Houston DWI Law Blog : Houston DWI Lawyer & Attorney : Johnson Johnson & Baer Law Firm : Texas DUI Defense & Criminal Law

This billboard image was recently sent to me and it reminded me of the Texas DWI campaign,

DRINK, DRIVE, GO TO JAIL

The problem that Houston driver's face - Houston Police officers believe the statement to be true.  Unfortunately, the statement is very true for all intents and purposes.  Many citizens are arrested simply because they have had a drink, smell like alcohol and are driving.

This is just simply not the law.  The law allows a person to drink and then drive so long as they are not intoxicated at the time they are driving. 

I believe the Texas Department of Public Safety is not only trying to curb the number of people that drive while intoxicated, but also to taint the jury pool for DWI cases.  The state and DPS  are purposefully misstating the law on the  DPS signs in the hope that jurors will believe that the law is any drinking and then driving is enough for a DWI conviction.

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The Supreme Court of the United States tells the government that the Confrontation Clause does still exist.  In a one sentence opinion, the Supreme Court said in Briscoe v. Virginia,

We vacate the Judgment of the Supreme Court of Virginia and remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with the opinion in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. _____.

Previously, I wrote about the Melendez-Diaz opinion.  Essentially, the Court reaffirms that we have a right to confront witnesses and not be tried by affidavit or documents.  Instead, we get to cross-examine the people that make reports, not just live with what the report says.

Some have speculated that the Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to see what Justice Sotomayor's position is on this issue.  Fortunately for the accused, it seems Justice Sotomayor is in agreement with the Melendez-Diaz opinion.

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I took this photo this morning at the State Office.  Presumably, the cop that drove this Houston Police vehicle was at the State Office for an ALR hearing to suspend the driver's license of a person the officer arrested for DWI.

Do you think the officer would consider this a sign of intoxication if the driver was one of our clients?  Would he listen to the innocent reason our client had for the reason he parked the entire front of his car on the curb?  Would this Houston police officer give our clients the benefit of the doubt?  Was this cop DWI?  Had he been drinking?

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Barring an appeal of his conviction for official oppression for offereing to help a DWI defendant in his court get a dismissal of her DWI case, Judge Donald Jackson's tenure as a Harris County Judge is over.  Judge Jackson was sentenced to probation that includes 30 days in the Harris County jail as a condition of the probation.

For what it is worth, I always liked Judge Jackson and felt like he tried to do the "right thing" in the cases that I handled in his court.  It seems that most of the lawyers that I have spoken to about Judge Jackson have said the same.  Hopefully, Judge Jackson's replacement will have a similar outlook on the law and do the "right thing" with the cases that come before him/her.

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What a scam Smart Start has with the the DWI DIVERT Program.  As it turns out, one of the requirements of the DIVERT Program is that the person who enters into the contract with the Harris County District Attorney's office is required to go through Smart Start to have an ignition interlock device.

So why is it a scam?  Well, many of the Judges in Harris County require as a condition of bond to have an ignition interlock device put in a vehicle as a condition of bond.  There are a few companies that offer this service, including EZ Interlock that is run by a friend of ours, John Burns.  John has been around the courthouse since long before I started practicing law.

If a citizen decides to go through a company other than Smart Start for the ignition interlock as a condition of bond, he/she will be required to switch companies (cost to be paid by client) to Smart Start if they decide to participate in the DIVERT Program.  It seems to me that someone (hint: Smart Start) stands to make a lot of money on this new DIVERT Program.  What is the need for someone that has no problems with the ignition interlock device as a condition of bond to change companies?  why do they need to absorb the additional cost of changing companies?  Seems like a pretty good money maker for Smart Start to me.  Wonder who made this monopolized deal go through and if any money changed hands in that process?

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According to reports, Tiger Woods was involved in a single car accident near his residence.  The big story seems to be that he is "refusing" to talk to investigators about the accident. 

Just a guess, but he probably hired a competent lawyer to advise him on the matter.  That competent attorney probably told Tiger he did not have any obligation to answer any questions about the accident and did not have to speak to investigators about the accident.

Remember that document that I write about - The United States Constitution?  We as citizens have no duty to talk to the police about anything.  Yes, this includes the famed Tiger Woods.

As a Houston DWI lawyer, we have had several clients that have been contacted by the police to get "client's" side of the story.  The problem is, the police are often trying to gather evidence to use against that person.  In our experience, it is rare that law enforcement contacts our clients to exonerate them.  More often than not, the police are seeking information to build a case against the person to whom they are speaking.  

If the cops come knocking on your door to speak to you about a crime, I suggest you find a lawyer to help you through that process (even if you have nothing to hide.)

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Remember the Conroe Police Officer that was indicted for falsifying a DWI offense report?  Well good news for our client that was arrested by this officer - his felony DWI case was dismissed yesterday.

Our client had absolutely nothing to drink and looked and sounded absolutely sober on the video.  He was still arrested and charged with Felony DWI, had to make a bond and hire a Texas DWI attorney.  Additionally, he had the ongoing worry of having a felony DWI hanging over his head for several months.

I don't normally write on this blog about our victories.  However, I think it is important to show just how easy it is to be arrested for a DWI / DUI.  All the cops have to do is say they smell alcohol and that you have not passed the field exercises and you as a citizen, are off to jail.  Fortunately in this case, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office saw through this officer's BS.  Based on our years of experience, this calling the officer on his shenanigan and outright lies is the exception, not the rule. 

You ever caught a cop lying either in his report or on the witness stand?

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Mark Bennett wrote about this a while back, but I just looked at the slate of judicial candidates for Harris County Democrats seeking a Misdemeanor Court bench for the 2010 election.  Who the hell are most of these judicial candidates?  I know I don't know everyone that has stepped foot in the criminal courthouse, but I am there just about every day.

I know most of prosecutors and most of the criminal defense lawyers either by name or face or both.  While there are some on the list that I know by either face or name, many I have never heard their names. 

The Harris County Criminal Courts at Law handle Class A and Class B Misdemeanors.  The majority of jury trials that these courts hear are Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) cases, Assaults and Possession of Marijuana cases.  Given that the majority of cases that are tried in these courts are DWIs, Assaults and Marijuana cases, is it too much to ask of these candidates that they have tried a few DWI, Assaults or Marijuana cases before running for the bench?

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It seems that Brady material is an ongoing problem with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

I offer this on behalf of Jordan Lewis in our office.  His simplified definition of Brady material is something like this -

If a prosecutor learns something about a case and his/her first reaction is, I hope the defense lawyer doesn't find out about this, then it is probably Brady material.

This is to all of the young prosecutors out there, if there is any question about whether something is Brady material or not, turn it over.  As a matter of fact, if you are trying to convict someone and take away his/her freedom, don't you think it is fair to give the defense everything you have - especially the information that tends to show he/she didn't do it?

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