Dallas Morning News has yet another story on the proliferation of DWI blood warrants. This time the Dallas Police are joining the bandwagon of cities who have chosen to circumvent the law and violate your right to refuse blood testing. What about the right to counsel? Will these DWI suspects…
When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.’ – Humpty Dumpty, Through the Looking Glass Most of the rhetoric surrounding DWI includes statements about drunk drivers. For example, Texas MADD has a “campaign to end drunk driving.” No one supports…
I spent the morning at the State Office of Administrative Hearings in Dallas. SOAH is where all live Dallas ALR hearings are held. You can also request a telephone hearing. Ceteris paribus, I prefer a live hearing. A live cross examination contains more useful information than one by phone. What…
Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) is this season’s must have video game. In GTA IV you play a small time hood working his way up the criminal syndicate hierarchy. The game allows players to engage in a multitude of antisocial and criminal behaviors, including drinking and driving.Que the MADD…
Collin County has jumped on the Vampire Prosecutor bandwagon with “no refusal” DWI weekends. A recent DMN story featured a Collin County ADA talking about their new tough on DWI blood draw program. I filed an open records request for communications, documents, memos etc regarding implementation of this program. After…
I have long argued that the Standard Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) used in DWI detection are a fraud. The science is garbage that has never been peer reviewed. However, tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth. In Texas 3 SFSTs are used in almost every DWI case;…
Texas trains DWI officers with the NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Student Testing Manual. The NHTSA SFST Manual is the national standard for DWI enforcement. Every DWI defense lawyer should own a copy. The manual includes, inter alia, training on how an officer should testify in court. DWI officers are professional…
Sitemeter makes it easy to browse the Google searches of my readers. Here are some recent search terms that led readers to DCDLB (formerly IWTS). where to buy marijuana in dallas? Reader, no one in America buys, sells, or uses marijuana. Our dear leaders in the federal government have declared…
As long as I have been practicing criminal law I have been watching DWI videos. As a prosecutor in East Texas DWI videos were on VHS tapes. This was very inconvenient for trial. I had to write down the time stamp for each scene I wanted, while noting all any…
MADD is on a never ending quest to destroy the Bill of Rights. To MADD any protection for suspects/defendants, any privacy rights, any amount of due process is simply an obstruction on their neo prohibitionist highway. The Texas lege is usually an easy target for the MADD lobby. However, Texas…