Waco DWI Lawyer

The McLennan County courthouse at 501 Washington Avenue in downtown Waco, two blocks from our office. A first or second DWI is a misdemeanor and goes to a County Court at Law. A felony DWI, intoxication assault, or intoxication manslaughter goes to a District Court. Our McLennan County guide covers the building.

Yes. Arrests in Bellmead, Woodway, Hewitt, Robinson, and the rest of McLennan County are prosecuted by the same office and heard at the same county courthouse as a Waco arrest. Which police department stopped you does not change which building your case is heard in.

Texas has a zero-tolerance rule for drivers under 21, so any detectable alcohol can support a charge, and a DUI by a minor is a different case from an adult DWI. The license and record consequences for a young person are worth taking seriously from day one, and the university's own conduct process can run on a separate track from the criminal case. Both need handling, and the criminal outcome shapes the school one. See DWI vs DUI in Texas.

Your case stays in McLennan County no matter where you live, and skipping it is not an option. We handle passing-through cases constantly: consultations by phone or video, and we appear for routine settings so you are not driving in from Dallas or Austin every month.

Possibly. McLennan County runs a Recovery Court, formerly the DWI/Drug Court: a voluntary, post-adjudication treatment program that takes at least twelve months and was named the state's Outstanding DWI Court Team in 2025. It is built for people whose case is driven by a substance use disorder, so eligibility is narrow and depends on your facts and record. It is worth asking about early.

It can. Since September 1, 2019, Texas law lets a judge grant deferred adjudication on a first DWI when your alcohol concentration was under 0.15, you have no prior conviction under the intoxication statutes, and you did not hold a commercial license at the time. An ignition interlock is a required condition, and the decision is the judge's, not automatic. Deferred is not a dismissal, but the case ends without a final conviction. It is not available where a child was in the car, or on intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter. Our guide to deferred adjudication covers who qualifies and what it does to your record.

No. Waco blood goes to the DPS lab here in town, and a lab result has failure points: the warrant affidavit, the draw, chain of custody, preservation, the analyst's method, and the instrument's own record. We request that underlying data in every blood case. A number is a starting point for the defense, not the end of the case. Our guide to the evidence in a Texas DWI case explains what we look for.

Your license case is with the Texas Department of Public Safety, not McLennan County, and it is separate from the criminal case. You have 15 days from the date you were served with the notice of suspension to request an ALR hearing, and requesting it on time is what stays the suspension while the case is pending. Past the window, an occupational license may keep you driving.

It depends on the charge level and whether the case is headed to trial, and we are direct about numbers at the first call. We quote a flat fee after a consultation at no cost to you, so you know the full investment before you commit, and we offer payment plans. Our fee guide explains what a DWI defense should and should not cost.

The statute allows it: a first-offense DWI carries 72 hours to 180 days in the county jail, and up to a year if the result was 0.15 or higher. In practice a first offense in McLennan County more often ends in a dismissal, a reduction, deferred adjudication where you qualify, or probation, and the jail exposure is what the defense is built to remove. The time you already spent in the McLennan County Jail after the arrest counts against any sentence.

Yes. Our Waco office covers Bell and Coryell County cases across Central Texas, and those cases are heard in Belton, not Waco. See our Bell County guide.

Either. In person at our Austin Avenue office or any of our six offices, by phone, or by video. Whatever is easiest from where you are. The consultation is confidential and costs nothing either way.

Call us before you do anything else, because two clocks are already running. The 15-day window to request an ALR hearing starts when you receive the notice of suspension, and your bond conditions take effect the moment you are released. Write down everything you remember about the stop while it is fresh, keep the paperwork you were handed, and do not discuss the case with anyone but your lawyer. The consultation costs nothing. Our step-by-step guide covers the rest: What to Do After a DWI Arrest.