Austin DWI Attorney Blog : Austin DWI Lawyer & Attorney : Law Office of Ken Gibson : Texas DUI Defense

The Top 20 DWI bars are:

1. Kung Fu Saloon (23 Arrests)
2. J Black's (17 Arrests)
3. Rain (15 Arrests)
4. The Ranch (14 Arrests)
5. Molotov (13 Arrests)
6. Thirsty Nickel (13 Arrests)
7. Oilcan Harry's (12 Arrests)
8. Sherlock's Baker St (11 Arrests)
9. Blind Pig Pub (10 Arrests)
10. Key Bar (10 Arrests)
11. Shakespeares (10 Arrests)
12. The Yellow Rose (10 Arrests)
13. Kiss & Fly (9 Arrests)
14. Antones (7 Arrests)
15. Cedar Street (4 Arrests)
16. Dizzy Rooster (7 Arrests)
17. Dogwood (7 Arrests)
18. Third Base (7 Arrests)
19. Weirdos (4 Arrests)
20. 512 Bar (6 Arrests); Barbarella (6 Arrests); Barcelona (6 Arrests); Chuggin Monkey (6 Arrests); Jackalope (6 Arrests); La Preferida (6 Arrests); Lavaca Street Bar (6 Arrests); Parish (6 Arrests) (these bars tied for #20)

It is no coincidence that four of the top five bars are on or near West 6th street. The DWI Task Force Officers often sit right in front of GSD&M on 6th Street, and catch folks speeding towards Mopac.

While APD says that it uses this compiled list to decide where to put its Officers, it really is the chicken and the egg story. The question is, “Do they make more arrests because the officers are on 6th Street, or are there more officers on 6th Street, because that is there the DWIs are?”

The other wildcard in all of this is that most officers only ask “Where have you been drinking?” For all we know, they could have gone to that bar first, and only had one drink, and then moved on to somewhere else. This list is hardly statistically reliable to say the least. It makes for good publicity for APD, but I dare say, it has little value past that.

A new law, which is being called the “Extreme DWI Law”, took effect on September 1. This new law enhances the punishment for anyone with .15, or higher, alcohol content in their blood or breath, taking a DWI offense from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor.

This new law carries with it a possible sentence of up to a year in jail and $4,000 in fines, even for first-timers.

This is just another example of the enhancement that can occur when you provide a breath or blood sample. If you don’t give a breath or blood sample, then the .15 enhancement is irrelevant.

USA Today posted a good article about the fact that punishment for drunken driving among the states is inconsistent at best. Get arrested in Alaska, Tennessee or Georgia and you will face mandatory jail time for your first offense. These three states require mandatory sentences ranging from one to three days. Get arrested in California, Texas, Connecticut or Indiana and you won't face mandatory jail time for your first offense.

In some states, like Wisconsin, first-offense DWIs aren’t even considered a criminal matter. It's a civil infraction that results in a ticket. So far, there are no punishment guidelines for the states. It is up to each State's Legislature to figure out what the punishment range should be.

The article states that National research suggests jailing first-time offenders "has no impact" on whether they will do it again.

Sentencing guidelines drawn up in 2006 by federal highway officials and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism concur. "The available evidence suggests that as a specific deterrent, jail terms are extremely costly and no more effective in reducing (drunken driving) recidivism," the guidelines note.

In this session, like in previous one, some state legislators targeted drunk drivers but most of those proposals, seem to be going nowhere. Here are some of the bills and their status three weeks before the Legislature adjourns. .

Bill Goal Status

• SB 231 To revoke driving privileges of anyone with two convictions. In committee

• HB 99 Third-degree felony for anyone with a previous conviction. House calendar

• HB 101 A hotline to report suspected cases of impaired driving. In committee

• HB 189 Mandating ignition interlock for any DWI conviction. Attached to other bill

• HB 237 To mark driver’s license of anyone with a prior conviction. In committee

• HB 3477 Ten-year driver’s license suspension after five convictions. To full House

Fortunately, the Legislature seems distracted with cutting education funding, cutting back who can vote, and making sure the police don't give immigrants any protection from deportation even when they are witnesses to a crime, to care much about DWIs this session.

San Antonio Express News ran a report last week of a Tarrant County DWI probation program called Felony Alcohol Intervention Project. It is designed for offenders with three or more DWIs.  This program these repeat offenders to accept a “plea bargain for a seven-year prison sentence that is probated to four years.  The goal of the program is to reduce the number of injuries and deaths from alcohol related accidents. Currently, there are 175 probationers with 10 graduates.

 FAIP include the following requirements:

-        10 days jail

-        work 40 hours a week

-        Driver’s license suspense for 6 months to a year

-        random urinalysis

-        counseling and alcohol treatment; including daily meeting for the first 90 days

-        ankle monitor that detects alcohol for the first 90 days

-        attend court weekly for judicial review

-        meet with their probation officer once a week

-        community service at homeless shelters

While this may be good resolution for some folks, it is clearly not a one size fits all solution.  Some case just need fighting, and not just a quick probation outcome.  If this type of programs comes to Austin, we will sure look at on a client by client bases.  Pleading guilty to a felony DWI is always an avenue of last resort.  

The Texas Tribune reported this week that state lawmakers are considering eliminating the Driver Responsibility Program that was created in 2003 “to generate money and discourage unsafe driving.” The program tacks on a surcharge to drivers who get ticketed for various moving violations like driving while intoxicated, driving without insurance and driving without a license. Since inception, “DPS has been unable to collect more than $1 billion in fines they’ve issued” and have clogged Texas courtrooms with people who have failed to pay these fines. Rep. Lon Burman “argued that the surcharge program is unconstitutional because it puts drivers in double jeopardy, punishing them twice for the same offense.”

In hopes to collect on the $1 billion of unpaid fines, DPS has initiated an amnesty program for drivers “whose licenses have been suspended are eligible if they had a surcharge assessed between Sept. 30, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2008, and were delinquent on payments.” The amnesty program runs through April 17.

The Dallas Morning News also had a similar report which added that almost 60 percent of assessed surcharges have not been collected. It is estimated that the state receives $86 million a year in revenue from drivers who are paying the surcharges. And because the Texas Driver Responsibility Program is a large revenue source for the state, Rep. Berman has suggested a tax increase on cigarettes to make up for the lost revenue.   

The Austin Police Department has released its annual compilation of  bars, clubs and restaurants that are most frequently named by motorists who are arrested for DWI.  Police use the information when deciding what areas of Austin to target their enforcement.

Here’s the bar name, the address and the number of motorists who reported having their last drink at the locations for 2009:

J. Blacks, 710 W. Sixth Street - 27 DWI arrests

The Ranch, 708 W. Sixth Street - 22 DWI arrests

Rain, 217 W. Fourth Street - 17 DWI arrests

Maggie Mae's, 323 E. Sixth Street - 16 DWI arrests

Blind Pig, 317 E. Sixth Street - 16 DWI arrests

Oilcan Harry's, 211 W. Fourth Street - 15 DWI arrests

Fado, 214 W. Fourth Street - 15 DWI arrests

Pure, 419 E. Sixth Street - 13 DWI arrests

Cedar Street, 208 W. Fourth Street - 13 DWI arrests

Union Park, 612 W. Sixth Street - 12 DWI arrests

Fuel Nightclub, 607 Trinity Street - 12 DWI arrests

Lavaca Street Bar, 405 Lavaca Street - 12 DWI arrests

Key Bar, 617 W. Sixth Street - 12 DWI arrests

Jackalope, 404 E. Sixth Street - 12 DWI arrests

Sherlock's, 9012 Research Boulevard - 11 DWI arrests

Shakespeare's, 314 E. Sixth Street - 11 DWI arrests

Antones, 213 W. Fifth Street - 11 DWI arrests

Gingerman, 304 W. Fourth St., 10 DWI arrests

Lucky Lounge, 209 W. Fifth Street - 10 DWI arrests

Dizzy Rooster, 306 E. Sixth Street - 10 DWI arrests

The Yellow Rose, 6528 N. Lamar Boulevard - 10 DWI arrests

Charlie's, 1301 Lavaca Street - 10 DWI arrests

Groove, 101 W. Fifth Street - 10 DWI arrests

Ace's Lounge, 222 E. Sixth Street - 9 DWI arrests

Red Fez, 209 W. Fifth Street - 9 DWI arrests

Molotov, 719 W. Sixth Street - 8 DWI arrests

Qua, 213 W. Fourth Street - 8 DWI arrests

219 West, 219 W. Fourth Street - 8 DWI arrests

Six, 117 W. Fourth Street - 8 DWI arrests

Speakeasy, 412D Congress Avenue - 8 DWI arrests

Stubb's, 801 Red River - 8 DWI arrests

Little Woodrow's, 520 W. Sixth Street - 8 DWI arrests

Eddie V's, 301 E. Fifth Street - 8 DWI arrests

The Dallas Morning News reported that some Legislators are already beating their drums regarding their proposals to fight DWIs. In the past, Legislators have thought the only solution was to make the punishment for DWI more harsh. They are not realizing that this isn’t the answer.

The real issue is what works and what doesn’t. In the past, the Legislators just passed tougher and tougher laws. There was an attitude that if you put someone in jail long enough and fined them enough, they would change their behavior. This is what I call the Williamson County approach. But, Legislators are now realizing that this isn’t very effective. They have also tried to deter it by making it very expensive. The problem with that approach is that folks end up choosing jail over probation to save themselves money. Many folks in the system now realize the best way to deter the undesired behavior is to get folks in substance abuse treatment.

The two ideas that are certain to rear their ugly heads as road blocks and the requirement of Ignition Interlock on first time DWI offenders.

On a side note, one legislator out of Lewisville will be pitching an idea that if someone is convicted of a second DWI, then they should have their license permanently revoked. What she isn’t taking into consideration is that folks HAVE to be able to drive to work. Also, folks are going to drive, whether they have a license or not. And, if they don’t have a license, they won’t have insurance, so we end up with a bunch of non-licensed, non-insured folks on the road.

The main problem with roadblocks, is that every Legislator that has put for the idea has had to admit, that they just don’t work as well as roving patrols. So, if they don’t work as well, why do them. They are also more expensive to man, and bottling up traffic at 2:00 a.m., when folks are leaving the bars, just doesn’t seem very smart.

Increasing the Ignition Interlock requirements always seem to be on the Legislators' agenda. The problem with this idea is that it punishes the masses for the problems of the few. If a person has a drinking problem that would make the Ignition Interlock a good idea, the Judge can currently order it. The way the system works now, is on a case by case basis, where the Counseling and Education folks, the prosecutors, and the Judge can look at each case and make the determination as to what is appropriate. The IID folks want to remove the discretion from the Judge. The majority of folks arrested from DWI never reoffended, so we should leave it to the folks involved with each case to make the determination as to what is appropriate, not the Ignition Interlock companies that have lobbied the Legislators.

The Austin American Statesman reported today that the Travis County Commissioners voted to enter into an agreement between Travis County and the City of Austin that will allow for a phlebotomist to be at the jail from Tuesday night through Sunday morning.  These folks have reported that they anticipate the cost of this service to be approximately $60,243 per year.  What they are not taking into account is the added cost of having those folks present to testify in the cases for which they drew blood.  I was told that they plan to contract with a "phlebotomy service", rather than hire a single phlebotomist.  The logical nightmare will be when the actual person that took the blood no longer works at the contracted service.  Further, who do they think is going to pay for their time. 

The article states that the phlebotomist(s) will work from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.  Well, we shall see how they feel about waking up to be in court at 9:00 a.m.   Further, who is going to pay for the blood to be tested.  Chief Acevedo has been pushing for a full time no refusal policy, and I think this is just one step towards his goal.  As I have stated in past posts, this isn't Williamson County.  Folks, in general, are against people being held down and stabbed with a needle.  Sooner or later, Acevedo will have to realize that.  Either that, or maybe another city will consider him for their Chief, since Dallas apparently didn't want him.