The DWI Charge Defined
The charge of 'Driving While Intoxicated' has three primary elements. In order for the State to convict someone of DWI they must have evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the person accused:
- Operated a motor vehicle
- In a public place
- While intoxicated
OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE
The use of the word 'driving' in the title of the DWI offense is a little misleading. A person can in fact be charged with DWI even if they were not 'driving' a vehicle. The element the state has to prove is 'operating.' A person can be operating a vehicle even if they aren't 'driving' in the truest sense of the word. For example, there are some situations in which a person can be convicted of DWI for being asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle that is not moving.
PUBLIC PLACE
There is usually no dispute over whether a defendant was in a public place. A public place is any place where the general public or a substantial portion of the public has unrestricted access. This includes private property such as business or apartment parking lots, and can even include the yard of someone's home in some cases.
INTOXICATED
The first thing the State has to prove is that there was some drug introduced into the defendant's body. Most DWI charges involve alcohol, and the presence of alcohol is usually proven by the odor of some alcoholic drink on the person's breath or their admission to drinking. DWI charges are sometimes based on other drugs like marijuana, or prescription drugs like soma, xanax, or valium. The presence of these drugs can be alleged through blood tests, the defendant's admission to taking these drugs, or by the presence of prescription bottles or paraphernalia with the defendant at the time of arrest. After showing evidence that the person has taken some drug, the State then has to show that the presence of one or more of these drugs has caused the defendant to be intoxicated.
Intoxication does not mean 'drunk' in the sense that most of us think of it. A person is intoxicated in a legal sense long before they are falling down, slobbering on themselves, or passing out. Texas law allows the State to prove intoxication in any ONE or a combination of three different ways:
- I. Blood Alcohol Concentration of .08% or greater
- If the police are able to obtain either a breath, blood , or urine specimen that can be measured to show that the defendant has a concentration of alcohol in their body of at least .08% at the time they were driving, then that is all the evidence needed to prove intoxication. How many drinks it takes for a person to get to .08% depends on many factors such as: the size of each drink, the time taken to consume the drinks, the strength of each drink, the weight of the person, how much the person has eaten, how long since the person last ate, and several other factors. (As a general rule, most people will start to develop an elevated blood/alcohol level if they drink more than one drink per hour.)
II. Loss of the normal use of mental faculties
- Even with no measurement of alcohol levels in the defendant's body, the State can attempt to prove intoxication by showing that the drugs have caused the defendant to not have the normal use of their mental faculties. The State usually tries to show this by having the police testifying about the defendant seeming confused about where he was, where he was coming from, what time it was, his ability to follow directions, etc.. These observations can be made throughout the entire interview- and particularly during field sobriety tests.
III. Loss of the normal use of physical faculties
- The State can also establish intoxication through the defendant's performance of physical movements and tasks. The manner in which the defendant was driving or the fact that an accident occurred can be evidence of physical faculty impairment. The police can testify about how a defendant looked through his wallet for his license, how he exited his car, how he walked to the back of his car, any stumbling or wobbling, and of course performance of the field sobriety tests to show loss of the normal use of physical faculties.
Contact Jim Medley about your Houston DWI today!
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