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legalassistant@wm-attorneys.com 512-369-3737 get directionIn 2021, 89,457 Driving While Intoxicated charges were reported in Texas. Only 1,824 of those charges were dismissed—that’s two percent. While that number can be discouraging if you’ve been arrested for drunk driving, know that only nine percent of DWI suspects end up actually being convicted for the original DWI charge (8,044). The majority of cases (about 86%) are plea-bargained out for a lesser charge. Of the remaining 14% who went to trial (12,400 people), about 15% of those charges were dismissed. By more than double, the most common result of going to trial for a DWI is to be convicted of the DWI (8,044 convicted of the original charge and 3,834 convicted of a lesser charge).
So, yes, a DWI in Texas can be dismissed, but it’s not statistically likely. If you combine the people who have their charges dropped, get convicted of lesser crimes, or get acquitted at trial, those numbers are a bit more substantial. In most cases, your best bet is to hire an experienced DWI defense attorney who can hammer out the best possible plea bargain for you.
Hopefully, the above research helps you figure out how you’d like to handle your DWI charge. Knowing how a DWI charge can be dismissed can also be helpful. The more you understand about the process, the better decisions you can make. Again, your attorney can share his or her experience and guide you. Here are common reasons that DWI charges get dismissed:
There are other grounds for having a Texas DWI charge dismissed, but these are the ones we see most often.
Driving While Intoxicated, according to breathalyzer manufacturer BACtrack, is the most common crime in the United States. Assuming you were indeed under the influence and that the police followed the legal requirements, your Austin criminal defense lawyer will no doubt recommend that you ask the district attorney for a plea bargain. A plea bargain typically involves you pleading guilty or no contest without a trial in exchange for a less severe penalty. Agreeing to a plea bargain does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that you get off with a slap on the wrist.
Under the best circumstances, a DWI plea bargain agreement would involve a prosecutor reducing your charge to Reckless Driving, Public Intoxication, or even Obstruction of a Highway. You might be able to swing a deal like this, which helps you avoid jail time and a suspended driver’s license, if:
If you don’t have any of these bargaining chips on your side, you will most likely need to plead guilty to the DWI charge for the prosecutor to agree to a plea bargain. Unless there are aggravating circumstances, a one-time DWI conviction is a class B misdemeanor in Texas. A class B misdemeanor is punishable by a minimum jail sentence of three days and a three-month driver’s license suspension. With a plea bargain, the prosecutor may offer you probation instead.
The disadvantages of plea bargaining are that:
The Law Office is David D. White, PLLC: Austin Criminal Lawyer can help you fight a DWI charge. Our Austin DWI defense attorneys have indeed gotten DWI cases dismissed. We are available around the clock to help the thousands of Texans arrested on DWI charges every year. Schedule a no-cost consultation with one of our lawyers today!
The founder of the Law Office of David D. White, PLLC: Austin Criminal Lawyer, has been defending the rights of criminal defendants in Austin, Texas since 2008. We are a client-centered law firm where we fight to preserve the presumption of innocence on behalf of our clients in every criminal case we take. We believe that everyone is entitled to a fair trial and we strive to provide our clients with the best possible defense to ensure that this is true.
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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney, David D. White who has more than 20 years of legal experience as an Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer.
608 West 12th Street, Suite B Austin, TX 78701
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