Texas is one of the few states that regularly holds “no refusal” weekends of aggressive DWI enforcement and prosecution. They may be employed on holiday weekends, or anytime law enforcement believes there may be an abundance of drunk drivers on the roads.
The term “no refusal” refers to a law enforcement tactic where they are set up to forcefully take of blood evidence from a suspected drunk drivers.
Once arrested for suspicion of DWI the police will offer you a breathalyzer test. If you refuse they will immediately ask a judge on call for a warrant to take your blood, against your will. The issues with this are obvious and a local Houston station recently revealed some of the issues on their newscast.
Prosecutors get around constitutional right against self-incrimination by having judges on call to instantly sign warrants to compel you to “produce the evidence”.
Despite some vocal opposition to the “no refusal” approach, the program has been in place for about 6 years in some places and the police consider it effective. Over spring break in Harris County, they netted 120 arrests in one such weekend.
As the video on ABC13 shows, the police aren’t afraid to forcefully take the blood once there is a warrant in their hand, so resistance is not recommended. In some cases, your refusal can increase the criminal penalties against you if later found guilty.
If, however, your blood alcohol level is found to be below the legal limit of .08% after your test, the charges will be dropped.
DWI charges are very serious, despite their frequency. Even for your first offense you may spend a mandatory 3 days in jail. However, if it is your first offense, you stand a good chance of getting community supervision or probation as a result.
As your past DWI convictions mount, so do the penalties against you. And no matter how many prior convictions you have, you will be required to pay the DWI surcharges I wrote about last week.
If you are facing DWI charges in any county in Texas, you need help. Whether or not the charges are a result of a blood draw or a breath test, your legal defense is a serious matter. Contact our attorneys today for a free legal consultation.
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