A drunk driving charge is very serious. You’ll definitely need a lawyer if you were arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI).

An attorney familiar with defending drunk driving cases in your area can guide you through the trial process. It will help to know what’s going to happen in court before talking to your lawyer.

Arraignment

The first court hearing in your DWI case is likely to be an arraignment. The judge will read the charges against you and ask for your plea. Unless you carefully discuss the entry of a different plea with your attorney, you’ll want to plead “not guilty.”

The judge will decide whether to reduce your bail amount. The judge may agree to release you on your own recognizance without requiring additional bail.

The prosecutor gives your lawyer – a court-appointed lawyer or a private defense lawyer - copies of evidence about your case. This could include police reports and blood alcohol test results, and any other documents important to your case. This is call discovery.

Dates for pretrial motions and your trial will be set by the judge.

Preliminary Hearing

At a preliminary hearing, the judge decides whether the prosecutor has enough evidence to possibly convince a jury that you were driving while intoxicated. While the procedures differ greatly from state to state, this is your attorney’s opportunity to size up the prosecution’s case and give you more information about your options.

Plea Bargaining

Plea bargaining involves negotiating a deal with the prosecutor. It’s discouraged in DWI cases and is even outlawed in some states. Many legislators feel DWI is such a serious crime that plea bargaining is inappropriate.

There may be cases, however, when an attorney can reach a deal with the prosecutor to have a DWI charge reduced to a less serious charge, such as reckless driving. It may also be possible to reach a compromise by agreeing to plead guilty to the DWI charge in exchange for the prosecutor recommending a less severe sentence than if the case went to trial.

The State of Texas has an extensive and much deserved reputation for being Tough On Crime but our attorneys are equally Tough On The State of Texas when they choose to prosecute one of our clients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The Law Offices of Roderick C. White, with offices in both Dallas and Fort Worth, aggressively represents citizens suspected of or charged with violations of the criminal laws of the state of Texas in the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

No one is immune from the long arm of often overly aggressive local law enforcement activities. Effective and aggressive legal representation is the only way to prevent this destructive overreaching government takeover of individual liberty.

The legal professionals at the Law Offices of Roderick C. White view every client as an opportunity to protect the rights and liberty of all citizens through the aggressive independent protection of each individual client. If you or a loved one are suspected of or charged with a state crime contact us for a free initial consultation.

While nothing can replace the protection of an aggressive experienced criminal defense attorney, an understanding of how the Texas criminal process operates and a working knowledge of the various classifications of Texas crimes will help you and your family make the best decisions possible concerning any potential and/or actual state criminal charges. For assistance please take a few moments to review the following:

• TEXAS CRIMINAL PROCESS
• TEXAS CRIME CLASSIFICATIONS

We sincerely believe that providing clients and prospective clients with all the information necessary to make informed decisions is simply a part of practicing law. Accordingly, below are very informative links to a non-exhaustive list of Texas criminal charges that we are prepared to aggressively assist with:

• DRUG CRIMES
• MURDER, MANSLAUGHTER, & CRIMINAL HOMICIDE
• SEX CRIMES
• DWI – DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED
• COMPUTER & INTERNET CRIMES
• THEFT
• ARSON
• ASSAULT
• BURGLARY
• CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD ABUSE
• ENGAGING IN ORGANIZED CRIME
• FORGERY
• KIDNAPPING & UNLAWFUL RESTRAINT
• ONLINE SOLICITATION OF A MINOR
• RESISTING & EVADING ARREST
• ROBBERY
• SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION
• WEAPONS OFFENSES

A little comic relief for your Friday! Yes, lawyers are the butt of many jokes, and with this kind of advertising out there, it’s easy to see why. Why waste your time and money on an amateur looking commercial when you can be spending it on your clients’ cases? Happy Friday, everyone.

If you have been injured in an auto accident or as the result of someone else’s negligence and need the best personal injury attorney in Dallas or Fort Worth, TX, contact us immediately. The Law Offices of Roderick C. White is a firm that is aggressive, personalized, and results-oriented. Contact us to discuss your case.

With Super Bowl XLVI almost upon us, there is bound to be a slew of attempts by people to cash in on the biggest sporting event of the year, legally and illegally.

This week, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), seized a total of 307 websites and confiscated 42,692 items of phony Super Bowl-related memorabilia along with other counterfeit items, in an operation called “Fake Sweep.” The total take equalled more than $4.8 million.

Some of the sites were illegally streaming NFL games, while some were illegally selling and distributing counterfeit merchandise.

Sounds like they need a good lawyer.