Dismissed
Jun 2026
Charge
DWI
DWI case dismissed
McLennan County DWI Defense
Waco DWI Lawyer
Charged with DWI in Waco? Your case is a McLennan County case, heard at the courthouse two blocks from our downtown office. Baylor students and under-21 drivers face their own rules, and we know those too.
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DWI Defense in Waco
Facing a DWI in McLennan County?
Deandra Grant Law defends people charged with DWI in Waco and across McLennan County, the firm’s anchor for all of Central Texas. We handle every level of the offense, from a first DWI to high-BAC, repeat, and felony charges, including DWI with a child passenger, intoxication assault, and drugged driving. Our office in the historic Woolworth Building sits two blocks from the McLennan County Courthouse, where these cases are heard.
Waco DWIs have their own patterns: I-35 corridor stops, downtown enforcement, and a steady stream of Baylor students facing the under-21 rules, where any detectable amount of alcohol supports a charge. A conviction at 20 carries school and career consequences no penalty chart shows. Whatever the arrest looked like, the State’s case rests on testing, and this firm reads testing at the chemistry level: more than 500 trials to verdict, led by a forensic lawyer-scientist who wrote The Texas DWI Manual.
Getting started costs nothing. Call or schedule online to talk through what happened. You have just 15 days from arrest before your license suspension becomes automatic.
15-Day Deadline
Arrested in the last 15 days?
Your license is on its own clock. It started the day you were arrested.
What We Defend
Waco DWI Charges We Handle
Every McLennan County DWI charge, from a first offense to intoxication manslaughter.
First-Offense DWI
Driving while intoxicated with no prior convictions, a Class B misdemeanor.
First DWI penaltiesSecond DWI
A DWI with one prior conviction, a Class A misdemeanor with mandatory jail time.
Second DWI penaltiesThird DWI
A DWI with two prior convictions, a third-degree felony carrying two to ten years.
Third DWI penaltiesDWI 0.15
A result of 0.15 or higher raises a first DWI to Class A.
Why 0.15 mattersFelony DWI
Two priors, a child passenger, or serious injury make a DWI felony.
The felony thresholdDWI with Child Passenger
A passenger under fifteen turns a misdemeanor DWI into a felony.
Why this is a felonyIntoxication Assault
Causing serious bodily injury to another while intoxicated, a third-degree felony.
Assault penaltiesIntoxication Manslaughter
Causing a death while intoxicated, a second-degree felony carrying prison time.
Manslaughter penaltiesUnderage DWI
Drivers under twenty-one face DUI charges for any detectable amount of alcohol.
DWI vs. DUIDrug DWI (DUID)
A DWI where the intoxicant is a drug, prescribed or illegal, with no breath number involved.
How they prove itMarijuana DWI
Marijuana and edibles can support a DWI without any measurable level.
The marijuana rulesPrescription Drug DWI
A valid prescription is no defense if the medication impaired your driving.
Prescription rulesCDL DWI
A commercial license is disqualified even for a DWI in your own car.
CDL consequencesBoating DWI (BWI)
Operating a boat while intoxicated, prosecuted much like a driving DWI.
The BWI rulesLocal Knowledge
What Actually Happens to a DWI in McLennan County
McLennan runs its DWI cases differently from the counties around it. These are the local specifics that shape a defense here.
Where your case is heard
McLennan County DWI and criminal cases are heard at the courthouse at 501 Washington Avenue in downtown Waco, two blocks from our office. Misdemeanors go to the County Courts at Law, felonies to the District Courts.
Who prosecutes
The McLennan County District Attorney's office prosecutes a steady docket of DWI cases fed by I-35, downtown, and the university area.
The Baylor factor
Under-21 drivers face DUI rules where any detectable amount counts, and students face a second track of school discipline on top of the criminal case. Both need managing at once.
DWI vs DUI in TexasWhere your blood goes
McLennan County blood draws are sent for testing, and the receiving lab's chromatography, calibration, and quality control records are discoverable. We request the underlying data in every blood case.
Jail release
After a Waco arrest you're booked at the McLennan County Jail. Bond is set at magistration, usually within 48 hours, and the courthouse and jail run on downtown Waco's rhythm.
Case Results
Recent McLennan County Results
Real outcomes from real McLennan County cases. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Dismissed
May 2026
Charge
DWI & Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon
DWI and weapon charges dismissed
Dismissed
May 2025
Charge
DWI
DWI charge dismissed
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is decided on its own facts.
All Case ResultsWhy Deandra Grant Law
Why Waco Clients Choose This Firm
Every firm says it will fight for you. What actually decides a DWI case is how well your lawyer understands the evidence.
Former Prosecutor
Deandra Grant prosecuted DWI cases as an Assistant DA, so she knows exactly how these cases get built.
Two Forensic Lawyer-Scientists
Deandra Grant and Douglas Huff both hold the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation from the American Chemical Society.
Science Behind the Law
An M.S. in Pharmaceutical Science and a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology, plus Intoxilyzer operator and maintenance training.
500+ Trials Since 1994
We work only in DWI and criminal defense, and we have tried more than 500 cases to verdict.
We Wrote the Manual
Deandra Grant authored The Texas DWI Manual for James Publishing, the reference other lawyers use.
We Read the Lab
A McLennan County blood case rests on lab work. We request the chromatograms, calibration records, and QC data behind the number, and we challenge the chemistry.
After You Hire Us
What We Actually Do on Every Case
From the first call, in order:
- Request your ALR hearing before the 15-day deadline and use it to question the officer under oath
- Demand the dash and body camera video before it’s destroyed
- Pull the full discovery file: offense report, calibration and maintenance logs, lab records, certifications
- Read the underlying chemistry ourselves: the chromatograms, the QC data, not the summary report
- Re-score the field sobriety tests against NHTSA protocol, on video
- File the motions the evidence supports, because suppression is how DWI cases end
- Build your mitigation file, with clinical assessments, at no cost to you
- Try the case if the offer isn’t right, which is why the offers get better
We quote a flat fee after a consultation at no cost to you, so the investment is known before you commit.
Reviews
What Waco Clients Say
613 verified reviews and counting. Real Texans, real charges, real outcomes.
★★★★★
They were thorough and helpful. McKenzie Zarate was fantastic and made me feel heard and had my best interest.
A
Amber
★★★★★
Very helpful
G
Greg
★★★★★
my attorney was so kind and empathetic. she showed up and really went above and beyond supporting me. can’t thank her enough.
OP
Olivia Platt
Attorneys
The Attorneys in These Courts
Forensic-science training, three decades of Central Texas defense, and the courtroom record to back it up.
Recognition
Recognized by the Legal Profession and the Press
Peer-reviewed ratings, bar honors, and the newsrooms that call us when a DWI story breaks.
Awards & ratings
As seen in
Across Central Texas
Serving Waco and Central Texas
We defend DWI cases across McLennan County: Waco, Woodway, Hewitt, Robinson, Bellmead, Lacy Lakeview, and McGregor, plus the Baylor campus area and the I-35 corridor. From this office we also cover Bell and Coryell County cases, so one Central Texas location handles the whole region.
Start Here
Wherever You Are in Your Case, Start Here
A DWI case has many moving parts. Find the question you're asking right now.
“I’m out of jail. Now what?”
What happens next, from booking through your first court date, and the deadline that comes first.
Booking to court date“Will I still be able to drive?”
A DWI arrest starts a second, separate case against your license, and it runs on a 15-day clock.
Save your license“What even counts as a DWI?”
What Texas actually has to prove, and the three elements every case rests on.
The three elements“What exactly am I charged with?”
Texas charges DWI at six levels, and four facts can turn a misdemeanor into a felony.
See the charge levels“How bad can the sentence get?”
What a first, second, or felony DWI carries in jail time, fines, and suspension.
Jail, fines, suspension“Is their evidence any good?”
Breath, blood, and roadside tests: what each measures and where each one goes wrong.
Where the tests fail“Was the stop even legal?”
What police need before the lights come on, what the roadside can and cannot require of you, and how to tell afterwards.
The 24 driving cues“What can be done about it?”
Every Texas DWI defense by category, from the stop through the elements the State still has to prove.
Every defense, by type“What happens next, and when?”
Every stage of a Texas DWI case, from filing through disposition, and what happens at each.
Walk through a case“How does my case end?”
Dismissal, acquittal, reduction, deferred, probation, or jail, and which endings let you clear your record.
See how cases end“What does this do to my life?”
What a DWI touches beyond the courtroom: your job, insurance, immigration status, and license.
What a conviction costs“Who should I hire, and what will it cost?”
What to ask, which credentials matter in a DWI case, what fees should cover, and the red flags.
Credentials and feesNot sure what a term means? Check the glossary.
McLennan County
Waco DWI Questions, Answered
Your Defense Starts Now
Charged with DWI in Central Texas?
From Waco to Killeen, the clocks are the same: 15 days on your license, and evidence that won't wait. Free, confidential case review. An attorney answers, 24/7.
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