Aaronson Law Firm - DWI/DUI Lawyer in El Paso Texas

DWI/DUI Defense Strategies with Michael Aronson

Choosing the Right Representation The interview begins with Michael Aaronson offering advice to prospective clients who have been arrested. He emphasizes that the most critical step is hiring an attorney with whom the client feels both comfortable and confident. Aaronson advises meeting potential lawyers in person or via video call to gauge their demeanor. He warns against hiring attorneys who are difficult to contact or fail to explain options clearly, noting that communication is key to a successful attorney-client relationship.

Defining the Charges: DWI vs. DUI Aronson clarifies the legal distinction between Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Texas:

• DWI: This is a criminal offense where the state alleges a person drove a vehicle on a public highway while legally intoxicated. "Intoxication" is defined by the state penal code 49 as having a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, or the loss of the normal use of physical or mental faculties.
• DUI: This charge generally applies to individuals under the legal drinking age of 21. It is illegal for minors to drive with any detectable amount of alcohol or drugs in their system. Unlike DWI, "intoxication" is not required for a DUI charge; the minor simply needs to be "under the influence."

Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) The discussion moves to how officers establish intoxication during a traffic stop. Aaronson details the three standard tests officers are trained to administer:

1. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN): The officer checks for "nystagmus," an involuntary jerking of the eyeball that occurs when the eye follows a stimulus (like a pen or finger) to the side.
2. Walk and Turn: This tests the suspect's ability to follow specific instructions and maintain balance. The individual must take nine heel-to-toe steps, turn in a specific manner, and return. It is graded on balance and the ability to remember instructions.
3. One-Legged Stand: The suspect must lift one foot and count while standing on the other. Officers look for swaying, using arms for balance, or putting the foot down.

Aaronson also notes that if a person's BAC is 0.15 or higher, the punishment grade increases, and the court may mandate the use of an ignition interlock device (a breathalyzer connected to the car's ignition).

Legal Strategy and Outcomes Once retained, Aaronson’s process involves evaluating the legal evidence, negotiating with the District Attorney, and presenting options to the client. While the client makes the final decision, Aronson provides recommendations based on the goal of long-term record clearing.

He explains that jury trials are recommended in only about 5% to 10% of his cases. The primary objective is often to resolve the case in a way—such as through diversion programs or deferred adjudication—that allows the client to later apply for an Expunction (erasing the record) or an Order of Non-Disclosure (sealing the record).

Pre-Trial Restrictions While clients are innocent until proven guilty and can generally continue driving with a valid license, Aaronson highlights strict rules for repeat offenders. If a person is arrested for a second DWI, the law requires them to use an alcohol detection device (either in the car or a portable unit) and strictly prohibits the consumption of alcohol while the case is pending.

Contact Information The Aaronson Law Firm is located in El Paso, Texas.

• Address: 7362 Remcon Circle, El Paso, TX 79912
• Phone: 915-533-0110
• Website: AaronsonlawTx.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

All right. I'm here with Michael Anderson of the Erneston Law Firm. Good to see you again, Michael. Nice to see you, David. You know, I was on your website checking out, you do DUIs and DWIs. So I guess the way I want to ask this is like, let's just pretend I'm a client calling a prospective client. Hey, I just got arrested for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated. Can you help me explore my options, sir?

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Yeah. The first thing I always tell, first thing I always say to somebody who calls me and is looking for a lawyer is be real careful and make sure you hire somebody who you're both confident and comfortable with. I always tell them you should meet whomever you're thinking about hiring in person. If you can't, for whatever reason, at least meet them over the phone, over maybe FaceTime or some sort of a uh face-to-face type meeting. Because people, look, people really, really can get a feel for other people by seeing them, talking to them, seeing their demeanor, seeing how they how they talk, what they say. And it's really important because I have a lot of people who come to me who tell me that they've hired other lawyers, they've paid them, but they don't want that other lawyer anymore because either he won't answer questions, he won't return phone calls, he's hard to get in touch with, he doesn't explain options. So, number one, make sure you hire somebody who you're both uh comfortable and confident in. The next thing I do in these kind of cases, I have them run down the scenario. DWI is driving while intoxicated. It's a criminal offense because the allegation, or what the state is alleging, is that you drove a vehicle on a public highway when you were actually legally intoxicated. It means that you had a 0.08 or more blood alcohol content, or that you have lost the normal use of both your of either your physical and or mental faculties. Now, DUI is driving under the influence. That's different. And most of the time when you see that, it's with you it's with people who are under the drinking age of 21, and it's against the law for them to have had anything that would make them intoxicated, whether it be alcohol, drugs, whatever, it doesn't matter. But if you could drive under the influence but still not yet be intoxicated, there's a very the difference is that intoxication has a legal definition. Under the influence just means, well, it just means what it says, that you're driving under the influence of either alcohol or something else that might impair your ability to drive a motor vehicle.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

That could be medication or maybe illegal drugs, marijuana or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Anything, anything.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Okay, so somebody gets pulled over before they get arrested for uh one of the a DWR or DUI. Um how does an officer ascertain that that person's under influence, especially if they they can't do a blood alcohol test on the spot?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Well, what what happens is that every single time a person is pulled over, the police officer is instructed and trained to uh request that they perform a field sobriety test. Field sobriety test is where they do the test right where the cop, the law enforcement officer pulled you over. Right. And it's three different tests. And the first one is called the horizontal gaze nystagmus. That just measures whether or not your eyeballs have a condition called nystagmus, which is a an uh involuntary jerking of the eyeball. And the way it works is they have you follow a pencil or their hand or their finger or whatever. And if your eye jerks during the time it's following it, then that's called nystagmus, and that's a what we call a positive HGN test, horizontal gaze nystagmus. The other two uh have to do with more uh physical and mental things. The other the next one, uh the second test they do is called a um walk and turn, where the officer gives you specific instructions which you're expected to remember. And if you don't and you do the test wrong because you didn't get the instructions right, then they count that as clues against your sobriety. And it's basically a test where you do heel to toe uh nine steps or ten steps, and then you turn around and do the same thing, coming back to where you started from. And they grade that on things like if you lose your balance, uh, if you have to use your arms and you know, all these other different clues that are set out under the uh guidelines for these tests. And then the last one is just called a one-legged stand, and that's where literally the officer asks you to lift uh one of your feet in front of you and stand there as you count from one two, on and on and on. And they count for obviously if you lose your balance, if you use your arms to steady your balance and so on and so forth, don't get the directions right, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Okay, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

Um, okay, so and also by the way, uh uh in in the law, you're considered to be intoxicated if you have a.08 blood alcohol content, BAC. So if you have a 0.08 or more, then you're considered to be legally intoxicated. If your BAC is up to or greater than a 0.15, then it kicks it up one notch insofar as the punishment uh grade of the offense. And you also sometimes, under certain circumstances, might have to be assigned to a ignition interlock or a portable alcohol device where you're where you're where you can't you can't be you can't be drinking, you can't be drinking at all.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Um okay, so they go through all that, fields of writer tests, they fail it, or they fail the blood alcohol test. So now they got arrested, they're calling you, now you're in court. What are some of the things you do to help mitigate or minimize the consequences of a mistake somebody made?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

So, what we do is we always explain to our client that all the decisions are theirs. Well, we as the attorney will do all that we need to do insofar as evaluating the case from a legal standpoint, negotiations with the district attorney's office, uh, possible hearings in front of the judge. And when all of those items are pretty much uh completed, what I do is I give the client our potential ways to resolve the case. I tell them what has been offered. Uh, one offer, maybe two or three different types of offers. I tell them uh that we have the right to have a jury trial. I recommend that my client have jury trials in DWI cases, probably only in about maybe 5 or 10% of all the DWI cases that I get. I don't usually recommend a jury trial, but I do if if the case is not resolvable in a way that will likely allow my client to come back after the case is over with and either get it expunged off of his record totally or uh have his record sealed by what we call an order of non-disclosure. I tell the client about all these items, I explain everything again so that they fully understand what their options are, and then I tell them what my opinion is about what I think the best course of action that they should choose to resolve the case, and I also explain why I've I've suggested or recommended that particular way to resolve the case.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Right. So that makes sense. So maybe like what would an outcome be, like a probationary period or something where they can later on get that exposed? Hopefully what are some of the scenarios like that?

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yeah, hopefully that we can get them into some we can get it resolved in a way where you know maybe they go through a little program and later on they can come back and get it erased off of their record. You know.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Now, when somebody has been arrested for that and they hire you, are they innocent until proven guilty? In other words, if they have like, say, a commercial driver's license or just a license in general, are they still able to just operate on the roads? Yes. Okay, so they're innocent until proven guilty.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Yeah, right. But under some circumstances, i.e., when a person is arrested for a second DWI, they are required to use an alcohol detection device. And that's that's the law. That's the law.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

There are sometimes You mean one of those things that they blow into in their car?

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Exactly. Or sometimes a portable unit that they actually have to carry around is is ordered for them to use, and you got gotta do that.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Otherwise you'll Oh, so they're not even allowed to drink alcohol at all.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

No, no, absolutely not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Wow, so you can lose a lot of rights if you get convicted on something like that.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

On the second DWI. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Okay, so most important, if somebody gets arrested for drinking and driving, you want to get them into some kind of, like you say, maybe a class that they got to take or be part of some program where they can later expunge the record, so it's as if though never happened.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Yeah, and if they can't get it expunged, um, what we try to do is get a disposition that will allow them to come back later and have those records sealed. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yeah, that's important. Okay, well, look, if you guys need help with um getting pulled over for driving under the influence, uh, give Michael Aronson a call. It's the Aronson Law Firm here at 7362 Ramcon Circle, El Paso, Texas, 79912. Their phone number is 915 533 0110. And the website is AaronsonlawTx.com. And uh Michael, thank you so much. Thank you, David.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Thank you.