Lubbock Third Offense DWI Defense 

Building a Lubbock third-offense DWI comes with many nuances and intricacies pertaining to the law. A Lubbock DWI lawyer can help you through the legal process of DWI charges, and they will know how to go about building such a defense.

Process of Building a Defense for a DWI Third Charge

A person must start from the beginning of the case in a DWI third charge in order to defend it. First, a person will want to look at the case or arrest itself. Examining the stop, the way law enforcement gets involved, and looking at a person’s ability to challenge the stop can help in the case. If the stop is illegal, then the evidence obtained against the person most likely will not matter, signs of intoxication most likely will not matter, and sobriety tests may not matter either. If the judge runs a motion to suppress the stop, then no other evidence may come in.

MVRs as Evidence

The reason for the DWI stop must be evaluated. To do that, a case can use mobile video recorders, MVR, in a Lubbock third offense DWI defense. An MVR is in most of the police cars in Lubbock, whether they be from Lubbock Police Department, Texas Tech Department, or the Texas Highway Patrol. These devices not only have recording abilities, but they can also be data dumped to a hard drive.

When the camera activates, a person can see the last 90 seconds or two minutes. Which is beneficial because the traffic violation can be seen. For example, if an officer claims that a person failed to maintain a single lane or that a person was swerving, the stop can be challenged if that was not true by the video evidence. Other ways to contest the stop include witnesses if there was a passenger.

Challenging Arrest During a DWI Third Charge

The next event that an attorney might look is the actual arrest. What are the probable cause elements that the officer claims to the arrest?

That includes looking at things like the field sobriety test and what the officer said to the person. For example, if it is found that an officer tows a vehicle before they make an arrest determination out loud. It can be said that the officer did not have probable cause because they would have already had their mind made up to make the arrest. Any video evidence that shows how an officer conducted any tests can also be potentially challenged in a Lubbock third offense DWI defense.

Challenging Officers

TCLO records, or overtime pay records, are also used in a Lubbock third offense DWI defense. TCLOs can be used to determine whether or not an officer makes many DWI arrests. Police officers are sometimes subject to their own biases. Maybe a police officer has been affected by drunk driving. Or another related situation and conducts themselves based on such an event. Examining the officer, the blood or breath sobriety tests and how they were obtained. And whether or not there was a search warrant involved can all be ways to challenge a Lubbock third offense DWI.

Challenging Search Warrants

In certain circumstances, a judge who signed the search warrant can be challenged in a third offense DWI defense if that judge was not valid under the statute to sign the warrant. It is important to see the probable cause affidavit. What did the officer put in the affidavit. And if it is inconsistent with what is in the police report or video evidence. Prior convictions are also important in a third DWI defense.

Hiring a Lawyer

An experienced Lubbock DUI lawyer will know what evidence they will need to defend a Lubbock third-offense DWI case. The attorney will analyze the case from its inception to see where there might be evidence that could help the defense. Challenging the arrest, officers, and search warrants if one was used. Consult with one today to see what you can do about a Lubbock third-offense DWI defense.