Articles Posted in DWI Defense Lawyer

I have been following the embarrassing proliferation of forced blood draw warrants in Texas. One issue that has not been covered is what happens when a subject is faced with a warrant and still refuses the blood test? Prosecutor Jeff Swain (Parker County) wrote an article describing the horrific practice in his county.

Our DWI search warrant blood-draw program has been up and running for two years now. The judges are still willing participants, with the fax machines still in their homes. One of our greatest concerns—the defendant who fights to avoid the blood draw—has not materialized on a significant level. While a good number of arrestees say they will not let the blood draw occur, a show of force by a few officers standing nearby has stopped all but two from actually resisting the process. In those two exceptional situations, the officers teamed up, some holding the defendant to a chair and others holding his arm to the arm of the chair with towels. Blood was withdrawn from the arrestees’ arms at that point without further incident.

Why are these forced blood draws necessary in Parker County? Because the State lost a DWI case.

Texas employs the Intoxilyzer 5000 is used for DWI Breath Alcohol Testing. The Operator’s Manual for this machine is available online here. I know you don’t want to read this manual so let me share some points of interest.

1. The Intoxilyzer Does Not Measure Alcohol

Really. It measures the decrease of energy in a small tube. From the manual-

I have been reading Sitemeter again to see what brings you to my site. A recent reader googled “HOW TO GET A DWI CASE DIMISSED”.

Reader, first let me tell you that Google will search the internet very well even if you do not TYPE IN ALL CAPS. Now on to your question.

How To Get A DWI Dismissed–

The State of Minnesota is suing CMI, the maker of the Intoxilyzer 5000. Minnesota is requesting the software (source code) that runs the machine. Texas also uses the Intox 5000 for breath alcohol testing.

CMI has long held that this source code is a trade secret. In Texas, the government technicians who “certify” these machines in the field, have no idea how the software works. If the software breaks down, they send the machine in.

I hope Minnesota is successful in this lawsuit. Secret software has no place in criminal justice. If the software is fine then why not release it? If it doesn’t work, and innocent people have/are being convicted I could see CMI reluctance (class action anyone?)

From Foxnews.com A Shreveport police officer is fired after allegedly beating a handcuffed female DWI suspect.

The story- A female suspect was arrested for DWI. She was brought into the 5th Amendment violation (breath test) room.

The woman then asked to make a phone call. Her request was denied. The officer then handcuffed the now irate suspect.