Information about Fighting the Breathalyzer

If you failed your DWI breath test in Houston, TX, it still may be possible to beat it. If it is just a little over the limit, it is possible to obtain a Dismissal prior to trial, depending on other facts and evidence from the arrest. If the breath test results are way over the .08 limit &dash like 2 and 3 times – the chances of litigating the results in a trial are much greater.

One of many ways to beat a breath test failure case, either before or during trial, is by showing that the breath test itself is is invalid and is therefore inadmissible as “scientific evidence&lrdquo;.

Under the Discovery Statute we can obtain evidence from DPS’s Office of the Scientific Director that can potentially prove the invalidity of breath test results.

Under DPS’s new (as of 2011) Standard Operating Guidelines, failed breath test results can be suppressed – that is – thrown out as evidence – if they were not taken and analyzed in compliance with these guidelines. Therefore, even if you fail your breath test, an experienced defense attorney such as Carl Haggard may be able to prove the test was invalid. In this event, failing the breathalizer doesn’t count against you.

Legal Defenses Against DWI Breath Test

Below are some examples of defenses The Haggard Law Firm uses at trial to prove failed breath test results are invalid and get them thrown out:

  • Invalid procedures were used prior to obtaining the results
  • Improper calibration or improper adjustment of calibration (per the SOG’s)
  • Faulty machinery
  • Lack of proper certification by the operator of the breath test machine
  • Improper chain of custody of the breath sample
  • Improper maintenance of evidence
  • Fraud, incompetence, destruction of evidence or other issues related to the technical supervisor’s work
  • Problems with the performance records of operators including their certification exam results
  • Using an intoxilyzer without an embossed “Evidential Instrument” certification
  • Maintenance records not organized and detailed enough to allow another technical supervisor to give an opinion in a trial on the machines’s maintenance history

If you plead guilty to your DWI in Houston it will be on your record forever. There is no option to seal or expunge a DWI conviction. A DWI conviction will go on your driving record which may cause your insurance rates to go up. DPS surcharges for DWI convictions range from $1000 to $2000 a year for 3 years.

Not every breath test case will have some or even one of these issues above. But if pleading guilty to your DWI is not an option then we need to do Discovery in the case to find out.

Call Houston Texas defense attorney Carl D. Haggard at (832) 328-0600 or email him today for a free confidential consultation if you have taken a breathalizer exam and are being charged with DWI. Whie the breath test result is only one factor in beating a DWI, an experienced attorney will examine many other factors such as the reason for the stop in the first place and the Field Sobriety Test. As an Ex-Chief District Prosecutor with over 30 years of verifiable winning experience, Carl knows how to fight DWI cases and as soon as you call Carl and The Haggard Law Firm is immediately ready to go to work to provide you the best defense possible against your DWI charge.

The Haggard Law Team

Houston Texas Legal Defense Firm

These are a relatively new (since 2012) and positive advance with DPS. DPS has had had a long-standing culture of not wanting to be held accountable and thus for years had no written policies and procedures. Now at least there are written standards that technical supervisors are required to follow, which is better for DWI defense attorneys and their clients.