As the school year ends and many high school and college students begin their summer breaks, the potential for underage drunk driving arrests increases. Like all other U.S. states, the legal drinking age in Texas is 21. Individuals under age 21 are not permitted to purchase or consume alcohol, let alone drive under the influence of alcohol.

If you, your child, or a loved one were accused of drunk driving, it is important to understand the potential penalties as well as your legal options.

Penalties for Underage Drunk Driving Depend on The Driver’s Blood Alcohol Concentration

In Texas, there is a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. This means that a driver who is under 21 years of age may face legal consequences for having any detectable amount of alcohol in their body. You do not have to be over the legal limit to be charged with a criminal offense if you are under 21.

Over the five months that marked Texas’s 88th legislative session, over 3,400 resolutions and 8,000 bills were filed. With less than a week to go in the session, fewer than 850 bills had passed. Sometimes, legislative action helps to improve the state’s criminal justice system. However, it is not a secret that some actions tend to harm those who have been accused or convicted of criminal wrongdoing as well. As a result of both of these realities, it is critically important that those who are facing criminal allegations remain informed about the ways in which the law is constantly changing. In doing so, they may be able to craft a more successful criminal defense strategy than they otherwise might.

Inaction Was the Order of the Day 

There were several legislative priorities concerning the state’s criminal justice system that were contested during this legislative session, only to “die” before reaching the governor’s desk. Of particular note was Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 44. Although more than 3,100 resolutions introduced during the session passed, this measure – which seeks to amend the Texas Constitution – has been postponed.  

The resolution, which was passed in the Senate almost unanimously a few months ago, sat in the House’s Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence until last week. There is no more time to vote on the resolution, which would grant judges greater discretion in denying certain allegedly violent defendants bail while they await trial. At present, Texas law generally guarantees bail for most defendants who have not been charged with capital murder.

It has widely been observed that so-called “stand your ground” laws are among the most misunderstood legal permission structures on the books in any state. Perhaps due to the forceful, empowering, and straightforward message conveyed in the nickname for these laws, there is too often a sense that individuals who wish to use force to protect themselves, others, or property can simply do as they please and raise these state laws as a defense if they are prosecuted for causing someone harm. In reality, it is not that simple.

Self-Defense Laws in Texas 

The act of self-defense is protected in specific and limited ways by the law. While stand your ground legislation expands the traditional foundations concerning when, how, and why someone can exercise force in self-defense, no state’s law permits the use of force – let alone deadly force – without justification.

Texas law states that a person is justified in using force against another individual when he or she “reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful force.” Furthermore, the type of force used must be appropriate, given the nature of the threat he or she faces. 

If a loved one has just been arrested, you may be working desperately to get them out of jail. Unfortunately, you may be running into a scenario wherein a judge or magistrate is not available to conduct a bond hearing for several days. Perhaps it is a weekend, a holiday, or the official assigned to your loved one’s case is simply overbooked. Regardless of why your loved one cannot immediately participate in their bond hearing and be released, they will likely need to sit in jail until that hearing takes place. That is, unless they qualify for an attorney writ bond.

What Is an Attorney Writ Bond?

Under certain circumstances, a licensed attorney in Texas is permitted to enter into an arrangement with a local Sheriff's Department to get a defendant out of jail before they have participated in a formal bond hearing.

Who Is Eligible for an Attorney Writ Bond?

This opportunity is generally reserved for relatively low-level alleged offenders. For example, your loved one may be eligible for an attorney writ bond if they were arrested for possession of marijuana, impaired driving, or other non-violent offenses. This opportunity is not available for those who have been arrested for assault, most sexual offenses, and any crime that is classified as a felony.

It is very important that anyone who is facing driving while intoxicated (DWI) charges in Texas understand the gravity of their situation. “Even” a first-time alleged impaired driving offender can be sentenced to harsh punishments and suffer collateral consequences ranging from job loss to being painted as an unfit parent in family court in the event of a conviction. Yet, it cannot be denied that some DWI charges are more serious than others. For example, anyone who is convicted of a DWI while transporting a minor under the age of 15 will risk consequences that are far more severe than they would be had a child not been in an alleged offender’s vehicle at the time of their arrest.

The Particulars of Texas Law

Texas Penal Code Sec. 49.045 classifies the act of operating a vehicle while intoxicated when a minor under the age of 15 is in the vehicle as a state jail felony. This means that anyone who is convicted of this charge risks the following sentencing terms:

• A term of incarceration in a state jail to last between 180 days and two years

  ...