San Antonio Criminal Defense FAQ

Most first-offense Bexar County DWIs resolve without additional jail time through probation or dismissal — but only when properly defended. The statutory minimum is 72 hours. More importantly, deferred adjudication is NOT available for DWI in Texas. A plea is a permanent conviction.

Yes — The Hull Firm has dismissed hundreds of DWI cases in Bexar County. The most common grounds are an illegal traffic stop, field sobriety test errors, or BAC evidence problems at the Bexar County Crime Lab. Any one can collapse the prosecution's case.

When the officer issued the DIC-25 notice at your arrest, the clock started. You have exactly 15 days to request an ALR hearing with Texas DPS. Miss it and your license is automatically suspended at day 40 — 90 days for a failed test, 180 days for a refusal. No extension exists.

Refusing triggers a 180-day ALR suspension versus 90 days for a failed test. SAPD will typically seek a blood draw warrant when you refuse. The refusal can be introduced as consciousness-of-guilt evidence at trial. There is no universally right answer — it depends on your specific situation.

A BAC above 0.08 does not automatically mean conviction. The Intoxilyzer 9000 result must meet specific validity requirements. Blood draws in Bexar County are analyzed at the Bexar County Crime Laboratory — the chain of custody must be documented at every link. Both are challengeable.

SAPD runs dedicated DWI enforcement on the River Walk corridor, downtown San Antonio, IH-10, and IH-35. DPS Troopers patrol IH-35 year-round. Fiesta, Spurs games, and events at the AT&T Center all trigger heightened operations. Early morning weekend hours after bar close are peak arrest periods.

No. Texas CCP Art. 42A.102(b) expressly prohibits deferred adjudication for any DWI offense statewide — including Bexar County. A guilty plea to DWI is a permanent conviction the moment it enters. It cannot be sealed through non-disclosure. The only outcome that protects your record is dismissal or acquittal followed by expungement under Texas CCP Ch. 55.

A DWI stop requires reasonable suspicion. Under Rodriguez v. United States (2015) and Texas CCP Art. 38.23, if the stop lacked legal justification or was extended past its traffic purpose, everything discovered is suppressible. SAPD's high-volume enforcement on IH-10, IH-35, and the River Walk frequently produces stops where dashcam evidence differs from the written report.

Texas DWI arrests require reasonable suspicion to stop and probable cause to arrest — two independent standards. Officers build probable cause through observations and field sobriety tests. A valid stop does not automatically mean the arrest was supported by probable cause. If lacking, all evidence is suppressible.

SAPD uses the Intoxilyzer 9000. It uses a fixed 2,100:1 partition ratio — a population average that varies from 1,700:1 to 2,900:1 between individuals. Maintenance gaps, lapsed operator certification, mouth alcohol contamination, and the 15-minute observation period are all challenge points. We obtain the full maintenance file for the specific machine used in your case.

Yes. Blood draws are analyzed at the Bexar County Crime Laboratory. Challenge points include the warrant's probable cause basis, phlebotomist qualifications, tube type and preservation, storage conditions, and gas chromatograph calibration. In vitro fermentation from improper preservation can inflate the result above the actual BAC at the time of the draw.

Texas misdemeanors: Class C (fine only), Class B (up to 180 days), Class A (up to 1 year). Felonies range from state jail felony (180 days–2 years) through first degree (5–99 years or life). Misdemeanors are heard in the Bexar County Courts at Law. Felonies require grand jury indictment and are heard in Bexar County District Courts at Cadena-Reeves.

Yes. Before formal filing, attorney intervention can sometimes influence the DA's charging decision — or prevent charges from being filed at all. After filing, charges can be dismissed through suppression motions, documented evidentiary problems, or prosecution agreement. A dismissed charge still requires expunction to leave your record.

An arrest appears on background checks immediately — even before charges are filed. A dismissed charge stays visible until a Texas court issues a formal expunction order under Chapter 55. A DWI conviction is permanent and cannot be sealed or expunged under any Texas law. We evaluate expunction eligibility on every dismissed case.

Most Texas misdemeanors: 2 years. Most felonies: 3 years. Murder and capital murder: no limitations period. Sexual assault and certain crimes against minors: no limitations period or significantly extended periods. The clock tolls while a defendant is absent from Texas.

Yes. The Hull Firm has secured Over 930 dismissals or rejected cases since 2021 across Bexar County and Central Texas courts. Common grounds include Fourth Amendment violations suppressible under Art. 38.23, field sobriety test errors, BAC evidence problems at the Bexar County Crime Lab, and documented inconsistencies between SAPD officer reports and dashcam footage.

Yes — unequivocally. A first DWI conviction is permanent the moment the judge accepts the plea. No deferred adjudication exists. The conviction cannot be sealed or expunged. An experienced San Antonio DWI attorney files the ALR request, obtains Intoxilyzer maintenance records, pulls SAPD dashcam footage, and pursues dismissal — all paths unavailable to unrepresented defendants.

Regular appearances in the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center, 20+ years of Texas criminal defense trial experience, and former prosecutorial experience providing direct insight into how the Bexar County DA's office evaluates its files. Ask for verifiable dismissal results in Bexar County courts specifically — not just statewide claims.

The decision depends on suppression grounds, the strength of the prosecution's evidence, collateral consequences of the offered conviction, and whether dismissal is achievable. For DWI, a plea is a permanent conviction. We pursue dismissal as the primary goal on every case. A plea is never our first recommendation — it comes only after fully evaluating every suppression and dismissal argument.