Texas Considers Deferred Adjudication for a First DWI Offense

Texas lawmakers are considering a change to the state's Driving While Intoxicated laws.

2011-03-31

March 31, 2011 (Press-News.org) Texas lawmakers are considering a change to the state's Driving While Intoxicated laws. Under the law change, deferred adjudication would be available for those charged with their first DWI offense.

As proposed, opting for deferred adjudication would result in supervision, treatment and one year of probation. While it seems as though this may not provide a great alternative to current options for someone accused of DWI, the proposed law would also allow for an acquittal of the DWI charge at the end of the probation period if no further offenses are committed.

Speaking about the acquittal portion of the proposed DWI law, Judge John Robert, as reported by KTXS, stated that those who receive an acquittal who are trying to get a job or are filling out applications "can truthfully and honestly say [they've] never been convicted of that misdemeanor offense."

Texas' current laws create a disincentive for those accused of DWI to plead guilty to the charge because of the real threat of jail time for DWI convictions -- which creates a backlog of cases while those accused of DWI await their day in court. Deferred adjudication would allow a person facing his or her first DWI charge to plead guilty and not face jail time. It is believed that making it "easier" to plead guilty by reducing the threat of incarceration through deferred adjudication would ease the backlog of DWI cases currently in the state's judicial system.

Currently, many DWI offenses are pled down to a lesser charge. Therefore, when someone commits another DWI, there may not be a previous DWI on his or her record. Deferred adjudication would keep the notation in a person's record as the basis for an enhanced penalty for a repeat offense.

In favor of eliminating the practice of allowing persons charged with DWI to plead guilty to lesser, non-DWI charges, Mothers Against Drunk Driving has voiced its support for the proposed law. MADD stated, "Right now we are hearing that many cases are not getting prosecuted for DWI but for a bogus charge. We hope the practice of reducing charges will be reduced if this bill does indeed pass."

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