San Antonio DWI Lawyer: Defending DWI Charges in Bexar County

She had two glasses of wine over a long dinner and felt fine when she merged onto Loop 410 a little before midnight. The patrol lights came on a mile later. Wide turn, the officer said. Then the questions, the flashlight in her eyes, nine steps down a painted line while trucks went by at seventy. She declined the breath test. By two in the morning she was at the Magistrate's Office on Comal Street holding a form that said her license would be suspended, and nobody had told her the form was the opening move in a second case against her. That is how most people in San Antonio meet a DWI: tired and a step behind.

The short answer: a first DWI in Texas is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours, and it climbs to a Class A misdemeanor or a felony depending on the test result, a child in the car, a school zone, or prior convictions. But one arrest opens two cases. The criminal case belongs to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office and the courts. The license case belongs to the Department of Public Safety, and unless a hearing request reaches the Department within fifteen days of the notice, the suspension goes forward with nobody arguing against it. That is why a San Antonio DWI lawyer's first task is often the smaller case. Its clock runs out first.

What the State has to prove in a Texas DWI

Penal Code § 49.04 makes it an offense to be intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place. The State must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt.

Penal Code § 49.01 defines "intoxicated" two ways: the loss of the normal use of mental or physical faculties because of alcohol, a drug, or another substance; or an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The first is an opinion, built from what an officer saw and heard at the roadside. The second is a number, produced later by a machine or a lab from a sample taken after the driving stopped. An opinion is only as good as the observations under it; a number, only as good as the instrument and the sample. The statute reaches drugs as well as alcohol; this post on DWI and drugs takes that up.

The punishment range for DWI in Texas

• First DWI: Class B; 72 hours to 180 days; fine up to $2,000 (§§ 49.04(b), 12.22)
• First DWI, open container: Class B; six days to 180 days; fine up to $2,000 (§§ 49.04(c), 12.22)
• First DWI, test of 0.15 or more: Class A; up to one year; fine up to $4,000 (§§ 49.04(d), 12.21)
• Second DWI: Class A; 30 days to one year; fine up to $4,000 (§§ 49.09(a), 12.21)
• Passenger younger than 15: State jail felony; 180 days to two years; fine up to $10,000 (§§ 49.045, 12.35)
• In a school crossing zone: State jail felony; same range (§§ 49.04(e), 12.35)
• Third DWI: Third-degree felony; 2 to 10 years in prison; fine up to $10,000 (§§ 49.09(b), 12.34)

Section 49.09 sets no age limit on the prior convictions it counts. A prior deferred adjudication for DWI counts as a conviction. A DWI from another state counts too. And on a second offense within five years of the last one, the court must order an ignition interlock on every vehicle the person owns or drives.

Consequences outside the courtroom

Under Transportation Code § 724.011, a person arrested for DWI is deemed to have consented in advance to a breath or blood test. Refusing is not a crime, but it costs a 180-day suspension, or two years with an alcohol- or drug-related enforcement contact in the prior ten years. A result of 0.08 or more costs 90 days, or one year with such a contact. Either suspension takes effect on the 40th day after notice. To contest it, the Department of Public Safety must receive a hearing request within fifteen days of the notice, in writing, by fax, or in another manner the Department prescribes (Transportation Code §§ 524.031, 724.041). Chapter 524 says outright that the license case is civil and independent of the criminal one. A conviction brings its own suspension under § 521.344, 90 days to one year on a first offense, with exceptions written into that section.

A first DWI may later be sealed by an order of nondisclosure, on the conditions described below.

A Class A or Class B conviction within the preceding five years disqualifies a person from a Texas license to carry under Government Code § 411.172. Anyone who is not a United States citizen should get advice about immigration consequences before entering any plea in a Texas court.

How a DWI case moves in Bexar County

After the arrest comes the Magistrate's Office on Comal Street, where bond and its conditions are set. A misdemeanor DWI is filed in the Bexar County Courts at Law. A felony DWI goes to a grand jury and, if indicted, to a district court. The Bexar County District Attorney's Office prosecutes both, and settings take place downtown at the Bexar County Courthouse and the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center.

The license case runs on its own calendar, before an administrative law judge. For how long the criminal side takes, see how long a criminal case takes in Bexar County.

What this office looks at in a DWI case

The stop. An officer needs a lawful reason to pull a car over; the protection against unreasonable seizures is older than Texas itself. If the stop was unlawful, the question becomes what evidence a jury may hear at all.

The roadside tests. The walk-and-turn asks for nine heel-to-toe steps along a line, a pivot, and nine back, arms at the sides, counting aloud, while an officer watches for specific clues. It is given wherever the car stopped, on a sloped shoulder or gravel, and the video can be set beside the report.

The number. A breath result depends on the instrument and its maintenance; a blood result on the draw, the chain of custody, and the lab. This post on blood tests goes further.

The statements and the priors. Whether roadside statements came in lawfully is its own question. In an enhanced case, the State must prove each earlier conviction, and the paperwork does not always match the person.

Questions people ask about DWI in Texas

Is a first DWI a felony in Texas?

Usually not. A first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor with a 72-hour minimum term of confinement, or a Class A misdemeanor if a test showed 0.15 or more. There are exceptions. Driving while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 15 is a state jail felony under Penal Code § 49.045, and so, since S.B. 826 (2025) added § 49.04(e), is DWI in a school crossing zone while the reduced speed limit applies.

How long do I have to request an ALR hearing in Texas?

Fifteen days from the date you received the notice of suspension, which is often the day of the arrest. The Department of Public Safety must receive the request within that window, in writing, by fax, or in another manner it prescribes. Otherwise the suspension begins on the 40th day: 90 days after a test failure or 180 days after a refusal, for a driver with a clean ten-year record.

Can a DWI come off my record in Texas?

Sometimes, through an order of nondisclosure, if it was a first offense and not the 0.15 kind. Deferred adjudication can be sealed two years after discharge (Government Code § 411.0726). Probation after conviction, two years after completion with six months of ignition interlock, five without (§ 411.0731). A jail sentence, three years or five (§ 411.0736). None applies after a collision involving another person.

Can an old DWI make a new one a felony?

Yes. Penal Code § 49.09 makes a DWI a third-degree felony when the person has two prior intoxication-related driving convictions, and it sets no time limit on how old they can be. A prior deferred adjudication for DWI counts, and so does a DWI from another state. The range is two to ten years in prison.

Back to Loop 410

The woman on Loop 410 kept the form, which was the right instinct. What she did not know is that it started a fifteen-day clock, and that her license case and her criminal case would move separately from that night on. If your arrest has already happened, that clock is running now. Call (210) 201-3096 and have the date of the arrest and the form in hand. Written questions can go through the contact form.

By Christian O. Vega, Attorney at Law

The Law Office of Christian Vega · 130 E Travis St, Suite 425, San Antonio, Texas 78205

Texas State Bar No. 24121180

This is an attorney advertisement. Christian O. Vega is responsible for the content of this page. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes in any future case. The information here is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice for your specific situation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.