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Marc was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and graduated from St. Mark’s School of Texas. He went on to study international relations at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and graduated cum laude with Bachelors of Science in Foreign Service. Learn More
Are you dealing with a driving while intoxicated charge in Dallas County? A drunk driving charge can end up haunting you for the rest of your life by affecting your freedom, reputation, career, and your family. Hiring a Dallas DWI lawyer with extensive criminal law experience should be your top priority. At the Fellman Law Office, we provide experienced, aggressive legal representation to clients facing DWI and/or criminal charges.
The criminal defense attorneys at the Fellman Law Office will aggressively help you tackle this legal battle to achieve the best possible outcome in your case.
Understand that we have extensive experience helping countless clients in Texas who have been in the same position you are now: arrested and facing a DWI charge. We know how challenging and how overwhelming the situation feels. The State of Texas prosecuting your case has numerous experienced prosecuting attorneys handling DWI cases, and the prosecutor assigned to your case can, in his or her judgment, seek any punishment authorized by law. In order to receive a just outcome, you should retain an experienced, effective DWI criminal defense attorney.
The Fellman Law Office is one of the top DWI and criminal defense firms in the DFW Metroplex with a successful track record. This is made possible by our dedicated criminal defense lawyers, led by Marc Fellman. Our legal team will fight aggressively to obtain the best possible outcome in your case: whether that is an acquittal, full dismissal, reduction in charges, or mitigation of punishment.
We will ensure your rights are protected and that your case receives the best possible outcome.
In Texas, the lowest level of driving while intoxicated, or DWI charge is a Class B misdemeanor. However, the charge may be enhanced to a Class A misdemeanor if a driver is arrested with an alcohol concentration of 0.15% or higher; a child under the age of 15 years old is present in the vehicle, or if the person was previously convicted of DWI prior to the date of arrest.
In Dallas County, DWI or driving while intoxicated means that the motorist did not have the normal use of his or her physical or mental faculties due to alcohol, a controlled substance, a dangerous drug, or any other substance. A person is also considered legally intoxicated if his or her blood alcohol concentration is 0.08% or higher.
DUI or driving under the Influence of alcohol is a Class C misdemeanor that a minor who is under 21 years of age can be charged with if there is any detectable level of alcohol in his or her system. While a DUI charge in Texas is not punishable by jail time, there nevertheless can be severe and last penalties including a fine, driver’s license suspension, and an increase in liability insurance premiums. It is often possible for a defense attorney to negotiate a deal with the prosecutor for deferred disposition of a class C DUI charge if it is a first offense. With deferred disposition, the defendant pleads no contest but is not convicted and if the defendant passed a probationary period not to exceed 180 days without committing new offenses, the charge would be dismissed.
Beginning on Sept. 1, 2019, the Texas Legislature abolished the Driver Responsibility Program (aka “surcharges”), so there is no longer a surcharge for being convicted of DWI. However, upon final conviction of a DWI, the Legislature mandated that Courts impose an automatic additional fine of $3,000 dollars. The amount of the superfine is increased to $4,500 for a DWI-2nd offense and $6,000 for a DWI .15 or higher.
While the superfines are required by law upon final conviction, it is often possible to avoid the superfine altogether by avoiding a “final” conviction, or by seeking a waiver from the Court. For example, if the Prosecutor or the Court sentences a person to probation, the law does not consider that disposition to be a “final” conviction and therefore the “superfine” will not be assessed. If someone is not being sentenced to probation, some Courts will routinely waive the superfine upon request by the defense counsel on the grounds of a defendant’s indigency or financial hardship.
The bottom line is that financial consequences to even the lowest level DWI are severe, and the best way to avoid those consequences or reduce the consequences is to hire an experienced criminal defense and DWI lawyer.
If a person is arrested for DWI and has a prior conviction for DWI or a related offense, the person can be charged with a DWI-2nd, which is a Class A misdemeanor. In Texas, the minimum period of confinement for a DWI-2nd is 30 days in jail and the maximum period of confinement is up to 365 days in jail and a $4,000 dollar fine. However, jail time can often be avoided by negotiating a probation sentence. It should be noted that even with probation, a DWI-2nd conviction carries with it a requirement that the defendant serves between 3-5 days in jail as a condition of probation.
While mandatory jail time is of great concern to those facing a charge of DWI-2nd, please know that being charged with DWI-2nd is not the same as being convicted. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent which means you are not required to prove you are innocent. The State is required to prove all allegations against you beyond a reasonable doubt, and until or unless it does so, you are legally Not Guilty.
Often, a skilled criminal defense attorney can negotiate a deal with the prosecution where the State agrees to strike the enhancement paragraph in the charge as part of a plea agreement which means that in exchange for the defendant’s plea, the State reduces the charged offense from DWI-2nd to DWI-1st or DWI .15 or higher. If the State reduces the charge as part of a plea agreement, there is no longer mandatory jail time as a condition of probation and the range of punishment is significantly lessened.
A DWI charge with two or more prior DWI convictions is a third degree felony that comes with a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence in the Texas Department of Corrections of between 2 years and 10 years. While probation may be an option for some felony DWIs, the typical probation period is between 5 years on the lower end and 10 years on the upper end, and even defendants placed on probation are required to serve at least 10 days in jail as a condition of probation.
In some felony cases, it may be possible to negotiate a deal with the prosecutor whereby the State agrees to strike enhancement paragraphs reducing the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Driving while intoxicated with a minor under the age of fifteen years old comes with severe penalties, including jail time ranging from 180 days up to two years and $10,000 in fines, even if the driver has no prior offenses. Defendants also face driver’s license suspensions and related penalties.
If you are arrested for DWI in Texas, it is very likely you will face a so-called “administrative” license revocation as a result of either refusing to voluntarily consent to a breath or blood test or for consenting to a test that showed a BAC of .08 or higher. For a first time DWI arrest, the automatic suspension is 90 days for failing a breath or a blood test, and 180 days for refusing a breath or blood test.
However, while the law provides the suspensions are “automatic”, you can delay, sometimes even avoid the suspension entirely, by exercising your right to request a hearing on the license suspension. Typically, the deadline to file a hearing request is short – often 15 days from the date of arrest – and if you miss the deadline, the license suspension is automatic and cannot be contested.
Marc Fellman and Fellman Law Office have years of experience litigating driver’s license suspension cases with DPS and have delayed or prevented hundreds of license suspensions for our clients. It is not unusual for license suspension hearings to take anywhere from 6 – 12 months to be scheduled, and your driver’s licensee cannot be suspended while you are waiting for the hearing. Depending on the jurisdiction of your arrest, the arresting officer may not show up for the license suspension hearing, in which case you will win the hearing by default, and the license suspension case against you will be dismissed.
If you retain Marc Fellman with Fellman Law Office to represent you, we will review all of the paperwork you were given by the police and file a hearing request on your behalf to challenge the license suspension. If the deadline has not passed by the time you retain the firm, we should be able to get you at least several months of additional driving time, and depending on the outcome of the hearing, you may be able to avoid the driver’s license suspension case entirely.
In the event your driver’s license is ultimately suspended, or if you retain us past the deadline to challenge the suspension, we can often assist you with obtaining an Occupational Driver’s License (“ODL”) which will allow you to legally drive during the suspension period.
If you or a loved one is facing a DWI charge, you should contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. The criminal attorneys at the Fellman Law Office have successfully defended clients against even the toughest cases built by the prosecution and the police.
Marc Fellman can provide expert legal advice and guidance and help you successfully resolve your case by obtaining all of the discovery in your case, including dash cam, body cam videos, 911 phone calls, police reports, standardized field sobriety tests results, search warrant affidavits, search and arrest warrants, chain of custody documentation, and lab reports. We will carefully review all elements of your case from when you were initially stopped or detained by the police to the DWI investigation and arrest. We take an aggressive approach to fighting for your rights by creating a comprehensive defense and will always seek to have your charges reduced or dismissed.
DWI and DUI charges are serious business, and no criminal defense attorney or firm can or should promise or guarantee a dismissal. Ultimately, whether a case can or will be dismissed depends on the evidence in that case, and typically, it takes a degree of luck for there to be an issue or mistake in the case that leads to dismissal.
However, good, effective, DWI and criminal defense attorneys are routinely able to get DWI cases dismissed by identifying police mistakes, constitutional violations, or other legal technicalities with the case. For example, even with an extremely high BAC score and apparently overwhelming evidence, the State is unable to admit the evidence needed to prove a DWI case in court without the testimony of the arresting officer.
Fellman Law Office regularly keeps track of police department personnel changes and if the arresting officer in your case is fired, reprimanded, suspended, or is for whatever reason, no longer available to testify in court as a witness, the probability of a dismissal skyrockets. Mr. Fellman has over the years been able to get DWI cases dismissed by setting those cases for trial as soon as he learns that the arresting officer or another key witness is no longer available.
While there are no guarantees of a dismissal, you can maximize your chances of a dismissal or a Not Guilty verdict by hiring the best DWI criminal defense attorney possible for your case. If you plead guilty to the judge, it is almost guaranteed that you will be found guilty. To get the best possible outcome, you must have an attorney who will spend enough time on your case to carefully review the evidence and pursue the most effective defense in court. At Fellman Law Office, we are committed to spending the time on your case that it deserves and will appear in court as many times as it takes to get you the best outcome.
At the Fellman Law Office, we have many years of DWI-focused experience and can identify any opportunity to have a client’s charges dropped or dismissed.
Our attorneys will use an aggressive defense strategy to:
An arrest and criminal prosecution can be a potentially life-changing costly event. It has the potential to impact your future, freedom, personal life, and finances. But just because you were arrested does NOT mean you’ll be convicted. Sometimes an arrest or criminal prosecution for an otherwise law-abiding system can be a wake-up call to proactively address certain personal, mental health, or family issues. It is not uncommon for prosecutors to dismiss criminal charges even when the evidence is overwhelming if a defendant can show he or she has learned from his or her mistakes and taken action proactively to address them.
After an arrest, your first call should be to the Fellman Law Office to seek legal representation from our experienced criminal lawyers.
Our criminal defense law firm has a track record of success in effectively handling complex cases with favorable resolutions. If you were arrested and you’re facing a conviction, contact us today at (214) 530-2056, or fill out the online form, to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Texas criminal defense attorneys. We can meet with you and go over the facts of your case, discuss your options, and begin planning a strategy, should you decide to hire us. After we meet, you’ll leave our office feeling hopeful about your future and confident that your case is in the best of hands.