Dallas DWI Lawyer

Dallas County DWI cases are heard at the Frank Crowley Courts Building at 133 N. Riverfront Blvd. A first or second DWI goes to one of the County Criminal Courts. A felony DWI, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter goes to a Criminal District Court in the same building. Our Dallas County court guide covers the whole building.

No. Dallas County's DIVERT program covers drug cases only. There is no pretrial diversion for DWI, so the outcome depends on the strength of the defense. Start with our guide to the most common DWI defenses in Texas.

No. Dallas blood goes to SWIFS, the county's own lab. Every step of that analysis is discoverable, from the draw to the chromatogram to the analyst's training file. We request all of it and review it ourselves. Our guide to the evidence in a Texas DWI case explains what we look for.

Fifteen days from the date you receive the notice of suspension. If you refused a test or blew over 0.08, the officer handed you the notice at arrest. If blood was drawn, the notice comes by mail after the results are in. Our guide to the 15-day deadline walks through the request.

We quote a flat fee after a consultation at no cost. The fee depends on the charge level, whether blood was drawn, and whether the case is headed to trial. You know the number before you commit, and there are no hourly surprises. Payment plans are available. Our fee guide explains what a DWI defense should and should not cost.

Yes. A first DWI can end in dismissal, an acquittal at trial, or a reduction to a non-DWI offense. Which path is available depends on the stop, the testing, and the evidence in the file. Our guide to deferred adjudication covers the other route a first DWI can take.

A first-offense Class B DWI carries a range of 72 hours to 180 days in jail. Many first offenses in Dallas County resolve with probation rather than jail time, but the outcome depends on the facts and the record.

Write down everything you remember while it is fresh. Keep every piece of paper from the arrest, especially the notice of suspension. Do not discuss the case with anyone but a lawyer. Then call us so we can request your ALR hearing before the 15-day window closes. Our step-by-step guide covers the rest: What to Do After a DWI Arrest.

Yes. We have offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Denton, Rockwall, and Waco, and we appear in the courts across North and Central Texas. Tell us where the stop happened and we will route you to the right office. Find your county on our locations page.

Either. Consultations are at no cost in person, by phone, or by video. Most Dallas clients start with a phone call and meet in person before the first court date.

Any licensed lawyer can take the case. The question is whether they can read a SWIFS chromatogram, cross-examine on field sobriety protocol, and know how each Frank Crowley court runs. DWI is a science case wearing a criminal charge. Our guide to choosing a DWI lawyer covers what actually matters.

Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, and every other Dallas County city all prosecute at Frank Crowley. Wherever the stop happened, we defend it. See our Dallas County guide for how a case moves through the building.

Nothing. Intake takes your details at no charge, and if your case is one we can take on, the consultation with an attorney is free and confidential, with no obligation to hire us.

Usually not the first time. A first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor, or Class A if your alcohol concentration was 0.15 or higher, and a second DWI is a Class A misdemeanor. It becomes a felony with a third offense (third-degree felony, two to ten years), any DWI with a passenger under 15 (state jail felony), intoxication assault (third-degree felony), or intoxication manslaughter (second-degree felony). Our felony DWI guide covers each level.

0.08 for most drivers, 0.04 for anyone holding a commercial driver license, and any detectable amount for a driver under 21. The number is not the whole story: Texas also defines intoxication as losing the normal use of your mental or physical faculties, so a driver under 0.08 can still be charged, and a 0.08 result can still be challenged on how the sample was taken and tested. See what 0.08 actually means.

The administrative suspension comes first. A failed breath or blood test brings 90 days for a first offense, and a refusal brings 180 days. A prior alcohol-related contact in the last ten years raises those to one year and two years. A conviction can add its own suspension of 90 days to a year. Requesting the ALR hearing within 15 days of the notice of suspension is the only way to contest the first one, and an occupational license can keep you driving in the meantime. See our license guide.