Texas DWI Law
A blog based on Texas DWIs should have a good base. The basics of the Texas DWI, is Texas DWI Law. So what is it? Where is it? The Texas DWI Statute can be found in the Texas Penal Code, Title 10. Offenses Against Public Health, Safety, and Morals, Chapter 49. Intoxication and Alcoholic Beverage Offenses.
If you charged with a DWI 1st in Texas, you will be charged under Section 49.04.
Sec. 49.04. DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED
(a) A person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d) and Section 49.09, an offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours.
(c) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that at the time of the offense the person operating the motor vehicle had an open container of alcohol in the person’s immediate possession, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of six days.
(d) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that an analysis of a specimen of the person’s blood, breath, or urine showed an alcohol concentration level of 0.15 or more at the time the analysis was performed, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
If you read this statute carefully, you will see that some words in there can be interpreted in different ways. The statute is nice enough to give us some guidance on how some of those words are defined. Those definitions for our purposes are:
Sec. 49.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) “Alcohol concentration” means the number of grams of alcohol per:
(A) 210 liters of breath;
(B) 100 milliliters of blood; or
(C) 67 milliliters of urine.
(2) “Intoxicated” means:
(A) not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or
(B) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
The vast majority of this statute is explained in case law. Over the next few posts, we will touch on some of that case law.