A drunk driving arrest can easily lead to felony criminal charges in Texas, particularly if you have prior DWI convictions or there is evidence of an open container violation. For example, law enforcement in the north Texas community of Mount Vernon recently charged a 40-year-old woman with felony DWI following an incident on I-30. According […]
You probably know that Texas has laws prohibiting the possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. You may also be aware that the penalties for DWI may be greater in cases where there is also an open-container violation. But what you may not know is that federal law also plays a […]
Having an open container of alcohol in your car is essentially an invitation to a police officer to detain you on suspicion of drunk driving–or worse. From a legal standpoint, the open container provides the officer with “reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.” This means that while you may not be under arrest, you are also […]
You may not realize this, but you can be tried and convicted of a DWI with an open container violation even if you are not actually driving a car when the police apprehend you. This is a common misunderstanding about DWI law in general. The truth is that the law does not merely criminalize “driving” […]
Even if you are not driving while intoxicated, it is still against the law to have an open container of alcohol in the car with you, even if you are stopped or parked at the time. An “open container” is defined by the Texas Penal Code as any “bottle, can, or other receptacle” where the […]
Insights from a Top Criminal Defense Attorney in Houston A charge of driving while intoxicated (DWI) can be a scary experience. When the offense is compounded with an open container charge, you have reason to be all the more concerned. In such cases, you need access to an experienced lawyer who can help you make […]
No one in Houston likes to be pulled over by the police. In the event that a driver may have consumed a few alcoholic beverages and the hour is late, there may be good reason for such fears. Even if an individual’s blood alcohol limit is below the legal limit of 0.08, he or she […]
