Many people are familiar with what happens prior to a DWI arrest – a law enforcement officer stops a vehicle, determines that they think that the driver is intoxicated, and arrests them. Unless you have been arrested for DWI before, you may not know what happens after a DWI arrest. Of course, each arrest is a unique situation, but there are some things that do occur after most DWI arrests.
When a driver is being arrested for DWI, their vehicle is not simply left on the side of the road indefinitely as they leave the scene in a police car. In some cases, the driver is fortunate enough to be able to make contact with a family member who can move their car. Unfortunately, in other cases, a tow truck must be called to move the vehicle which will add to the total cost of the driver’s DWI arrest experience.
Depending upon where you are arrested, you may be transported by law enforcement to the magistrate’s office, or to the county jail. Wherever you end up, you will spend some time there as things get sorted out. Many drivers spend between ten and twelve hours at the magistrate’s office or in jail, but if it is a holiday or a weekend, they may have to stay there a lot longer because they have plenty of company. Sometimes, drivers have a physical or mental health emergency and must be transported to a hospital or brought to the medical center of the jail instead of to the magistrate’s office or a holding cell.
Once those initial steps of the process have occurred, you will be booked into the system and allowed to make two phone calls. Usually you are restricted to making local calls, but people from outside of the local area may be permitted to make long distance calls. The next step in the process is that the police will decide where you will stay until it is time for you to be released. These intermediate steps often take about an hour, but as mentioned before, if there are many people being arrested at the same time that you are, your experience may take substantially longer. Before you are able to be released, bond must usually be paid by someone on your behalf. Depending upon the situation, you may be eligible to be released on a personal recognizance bond, which means that you do not have to supply any bond money. Once bond has been taken care of, there is further processing and paperwork which must be completed before your release actually occurs.
Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Defending Texas Drivers Against DWI Charges
If you ever get arrested for DWI and you are taken into custody, use one of your two phone calls to contact an experienced Texas DWI defense attorney. Your DWI defense attorney can provide you with the legal support that you need during all of the stages of your DWI experience. Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra has experience with helping Texans stand up to their DWI charges. To learn more, please call our office today, at (903) 753-7499, or contact us online.