A DWI arrest in Texas opens two simultaneous legal proceedings that run on different clocks and have different consequences. The criminal case will take months to resolve. The administrative license revocation (ALR) case can suspend your license in 40 days if you do nothing. The steps you take in the first 15 days after your arrest determine whether you enter the criminal case with your license intact and with the maximum amount of usable defense information or whether you’ve already lost ground you can’t get back.
Here is what matters, in the order it matters.
Step 1: The ALR Deadline — 15 Days from Notice of Suspension
This is the most time-sensitive step. Everything else can wait until you’ve handled this.
When you were arrested, the officer may have given you a temporary driving permit (a DIC-25 form). That form also serves as notice of suspension. You have 15 days from the date you were served with that notice to request an Administrative License Revocation hearing. If you miss the deadline, your license is automatically suspended. The length of suspension depends on whether you consented to a breath or blood test or refused.
Requesting the ALR hearing does two things. It stops the automatic suspension clock while the hearing is pending, preserving your driving privileges for weeks or months while your case proceeds. And it compels the arresting officer (if you issue a subpoena) to appear under oath before the criminal case reaches the same issues. This gives your attorney a sworn, recorded statement from the officer that can be used at every subsequent stage of the defense.
The ALR hearing is not just an administrative inconvenience. It is a discovery tool. Cross-examining the officer about the stop, the field sobriety tests, the breath or blood test procedures, and the chain of custody for any specimens creates a record that locks in the officer’s account before the criminal case begins. Inconsistencies between what the officer says at the ALR hearing and what appears in the police report or at trial are among the most powerful impeachment material available to the defense.
Step 2: Exercise Your Right to Silence — Completely
You have already been arrested. Nothing you say at this point reduces the charge, improves your situation with the officer, or demonstrates cooperation in a legally meaningful way. What you say can and will be used against you at trial, in the ALR hearing, and in any plea negotiation.
This means: do not explain what you had to drink, do not explain where you were coming from, do not explain why you were driving that way, and do not attempt to demonstrate sobriety through conversation. The officer has already formed their opinion. The recording device in the patrol car is running. Invoke your right to counsel and say nothing further until you have spoken with an attorney.
This is not about appearing uncooperative. It is about the evidentiary record. Every statement you make becomes part of the case file. The absence of a statement does not.
Step 3: Preserve Your Own Account While It’s Fresh
As soon as you are able (before you sleep if possible) write down everything you can remember about the stop and arrest in as much detail as possible. Not to share with anyone, but to preserve your own recollection before it fades.
Include: where you were coming from, what you consumed and when, the time between your last drink and when you were stopped, exactly what the officer said and did, the conditions at the roadside (lighting, surface, weather, traffic), how the field sobriety tests were administered, what instructions you were given, and what happened at booking. Note anything that seemed unusual or that deviated from what you expected.
The reason this matters forensically: field sobriety test administration errors, observation period compliance failures, chain of custody gaps, and warrant deficiencies are all fact-specific. Your recollection of the sequence and conditions at the scene is the baseline against which the officer’s report and body camera footage will be compared. Memories degrade quickly. Write it down now.
Step 4: Do Not Touch Your Social Media
Do not post about the arrest, about the night, about anything that could be connected to the case. Do not delete posts that already exist. Deletion after an arrest can constitute spoliation of evidence and can itself be used against you. Leave everything as it is and let your attorney advise you on how to handle your digital footprint.
Location data, timestamps, activity logs, and the metadata embedded in photos are all potentially discoverable. What you posted before the arrest may be relevant to the prosecution’s timeline. What you post after the arrest may be relevant to your state of mind or your account of events. Neither category should be added to until you have spoken with an attorney.
Step 5: Understand What Evidence Exists and How Quickly It Degrades
A DWI case is built on physical evidence that has a short shelf life. Surveillance footage from businesses near the stop location often overwrites within days. Witness memories fade.
Your attorney needs to move quickly on preservation. The sooner discovery requests go out, the more evidence that exists to work with.
Step 6: Understand What the Defense Actually Looks Like
Most DWI defense attorneys challenge evidence procedurally by arguing that the officer didn’t follow proper steps, that the observation period wasn’t long enough, that the warrant had a deficiency. Those are legitimate challenges and Deandra Grant Law raises them when they apply.
But DGL’s defense goes deeper, because the credentials to go deeper exist. Managing Partner Deandra Grant holds a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Science, a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Toxicology, and the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation. Partner Douglas Huff holds the same ACS-CHAL designation and has completed advanced digital forensics training. Deandra is a trained SFST instructor who administers and grades the ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist and DUIDLA Board Certification exams.
What this means in practice: the GC-FID methodology the lab used to analyze your blood sample is evaluated at the chemistry level, not just the paperwork level. The partition ratio assumption in your breath test result is examined against your specific physiological profile where that data exists. The SFST scoring is reviewed against the NHTSA protocol, not just against whether the officer was certified. Retrograde extrapolation calculations (the prosecution’s attempt to estimate your BAC at the time of driving based on a test taken later) are challenged using the same pharmacokinetic analysis that a pharmaceutical science graduate degree makes possible.
The defense that’s available to you depends on what the evidence actually shows. That evaluation starts at the first consultation.
Step 7: Know What’s Coming in the Criminal Case
Arraignment. Your first court appearance, where the charge is formally read and a plea is entered. Your attorney will typically enter a not guilty plea to preserve all options while the case is investigated.
Discovery. Your attorney obtains the police report, body and dashcam footage, breath or blood test records, laboratory documentation, maintenance and calibration records for the testing instrument, and any other evidence the prosecution intends to use.
Pretrial motions. If the evidence supports it, motions to suppress (challenging the legality of the stop, the blood draw, or the admissibility of test results) are filed and heard before trial. A successful suppression motion can end the prosecution’s case without a trial.
Plea or trial. Most cases resolve through negotiated disposition. Some go to trial. The decision depends on the strength of the evidence, the available defenses, and your specific circumstances and objectives.
If you have been arrested for DWI in North or Central Texas, call Deandra Grant Law at (214) 225-7117. The 15-day ALR deadline is already running.