Charged with Intoxication Assault in Texas? Here are Your Next Steps
Texas law takes DWI very seriously. Thousands of Americans die each year at the hands of a driver who was intoxicated while they were behind the wheel. Many more are injured.
If you were involved in an accident that hurt someone else, you might find yourself facing these charges. When intoxication results in serious bodily injuries penalties and charges become much more serious.
This is because intoxication assault is a felony in the state of Texas. Penalties include more than just probation, fines, and the embarrassment of walking into court to plead your case.
That said, an experienced Texas criminal defense lawyer can help you develop the right defense strategy to demonstrate that your actions did not directly cause another person’s injuries. Learn more here.
What Is Intoxication Assault?
Before you can build a successful defense strategy, you’ll have to understand the charges against you. Here’s how Texas law defines intoxication assault:
“A person commits an offense if the person, by accident or mistake while operating an aircraft, watercraft, or amusement ride while intoxicated, or while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, by reason of that intoxication causes serious bodily injury to another.”
Already, you can see a few things that will help you build a better defense strategy.
Claiming that you were negligent or did not intend to hurt anyone doesn’t count as a solid defense.
Intoxication assault doesn’t just happen behind the wheel of a car.
Prosecutors will have to prove that your actions resulted in serious bodily injury.
What Is Serious Bodily Injury?
Texas law defines “serious bodily injury” as “injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.”
Not all injuries qualify as a serious bodily injury. A small fracture, for example, may only be considered “bodily injury.” You can’t be convicted for intoxication assault if the victim’s injuries did not leave them impaired.
Penalties for Intoxication Assault in Texas
If driving while intoxicated did result in a victim’s serious bodily injuries, you could be convicted. Intoxication assault is a felony of the third degree in Texas. Penalties include 2-10 years behind bars and up to $10,000 in fines.
Furthermore, if the victim dies in a car accident, you may face more serious charges. Intoxication manslaughter is a felony of the second degree in the state of Texas.
Intoxication Assault & Defenses
Texas Penal Code §49.07 provides in pertinent part: A person commits an offense if the person, by accident or mistake, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, by reason of that intoxication causes serious bodily injury to another.
Challenging Intoxication (Attacking the Blood Test Results)
If a collision occurs where one of those involved in the crash suffers serious injury, law enforcement officers will typically take blood samples from the driver(s) in the crash. The lab work and blood sample must be carefully analyzed to uncover potential errors or sloppy procedures that may result in contamination of the sample or otherwise compromise the accuracy of the test result.
Common types of mistakes that undermine the reliability of the blood test may include:
Contamination from alcohol used to clean the injection site
Failure to properly mix the blood sample with preservative and anticoagulant
Test not conducted by a trained qualified professional
Blood sample handled improperly or exposed to heat
Lack of proper sanitation standards in the lab
Improperly functioning lab equipment
Mislabeled blood sample
While this is hardly a comprehensive list of all ways that blood testing can be challenged, our experienced Fort Worth intoxication assault attorney carefully analyze the test results, procedures, chain of custody and lab procedures to establish that the DWI test results are unreliable. If there is not sufficient evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that you were committing DWI, you cannot be convicted of intoxication assault in Texas.
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00:00 How To Beat An Intoxication Assault Charge In Texas
02:11 What Is Intoxication Assault?
03:43 What Are The Penalties For An Intoxication Assault Charge?
04:07 Intoxication Manslaughter vs. Intoxication Assault
05:15 Defenses For An Intoxication Assault Charge
05:34 How Can The State Prove Intoxication?
11:52 What Is Serious Bodily Injury?
14 авг 2024
