Per the Texas Penal Code, Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is considered an offense of driving a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. That means your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08% or higher at the time of driving. Once a person is arrested, legal penalties begin to accumulate exponentially with each conviction, including first, second, and third offenses.
This blog outlines the progression of penalties, ranging from simple misdemeanors to severe felonies. This tiered system is based on the Texas Penal Code, especially the enhancement provisions of Section 49.09. The statutes are applied to increase the severity of new charges based on prior convictions. These are critical differences that you should understand when dealing with DWI charges, since the stakes are raised with every DWI degree.
First DWI Offense, Class B Misdemeanor
A first-time DWI is the least serious way of committing this crime. A first-time DWI in Texas is charged as a Class B misdemeanor. This categorization, however, must not create an illusion of leniency, as the punishments are severe and intended to be effective.
You are facing a range of penalties that will affect your personal and professional life, resulting in significant financial liability. The state undertakes such measures to prevent future actions and to emphasize the seriousness of driving while intoxicated. It is an important point, and the choices you make might significantly impact the final result and its effect on your future. Right after arrest, you have to fight two different legal cases to retain your driving license:
- The criminal case
- The administrative case
Punishments of a 1st DWI Conviction
When you are convicted of a first-time DWI, there is a sequence of court-ordered punishments that will directly affect your freedom and money. The penalty will be a county jail sentence, with a minimum duration of 72 hours, which may be extended up to 180 days.
To add to this loss of freedom, there is a significant financial cost associated with it, as the court can issue a fine of up to $2000 in addition to the list of court costs and administrative fees, which will further increase the total amount.
In addition to these short-term effects, your driving license will be suspended for a period of 90 days to one year. This occurs by a procedure known as Administrative License Revocation, which is a civil issue and not related in any way to your criminal case. You have 15 days starting on the date of your arrest to demand a hearing to appeal against this automatic suspension.
In conjunction with these main punishments, you will most likely be required to perform community service or probation, which comes with its own set of rigorous requirements. Probation requires you to report to a supervision officer once a month, undergo random drug and alcohol tests, and keep a regular job. This means your life will be under scrutiny at any time during the period of up to two years.
Such conditions typically include completing a 12-hour DWI education course and fulfilling 24 to 100 hours of community service. They may consist of an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle at your own cost. The financial liability extends far beyond the fine, probation costs, tuition for classes, court fees, skyrocketing insurance premiums with an SR-22 filing, and ignition interlock implantation and maintenance payments. These are all possible, considering thousands of dollars in a matter of a few years.
The Enhanced DWI, BAC 0.15% or More
One of the elements that can radically change the situation with a first-time DWI case is your blood alcohol concentration. If a chemical examination of your breath or blood reveals a BAC of 0.15 or higher, the filing can be immediately changed to a Class A misdemeanor, even with a clean record. This increase makes the possible punishment almost twice as severe.
The fine that can be imposed is increased to a maximum of $4,000, which will impose a greater financial burden on you. More importantly, the limit of incarceration in a county jail is prolonged to 180 days or up to one year. This legal improvement reflects the legislature's stance that the higher the BAC, the greater the impairment and the greater the threat to public safety, and the harsher the justice system's response should be.
An enhanced DWI can also indicate to the prosecutor and judge that your case is more severe, which can result in fewer favorable plea bargain deals and harsher probation conditions.
Second DWI Violation, Class A Misdemeanor
The second DWI is a significant step up in the eyes of the law, which will categorize you as a more serious repeat offender. When there is a prior DWI conviction in your record, a fresh DWI arrest will be a Class A misdemeanor. This is a far graver accusation than an ordinary first offense, and the punishment is also consequently greater.
The legal system changes the concept of corrective action to a more pronounced punishment, which is regarded as the idea that a first conviction was not a strong enough deterrent. You are not considered to be a person who made a mistake once, but rather someone who tends to take actions that will continue to be a threat to society. This categorization is necessary so that the repercussions of your actions are significantly heavier, and there is much less room to be lenient on the part of the prosecutors and judges, who will approach your case with greater cynicism.
Harsher Penalties and Mandatory Minimums
The punishment associated with a second DWI conviction is significantly higher than that for first-time offenses, with the most notable change being the mandatory jail term. In the event of conviction, a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 days in a county jail will be imposed, with a maximum sentence of one year. This is a compulsory minimum, so despite the successful plea bargaining, there is almost no chance that a person will not be incarcerated for some time. The 30-day jail term is not a simple inconvenience; you are virtually guaranteed to lose employment, it causes a massive burden on your family, and may result in a crippling financial crisis.
The maximum penalty is also doubled, resulting in a possible fine of $4,000. The suspension of your driver's license will be extended, and the suspension may last from 180 days to two years, which will further interfere with your work and life management. Moreover, the installation of the ignition interlock device is not an optional choice but a compulsory one.
Being able to live with such a device implies that you are required to provide a sample of your breath to start your vehicle, and occasionally, while driving, there is a constant and obtrusive reminder of your conviction. You will also have to undergo a more intensive 32-hour DWI intervention program that is specifically tailored to repeat offenders, indicating that the court is more concerned with your actions and adherence to the intervention.
The Texas “No Lookback Period” Rule
The most stringent aspect of the Texas DWI law is its treatment of prior offenses, which has a strict policy with no lookback period. This implies that any previous DWI conviction, regardless of how long ago it occurred, will be used to enhance an existing charge. A 10-year, 20-year, or even 30-year conviction has the same legal force as the conviction of the previous year.
In contrast to other states, where older crimes can be overlooked to improve the system, Texas legislation allows a past DWI to remain on one's record indefinitely. It will always be there to boost the severity of a subsequent offense.
This provision could cause a subsequent arrest to be treated as a second DWI, which would impose more severe penalties under Class A Misdemeanor, regardless of any time passed or clean records. This policy indicates the government's standpoint that operating under the influence of intoxication is not a one-time error that fades away as time goes by.
Third DWI Offense
The third arrest for DWI in Texas caused a significant change in the legal environment that is irreversible. The third DWI is not another misdemeanor; it is considered a third-degree felony by default. This promotion of misdemeanor to felony is the most significant increase in the DWI punishment system in the state. The impact of a felony conviction extends far beyond the jail term and fines, leaving a lasting mark that can alter the course of one's life.
What you are experiencing now is not a temporary interruption but a permanent status in law as a convicted felon. Your case will no longer be handled in a county court that specializes in misdemeanors. It will be tried at the District Court by a felony prosecutor with experience in pursuing long prison terms. In addition to other harsh, lifetime punishments and deprivation of essential civil liberties, this designation carries with it a punishment that is zero tolerance against repeat offenders of DWI.
The Leap to State Prison
The primary distinction between a misdemeanor DWI and a felony DWI is the potential for incarceration. Although first- and second-degree felonies are punishable by imprisonment in a county jail, the conviction of a third-degree felony subjects you to a long prison term in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, also known as state prison. This difference is not just a matter of semantics; the state prisons are quite the opposite of the county jails.
The county jail is a local facility that typically handles shorter sentences of less than a year and may offer programs for minor offenses. A state prison is a facility of high security, usually far away from your home, and kept in a strict and dangerous environment where people who have committed serious crimes are kept. In one of these state prison facilities, the possible penalty for a third DWI could be a term of two to ten years. The quantity of a sentence is measured in years rather than months and days.
This is accompanied by a fine, which may amount to up to $10,000. When you are confronted with a third charge of DWI, the reality that you may have to spend a good part of your life in a state correctional facility is the harsh reality that you have to face.
Lifelong Consequences of a Felony DWI Conviction
The conviction of a felony DWI leaves an indelible mark on your life that comes with a myriad of collateral consequences that shall haunt you even after time and money have been paid. Being a convicted felon in Texas, you will be denied some of the fundamental civil rights. During the time of imprisonment, as well as on parole, you will lose your right to vote, and you will have to re-register when your term is over. You will also have been permanently barred from the ownership or possession of a firearm by both federal and state law. The belief builds tremendous and permanent obstacles in almost all spheres of your life.
It becomes extremely challenging to secure a job because you will be disqualified on the spot in fields such as finance, government, law enforcement, education, and healthcare. Most of the private employers have blanket policies that bar the hiring of felons. The issue of housing can be as challenging as being rejected from most managed complexes' applications and not being eligible for state housing support.
Your education can be restricted; you might not be eligible for federal student aid and may be denied access to specific university programs. Travelling internationally will be very challenging, as countries such as Canada, Mexico, and most European countries do not permit individuals with felony convictions to travel. Lastly, a DWI conviction that is a felony can be used against an individual in a family law case to demonstrate that they are a potential threat to their children. These are lifetime penalties and not short-term ones, but they come at the cost of reduced opportunities and civil rights.
Aggravating Factors That Increase Penalties at Any Level
In addition to the number of convictions in your past, there are factors to your DWI arrest that can significantly increase the charges, whether it is your first or third time. These exacerbating circumstances render an ordinary DWI a more serious offense, typically classified as a felony in most cases.
In the case of DWI, where a passenger under 15 years old is present in your car, the case is automatically charged as a state jail felony. This happens even in the case of a first-time offender. The penalty associated with this crime includes a jail term of 180 days to two years at a state jail and a maximum fine of $10,000.
In case your drunken driving has caused an accident that has led to severe bodily harm to another individual, then you will be charged with intoxication assault. It is a third-degree felony, carrying a sentence of two to ten years in prison. The extent is escalated to a second-degree felony in cases where the injured individual is a first responder or judge.
The most unfortunate situation is that by driving under the influence of alcohol, one kills another individual, and this will result in a charge of intoxication manslaughter. A second-degree felony carries a severe range of punishment: two to twenty years in a state prison in Texas and a fine of up to $10,000. All these improvements demonstrate that the harm caused or the threat of damage is the primary concern of the legal system, which can easily outweigh the number of previous crimes.
Comparing Texas DWI Offenses at a Glance
A distinct and purposeful intensification of the level of offense characterizes the trend of DWI crimes in Texas. The first offense is considered a serious yet manageable legal issue, classified as a Class B misdemeanor, with a focus on fines, a brief period in county jail, and participation in educational programs. The state of mind in the court is usually corrective.
The second violation elevates the charge to a more serious level, a Class A misdemeanor, which implies a minimum jail term and signifies the court's decreased tolerance for repeat offenses. In this case, the judicial approach is changed to a punitive one. This measure makes jail time a virtual certainty and further adds significant cost and paperwork to the equation. The third violation is an utter deviation from the two earlier accusations, which makes the crime a third-degree felony.
This is the most significant jump, and you are now subject to the county jail system, as opposed to the state prison system. You are now permanently and irretrievably crippled as a convicted felon, and your rights and opportunities have been forever changed. This is no longer the objective of the prosecution, which is to ensure you are convicted and also receive a lengthy jail sentence, thereby removing you from society.
Locate a Fort Worth DWI Defense Lawyer Near Me
With Texas DWI punishments escalating from a first-offense penalty to a third-degree felony penalty that will alter their life, expert defense will be of vital importance. You have a complex legal system in which the verdict depends on both evidence and the process. The primary role of defending your rights is to challenge the evidence presented by the prosecution and achieve a favorable outcome. The consequences of conviction are also permanent and dire, and thus, you cannot afford to go it alone in these charges, which are also felonies.
At the Fort Worth DWI Defense Lawyer, we will carefully examine all the aspects of your case, from the legality of the traffic stop to the legality of sobriety and chemical tests. Whether it is a felony or a misdemeanor, it can significantly impact your life; therefore, you need a seasoned criminal defense attorney. Call us at 817-470-2128 to have a confidential consultation.
