Houston’s Harris County is the top heavily populated counties in the nation for DWI deaths. According to this article from the Houston Chronicle, the District Attorney Pat Lykos has referred to the problem as a “pandemic plague”. According to Lykos there are an estimated 10,000 DWI charges filed every year in the county.
Like many big cities, Houston’s police department has a DWI task force credited with many arrests and taking drunk drivers off the road. They reportedly get over $480,000 annually in grants for overtime to staff the task force but the task force and all of the preventative measures aren’t doing enough to keep the DWI statistics at an acceptable level for many.
Statistics regarding DWI’s and the deaths caused on our roadways by drunk drivers are difficult to read and many worry are wrought with errors and exaggerations. They point to the fact that many DWI cases are eventually dismissed because enough evidence simply doesn’t exist.
While exaggerations are certainly not beyond the realm of possibilities, no amount of DWI deaths are acceptable. The key is weeding through the cases that should be dismissed and knowing which cases will go through to trial.
If you have been charged with DWI or a related crime, an in depth review of your case could reveal how much luck you will have in plea negotiations with the prosecution or in front of the judge. Because so many DWI cases are dropped or pled down, you may not face the harsh sentence you are anticipating.
If, however, you are convicted of your original charge and no plea agreement is in place, your first DUI can lead to 180 days behind bars. In some cases, your first DUI charge can be handled with a pretrial diversion program that will avoid a criminal conviction on your record.
In order to know for certain what kind of case you have, you need to discuss the specifics with an experienced Texas DUI attorney. Call me today so we can look at the case together.
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