Some things are worth repeating. A DWI arrest is not one of them. It seems as though not much time passes in between news reports regarding repeat DWI offenders, so it’s time for us to repeat a message that we have discussed multiple times before. One DWI arrest can cost you many of the things that art important to you, and each subsequent DWI arrest and conviction will cost you even more of your freedom, your money, and your time, among other things.

Last month, a jury in Austin, Texas, convicted sixty-four-year-old Irby Allison of felony DWI. The charge was filed in connection with Allison’s DWI arrest in October of 2017. Irby Allison chose to have the jury decide on his punishment. After less than a half-hour of deliberating the issue of his penalty, they sentenced him to twelve years of imprisonment. Twelve years is a lengthy period of time for any person to spend in jail. At his current age of sixty-four, Irby Allison will likely spend most, if not all, of the remainder of his life behind bars.

A twelve-year sentence is not something that every DWI offender is likely to face. The evidence presented to the jury during the sentencing phase of Allison’s trial gave the jurors important information about him that weighed heavily on their decision. The prosecution showed the jurors evidence of Allison’s three previous standard DWI convictions. They also presented evidence regarding his 2007 conviction for intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter following a DWI wreck that killed one person and seriously injured another. Irby Allison’s arrest in October of 2017 was his fifth DWI offense, and that’s why the jury did not hesitate to issue a lengthy sentence for him.

Unfortunately, a fifth-offense DWI is not unheard of in Texas. A Texas man in his mid-thirties killed two women in a crash that resulted in his sixth DWI offense. Jonathan Moore’s five previous DWI convictions resulted in a total of only two months spent behind bars because almost all of his sentences had been reduced.

In Texas, first and second offense DWIs are misdemeanors. After that, each time that driver is arrested again for DWI, they face felony charges. While there are numerous reports of individuals like Jonathan Moore receiving probation after they have been convicted of DWI three or more times, some felony DWI offenders pay a far higher price. For example, a judge sentenced Donald Middleton to life in prison following his ninth DWI conviction. Middleton is not eligible for parole for thirty years.

One out of every twenty inmates in Texas prisons is a repeat DWI offender. Whether you are charged with your first DWI or a subsequent offense, a lot is at stake, including your freedom. DWI convictions carry severe consequences, especially for third and subsequent offenses. A Texas DWI defense attorney can help you protect your liberty, your family, your freedom, and other things that are important to you. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

It’s the holiday season, and with all of the celebrating going on, it can be easy to forget that law enforcement agencies increase their patrols at this time of year. Thanksgiving often produces more drunk driving arrests than other notorious party days like St. Patrick’s Day and even Super Bowl Sunday. As you know, not every driver who is arrested for and charged with DWI is guilty. If you are arrested for DWI this holiday season, remember that connecting with a Texas DWI attorney is the best way to protect the things that are most important to you. Your Texas DWI defense attorney knows how to examine the circumstances of your DWI arrest and develop a strong defense strategy for you.

One element of a strong DWI defense is knowing how to challenge the evidence that the State plans to present in your case. If your DWI defense attorney can show the court that one or more pieces of evidence that the State intends to present in your DWI case are inaccurate or otherwise not valid, the court may prohibit the use of that evidence in the State’s case against you. Evidentiary challenges have the potential to weaken the State’s case against a defendant, sometimes even to the extent that the State finds itself with so little evidence that it must dismiss its case.

Many drivers arrested for DWI submit to breath testing either during the traffic stop that leads to their arrest or after the arrest. If you are facing DWI charges and breath testing occurred at some point during your traffic stop or after your arrest, your defense attorney may be able to challenge the validity of the results of those tests. Even better, their challenge may be successful, and the test results might be thrown out. A recent article by the New York Times reports that tens of thousands of DWI cases across America have been tossed out of court because the test results were shown to be inaccurate.

For years, alcohol breath test results have been viewed as “truths” by juries in Texas and across America. Many DWI defendants were unaware that they could question the test results, but that is changing. Some DWI defendants, with the aid of their attorneys, challenged the validity of their breath test results. Some of those who challenged their test results prevailed. Their victories paved the way for an increased public demand for research into the accuracy of breath testing devices and the validity of the results produced by those devices. Study after study has shown how vulnerable the sensitive machines used for breath testing are to user error, calibration error, and other types of failures that are attributable to the users of the devices or the devices themselves.

Breath testing for blood alcohol content is a process that is prone to errors. If you were arrested for DWI and you submitted to breath testing during your traffic stop or after your arrest, it is critical that you contact a Texas DWI defense attorney right away. Your Texas DWI defense attorney can examine the circumstances of your traffic stop and DWI arrest and build a solid defense strategy on your behalf. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

Did you know that only four states in the United States allow seventeen-year-olds to be committed of crimes as adults? In many states, the age at which a person can be convicted of a crime as an adult is eighteen. However, four states, including Texas, allow seventeen-year-olds to be committed of crimes as adults.

There have been numerous efforts by criminal justice advocacy groups in Texas over the years to raise the age of criminal responsibility to eighteen. Their most recent efforts, including House Bill 344, did not make it through the full legislative process and must wait until the Legislature meets again in 2021.

Those who oppose raising the age claim that raising the age makes a state’s juvenile justice system more expensive. Those who support an increase in the age of criminal responsibility say that this is a matter that you cannot measure in dollars and cents. The teenage years are a period of critical importance for any child. The adolescent brain is still growing and developing. Because of this, the experiences that a teenager has during those formative years shape the path that they take into adulthood. If a seventeen-year-old is convicted as an adult, they are unable to access support and rehabilitation programs designed for minors, programs that have proven in many places to be effective in changing the paths of the lives of the youth that participate in them. In addition to missing out on support programs and rehabilitation opportunities, including seventeen-year-olds in the adult prison population exposes them to all of the dangers of life in an adult prison.

Raising the age of criminal responsibility can also make financial sense. Supporters of increasing the age of criminal responsibility feel that any increased expenditures on juvenile justice associated with raising the age will be balanced by corresponding savings in other areas, such as the amounts spent on the adult programs that provide services to the seventeen-year-olds who are convicted as adults and reduced rates of recidivism. Individuals who have participated in juvenile justice programs have proven less likely to re-offend than individuals that went directly into the adult criminal justice system.

Some opponents of raising the age claim that since the number of people who get convicted as adults at seventeen years of age is not that large, raising the age of criminal responsibility would not have that much of an impact. This argument does not acknowledge the amount of impact that participation in juvenile justice programs has on the people who are able to participate in them, and it also fails to acknowledge the harm suffered by  the individuals, no matter how few, who are convicted as adults at age seventeen and placed in the adult prison system.

Fortunately, the small number of people affected by raising the age of criminal responsibility has limited the impact of raising the age on the juvenile justice programs in states where the age has been raised. Those states report that their juvenile justice programs have not been overly stressed by the participation of additional youth, demonstrating that raising the age does not create a financial burden.

Whatever your age, if you’re accused of a crime in Texas, contact a Texas criminal defense attorney right away. Your attorney can help you resolve your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.