A Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) case in Texas can be a stressful and unpredictable process. In addition to the immediate shock of arrest, there is a general and urgent question: How long will this take? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, as the timeline for a Texas DWI case can vary significantly.

The process of going through the system, starting with arrest and ending in resolution, has several steps, and each step is affected by its factors. Below is a breakdown of the expected timeline throughout the DWI case to help you better understand the process.

Arrest and Booking

A DWI case usually starts with a traffic stop. This initial contact can quickly turn into a detention with an officer who suspects intoxication requesting you to submit to a Field Sobriety Test (FSTs) and a possible request for a breath or blood test. You will be taken into custody if the officer finds probable cause to arrest. This is not a minor inconvenience. It marks the beginning of a criminal case.

After the arrest, you will be taken to a detention center where the booking process occurs. Here, the usual protocols involve:

  • Taking your mug shot
  • Taking fingerprints
  • Obtaining the necessary personal details

Though a routine process, this step turns a roadside stop into a formal criminal charge, which triggers a cascade of other events with significant legal consequences.

After booking, a critical choice comes: securing your release from custody. This is usually in the form of posting a bond, which may be a cash bond, a surety bond with a bail bondsman, or, in some cases, a personal recognizance (P.R.) bond. The bond type depends on the circumstances of your arrest and your criminal history. A magistrate or judge determines the bond amount, which is an assurance that you will attend all future court appearances.

As you concentrate on getting released, it is necessary to realize that at this point, two separate legal processes begin:

  • A criminal prosecution
  • Administrative License Revocation (ALR) proceeding

The first is the criminal case, where the state tries to establish your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If found guilty, you could face fines, jail time, and other penalties. The other is an administrative matter handled by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) regarding the automatic suspension of your driver's license.

Administrative License Revocation (ALR) is especially time-sensitive and requires urgent consideration. When you have been arrested for DWI and you either refused to provide a breath or blood sample or gave a sample showing a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher, your license to drive is automatically suspended.

More importantly, you have 15 days, following your arrest, to request an ALR hearing. Your driving privileges will automatically be suspended upon failing to request this hearing within the strict 15-day period, irrespective of whether you are found guilty in your criminal case.

This hearing is a critical opportunity to dispute the proposed suspension and perhaps maintain your driving privileges while waiting for your criminal case. It, therefore, means that after being arrested for a DWI, it is not only important to seek legal assistance, but it is indeed a must to secure your criminal defense and driving rights.

The Arraignment Hearing

The second significant step in a Texas DWI case is the arraignment hearing, usually your initial formal court appearance after the arrest and booking. This is the first hearing that generally takes place within a few weeks after your arrest, and this is where your case is officially presented in court. During the arraignment, the judge will read the charges against you to make you aware of the exact allegations presented by the state.

If police officers arrest you for a misdemeanor DWI violation, your initial court appearance occurs within 20 to 40 days. If the case involves a felony DWI, it could take several months. This is especially the case if the offense necessitates a grand jury indictment.

The arraignment is not a trial. It is a procedural form to guarantee due process and establish the court's jurisdiction over the case.

In the arraignment, your attorney will typically enter an initial plea of not guilty on your behalf. This common practice keeps all your legal rights and options open as the case progresses so that the charges can be further investigated, negotiated, and trial-prepared in case of need.

Although you might have been intoxicated, entering a plea of not guilty is customary at the onset. It preserves all your legal options and allows your legal team to fully investigate the state's evidence without making any premature admissions.

Conditions of the bond are also covered during the arraignment. The judge will look over your current bond or establish conditions under which you can be released, which usually involves:

  • Not drinking alcohol
  • Taking DWI education courses
  • Possibly having an ignition interlock device installed on your car

These conditions guarantee people's safety and require you to comply with the court orders until your case is resolved.

Most importantly, an experienced DWI attorney should be present at the arraignment. Your attorney can guide you through the formalities, ensure your rights are safeguarded, and explain the consequences of the charges and any suggested bond conditions. They will also start establishing the groundwork towards your defense, be it finding flaws in the case of the prosecution or beginning negotiations that may end in a positive outcome. This initial court appearance may seem simple, but it determines the overall tone of the legal proceedings, making it crucial to have an informed and strategic representation right at the outset.

The Pretrial Phase

The pretrial is the longest stage of a Texas DWI case, which can last up to 6 months. This is the most critical phase in which the defense carefully probes and examines evidence, establishing a solid legal defense.

The most important aspect of this stage is the process of discovery, a formal procedure during which all the facts that the state plans to present against you are handed over to your defense counsel. This complete information is usually provided by:

  • Police records
  • Accounts of witnesses
  • Video footage of dash cameras and body cameras of the arresting officers
  • The outcomes of any breath tests or blood tests

Blood tests also include requesting the maintenance and calibration records of the testing devices, the lab procedures, and the analyst's qualifications.

A comprehensive discovery is needed to discover possible flaws in the case against the accused and ensure that no evidence was obtained and processed improperly.

After all discovery materials have been obtained, your lawyer will conduct an in-depth investigation. They will examine all the evidence and seek to find any inconsistencies, procedural mistakes, or infringement of your constitutional rights. This could involve:

  • Watching video recordings frame by frame
  • Looking through the breath test records to find any calibration problems
  • Questioning the chain of custody of blood samples

Depending on this analysis, your lawyer can make numerous pretrial motions. A powerful, but common, weapon is a Motion to Suppress Evidence. This motion, if granted, could exclude evidence obtained in violation of your rights, for example, the results of a breath test or words said during an unlawful stop. If the motion is granted, that evidence cannot be used against you, which can severely weaken the prosecution's case and often leads to a dismissal or a much more favorable plea offer.

During this long pretrial period, it is common to have several court appearances, commonly referred to as a 'reset,' a term used when hearings are rescheduled. Such hearings are used in a variety of ways: monitoring the discovery process, negotiating about possible plea agreements, hearing pretrial motions, and scheduling further court proceedings.

It is common that resets happen and can be based on many issues, including waiting on delayed lab results on blood samples, giving the defense more time to investigate, or just a busy court docket. As frustrating as this may be, it usually serves the defense better as they have more time to develop a better case. This is when the continued involvement of a competent defense attorney is essential since he/she evaluates the changing evidence and places your case in the best possible light either through negotiations, or eventually, at trial.

Important Considerations that Will Define Your DWI Case Process

The time frame for a DWI case is not a definite time frame. On the contrary, it is very movable and heavily dependent on decisive factors. Being aware of these variables can help in setting expectations and explain why the case, in some instances, is solved within a short period and in others takes more than one year:

Blood Test vs. Breath Test

Blood test cases are almost always take longer to resolve than breath test cases. It is primarily because the state crime labs handling blood sample analysis are so far behind in analyzing blood samples that they are not catching up soon.

The results of blood tests could require several months, or even a year or more, to be processed and officially released to the prosecution and defense. Conversely, breath test results are usually ready simultaneously, and cases can proceed much faster.

Location Where You Are Arrested and Charged for DWI

The county where you were charged with a DWI is also a significant factor in the timeline. Generally, large, metropolitan counties like Harris County (Houston), Dallas County, Tarrant County (Fort Worth), or Travis County (Austin) have bustling court dockets and heavier caseloads. This can cause frequent delays in setting hearings, discovery requests, and eventual resolution.

On the other hand, DWI cases in smaller, more rural counties with less congested court systems may pass through the system more quickly.

Case Complexity

Your DWI case's complexity directly relates to how long it will take to resolve. The more complex your case (first-offense misdemeanor DWI with clear breath test result) is, the faster it will proceed, as opposed to a felony DWI, or one involving aggravating factors like an accident causing serious injury (intoxication assault) or death (intoxication manslaughter), or a fatality (intoxication manslaughter). This introduces additional layers of investigation, expert testimony, and in many cases multiple agencies, which all significantly impact the timeline.

Defense Strategy

The length of the case is also determined by the strategy used by your defense attorney. An aggressive defense that involves extensive investigation, making several pretrial motions to suppress evidence, and preparing to go to trial before a jury will naturally take longer than a case in which a speedy plea bargain is desired.

Although a longer process may be exhaustive, it may also indicate that your attorney is doing his/her best to find all possible defense options, and, finally, the most favorable outcome. However, this may take a longer period.

Trial or Plea Negotiations

Once the long pretrial process is over, your Texas DWI case must come to a head, either a plea bargain or a trial.

Plea deals are used to resolve the vast majority of DWI cases. A plea deal involves an agreement between your defense attorney and the prosecutor that avoids a full trial. The weaknesses your attorney discovered and investigated can be used to build a strong defense, which gives your attorney leverage in these negotiations. For example, when there are problems with the traffic stop, the process of field sobriety tests, or the reliability of the results of the chemical tests, the prosecutor will be more likely to make a favorable plea offer.

These kinds of deals may take the form of a decreased charge to a non-DWI offense, such as:

  • Obstruction of a highway or reckless driving, less serious charges with less grave penalties, and no DWI conviction on your record, or
  • A plea to the DWI charge itself, but with reduced sentencing recommendations

A plea bargain aims to reach the optimal result without the risk and uncertainty of a trial, which can lead to a faster resolution and more predictable outcomes.

Otherwise, if a satisfactory plea bargain is not possible, or your lawyer believes the prosecution's case is weak enough to warrant going to trial, the case will go to trial. It is the most prolonged and resource-consuming way to resolve the matter. The final decision on whether to go to trial is yours as the defendant. However, you will decide in collaboration with your attorney, who will advise you of the risks, any potential rewards, and the quality of the evidence.

The process of a DWI trial often starts with jury selection, in which both parties ask the potential jurors questions to choose a fair panel. This is followed by the opening statements; the prosecution and the defense give what they will prove. The prosecutors then put forward their case, call witnesses, including the arresting officer or forensic scientists, and produce evidence.

These witnesses will be cross-examined by your defense attorney, who may also present additional witnesses and evidence. Furthermore, your attorney and the prosecutors will present closing arguments, and the jury will deliver a verdict. A trial will add three to six months, or possibly more, in addition to the entire process of your case, with the preparation, scheduling, and actual court time.

Sentencing and Appeals

The conclusion of a DWI case, whether by plea bargain or jury verdict, leads to the sentencing phase.

In case you are found guilty after pleading guilty or after trial, the court will conduct a sentencing hearing. This hearing establishes the punishment, which can vary significantly depending on case specifics, criminal history, and the judge’s discretion. Typical punishments upon conviction of DWI in Texas include:

  • Fines
  • Jail time, which may be probated
  • Suspension of your driver's license
  • Participation in a DWI education or intervention program
  • Community service
  • Installation of an ignition interlock on your car

In the case of first-time offenders, probation is a typical consequence. However, it is highly conditioned, including frequent visits to a probation officer, no alcohol, and random drug and alcohol tests. The sentencing hearing makes these consequences official, providing a plan to discharge your legal obligations.

If you may be found guilty at trial, or in very limited situations even after a plea, you have the right to appeal the legal process. An appeal does not constitute a new trial but rather a review by a higher court to ascertain whether any legal mistakes were made in the trial that unfairly affected the outcome. This may include:

  • Wrong jury instructions
  • Wrongful admission
  • Exclusion of evidence
  • Constitutional rights violations

Appeal differs from the initial trial and implies specific rules and procedures. The appellate lawyer will draft a legal brief, presenting particular arguments of error to the appellate court, which will consider the record of the trial. This is a complicated and time-consuming process, sometimes a year or more before the Texas Courts of Appeals decide, and possibly longer if the case is further appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals..

Although it presents an opportunity to reverse a conviction or alter a sentence, an appeal is an entirely different legal struggle, which requires a deep knowledge of appellate law and practice.

Find a DWI Attorney Near Me

A Texas DWI case is never simple and can take months or more than a year. The critical 15-day deadline to request your ALR hearing after being arrested is just the beginning of the process. There is the long pre-trial discovery period, the final determination of whether to take a plea bargain or face trial, and each step along the way has its own set of difficulties and possible delays.

This complex legal process requires more than a simple knowledge of the law. A skilled DWI attorney is essential in achieving the best possible outcome. They have the legal savvy, investigatory prowess, and courtroom expertise to dispute evidence, uncover procedural flaws, and negotiate effectively. If facing DWI charges in Texas, contact the Fort Worth DWI Defense Lawyer office today at 817-470-2128. Talk to us about your case for a thorough review and defense building.