Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Jamie Spencer Law Firm : DWI, DUI, Drug Possession : Serving Georgetown, Round Rock, San Marcos, Travis, Williamson, and Hays County, Texas

News8 Austin had a recent segment on how the increasing number of DWI arrests in Austin has caused the current County Court judges to ask for another court:

Each month Travis County court-at-law judges handle thousands of criminal cases. Judges say their average monthly caseload has increased 60 percent since 2002… Each county court currently has an average of 3,200 cases pending… In the last decade, the number of DWI cases has risen 135 percent.

DWI cases can backlog a system faster than any other type of misdemeanor, precisely because of the way we (as a society) handle them. Austin Police Department has, for all intents and purposes, moved towards an “arrest anyone with the odor of an alcoholic beverage on their breath” standard. The more questionable DWI arrests that are made, the more the innocent civilian decides he wants to take a case to trial – which causes the backlog.

The criminal justice system depends on plea bargaining most cases, or it will grind to a standstill. Practicing in these courts everyday, I can vouch for the need of at least one new court.

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Austin Police Department's DWI Enforcement Unit (Task Force) was created in 1998.  Since then, DWI arrests in Austin, Texas have more than doubled.

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A Lawrence Taylor post on how body temperature can distort Intoxilyzer results.

DUI Rob reminds us that Radio Frequency Interference can effect the Intoxilyzer 5000.

George Creal posts an article from the Arizona Daily Star on “inconsistent” police testimony in DWI cases.

St. Louis DWI Lawyer writes about some of the factors NHTSA trains officers to look for in a DWI.

And Tiffany Sanders reminds us DWI arrests sometimes happen, even if you’re not on a street or highway.

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KXAN NBC reports that the Austin Police Department is keeping a list of the bars that last served DWI suspects. They get the information during the questioning of the suspect on scene and prior to the arrest.

"We try to get these officers to ask them, 'Where have you been drinking?' If it's a business establishment. To give us an idea of are there any violations at those businesses that are already serving to people intoxicated?" APD Lt. Craig Cannon said.

APD then hands over the information to TABC. At first blush, this may not sound unreasonable. The problem lies in the method of collecting the data. Once certain bars are targeted by a police department, that becomes the area that DWI task force officers patrol. More officers in a certain area means more detentions, more arrests, and more arrests for DWI. Then more DWI suspects report their last drink came from one of the bars on the list.

As soon as a list is first established, and without using a random or statistically significant sample size, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The current top five on the list are Cedar Street, Rain, Club Carnaval, Blind Pig and Oilcan Harry’s.

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