BRIAN FOLEY LAW PLLC
Conroe and Houston Criminal Defense
DWI First - Blood Test
If you were arrested for a DWI in Conroe, the Woodlands, Houston, or the surrounding area and your blood was taken by the police, call now to schedule a free consultation.
Can you beat a DWI with a blood test?
There is no such thing as an open and shut criminal case. You can still fight DWI charges even when the police have collected a sample of your blood. An experienced DWI lawyer in Conroe, the Woodlands, or Houston can help you fight a DWI arrest if you have consented to a blood test or the police took your blood after getting a warrant.
How can you fight a blood test?
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Traffic Stop was not supported by reasonable suspicion.
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The officer did not have probable cause to detain for a DWI investigation.
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Consent was coerced by the officer.
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Blood warrant lacked probable cause.
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Sample was taken in an unclean facility.
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Instrument used to test the sample was not working properly.
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Instrument used to test the sample was not certified.
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Blood Sample was not refrigerated properly.
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Blood Sample was not drawn in proper grey top forensic tube.
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Hospital Blood result was not converted to whole blood.
Disconnect Theory
People trust what they can see and hear. If you do not appear to be intoxicated in the officer's body or dash camera video but your blood result is well over the legal limit, there is a disconnect between what you see and hear on video and what you see in a lab report. A good lawyer will be capable of explaining how issues with blood testing procedures including blood vial integrity, transportation, and laboratory refrigeration affect the final blood result. Jury members have to believe in the blood result beyond a reasonable doubt to convict you of a DWI based the legal standard of 0.08. When there is a disconnect between what they see on video and what is written in the lab report you can bet that something has gone wrong with the government's evidence.
How does blood alcohol testing work?
When an officer decides to arrest you for DWI the law requires him to read you a document called the DIC-24. This tells you the consequences for your driver's license if you refuse to provide a breath or blood sample. The officer will ask you for a sample of your blood and if you consent he will take you to the hospital or a jail facility and take a sample of your blood. Typically in Montgomery County DWI cases the officer will transport you to a hospital. On Friday and Saturday nights, and on special occasions like holidays, there is a nurse working at the Montgomery County jail and a member of the vehicular crimes team will video record the blood draw. The process follows this general path:
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Arrest
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Transportation to a Hospital or Jail Facility
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Two grey top blood vials are filled by a nurse or phlebotomist
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Blood vials are sealed in a package
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Typically no refrigeration
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Mailed to a laboratory
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Refrigerated for the first time
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Sample extracted and placed in new container
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Sample run in Gas Chromatograph with approximately 50 other samples at the same time.
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Computer generated number based on the gas above the blood inside the sample tube.
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Analyst issues Lab Report.
This process could take between 1 and 12 months to complete!
How do you beat a DWI with a Blood test?
Beating a DWI with a blood test requires the assistance of a lawyer who is skilled in trial strategies and negotiation with prosecutors for the State of Texas. The first step of the process is to attack the initial reason for the traffic stop in your case. Perhaps the officer's body camera or dash camera shows evidence that is different from what is written in his report? Having a lawyer that can carefully go over all the evidence in your case is essential. There are many steps that the State of Texas must go through in order to obtain a conviction in a DWI case, even one with blood evidence. Your lawyer can help you object at each phase of the process and expose the problems that may have occurred in the collection and testing of your blood sample. There are even cases where a client's blood turns green during the process of storage at a DPS facility. DPS lab analysts don't throw out samples when they turn green. They issue lab reports anyway and have testified in court that this procedure is totally acceptable.
What is the punishment for a DWI with a Blood test?
A DWI with a blood test and a result that is between 0.08 and 0.14999 is a Class B Misdemeanor and carries a maximum punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
If the Blood result shows to be equal or greater than 0.15 it is punishable as a Class A misdemeanors with a maximum punishment of 365 days in jail and a $4,000 fine.
A State Traffic fine could also be issued in the amount of $3,000 for first time DWI offenders and $6,000 if the test result was 0.15 or more.
