops, DWI investigations, and warrant applications are constrained by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, the Texas Constitution, and the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Suppression motions attacking the stop, the arrest, the warrant, and the statements are a routine and often decisive part of a felony DWI defense.

Challenging Priors on a DWI 3rd

A DWI 3rd prosecution requires the state to prove two prior DWI convictions. Judgment documents with incomplete records, out-of-state convictions that do not qualify under § 49.09(c), and convictions obtained without counsel are all areas where a supposedly rock-solid prior can be knocked out and which, in turn, reclassifies the case downward to a Class A misdemeanor.

Denton County Courts

Felony DWI cases in Denton County are filed in the Denton County Criminal District Courts at the Denton County Courts Complex, 1450 E. McKinney Street, Denton. The Denton County Criminal District Attorney’s Office prosecutes. Our Denton office is positioned to appear in the courthouse and to work with local investigators, toxicologists, and accident reconstructionists.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have two prior DWI convictions from years ago. Is this really a felony?

Yes. Texas has no lookback or washout period for DWI enhancement under § 49.09. Any two prior DWI convictions, at any age, can support a felony DWI 3rd charge.

My child was in the car but nothing happened. Is this really a felony?

Yes. DWI with child passenger under § 49.045 is a state jail felony on a first offense. No injury, no accident, and no prior DWI is required.

Can I get deferred adjudication on a felony DWI?

No. House Bill 3582 made deferred adjudication available for certain first-offense misdemeanor DWIs with a BAC below 0.15%. It is not available for any felony DWI.

Will I have to use an ignition interlock while my case is pending?

Almost certainly. Article 17.441 of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes interlock a required bond condition for most felony DWI cases in Texas. A judge must have a specific reason to deviate from it.

I refused the blood test. Can they still take my blood?

Yes. A refusal triggers an ALR suspension, and Texas officers routinely obtain search warrants to draw blood after a refusal. The validity of the warrant, the probable cause affidavit, and the draw itself are all contestable in the resulting criminal case.

How long will my case take?

Felony DWI cases in Denton County typically take six months to eighteen months to resolve, longer when forensic evidence has to be independently retested or when the case is set for trial.

About Deandra Grant Law

Deandra Grant Law is a Texas criminal defense and DWI firm with offices in Denton, Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Waco, and Rockwall. Our Denton felony DWI defense is led by attorneys whose qualifications are built specifically for the forensic science that drives these cases.

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 DWI trial experience across North Texas

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
• Serious-felony and complex-case experience

Contact Our Denton Felony DWI Attorneys

If you or someone you love has been charged with felony DWI in Denton County, the time to build a defense is now. Blood samples can be re-tested. Warrants can be challenged. Witnesses’ memories are fresher than they ever will be again. The decisions made in the first weeks after arrest often determine the result of the case.

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