 Deputy Clint Poteet › 11 years with the Harris County Precinct 8 Constable’s Office › SFST Certified › Intox Operator › Drug Recognition Expert › SFST Instructor › Crash Reconstructionist

 Arrest day Driver gets pulled over and arrested for DWI. The vehicle gets towed to a storage facility. Cost for tow and first day of storage $200-$300 After spending several hours in jail, bond is set First offense is a minimum $500 up to $2,500 Cost you $100-$500

 First day of jail After hours of processing in the Harris County Jail, you get released, and are given your arraignment court date(if you were able to post a bond) You may have missed work and now you’ll need to find a ride back home Taxi or Uber = $25-$50

 continued As you are going through your property, you now realize your driver’s license has been suspended pending an Administrative License Revocation Hearing(ALR) You will need to contact the state and setup a hearing date.

 continued You contact one of our local “DWI Specialist” attorneys Minimum retainer $2,500-$5,000 billed at $200-$250 per hour *Retainer is money paid upfront to the attorney *Every phone call, meeting, or time spent on your case is a billable hour

 First appearance at court After a few meetings and phone calls with your attorney, you arrive at the first court appearance. This is the day you will enter your plea: Guilty, Not Guilty, No Contest *This will probably cost you a few billable hours

 ALR hearing This will typically be between your first court date and trial. This will be an informal hearing between your attorney, arresting officer, and a hearing judge. *This is a civil trial and will not effect your criminal trial *This will probably cost you a few billable hours

 ALR hearing continued If the outcome the ALR hearing results in the suspension of you driver’s license, the reinstatement fee is $125 *Note Driving While License is Invalid(DWLI) is a Class B charge when the suspension is DWI related. *Class B is go to jail, not a ticket

 Trial day This day will start with you having to pay for parking. $15-$20 Keep in mind, your billable hours start when your attorney arrives. $200-$250 an hour

 Trial day continued Your arrival time will be 7:30-8:00 am, but even if your trial starts on this day, voir dire will not start until 11:00 am-12:00 pm. If voir dire starts at 12:00 pm, it will end around 1:00 pm and the jury will be excused for lunch. When they return, there is a good chance the judge will ask them to return the following morning at 8:00 am to start the trial. *note voir dire is the jury selection process *note you have paid $200-$250 an hour for the whole day (8-10 hours)

 Trial day 2 Your arrival time will be 7:30-8:00 am and you will have to pay to park again. $15-$20 Today the trial will start at 8:00, or shortly after, but the billable hours will start when your attorney arrives. $200-$250 an hour *note your attorney may need to hire specialist(s) for your case and this will be paid for by you $$$

 Trial day 2 continued There is a good chance of the trial finishing today, but I have seen a DWI first offender trail go for three days hour days at $200-$250 an hour

 Trial conclusion After the jury returns with the verdict, if found guilty, part of the sentencing will be a surcharge on your Texas driver’s license. The surcharge is: 1 st offense $1,000 a year for 3 years 2 nd offense $1,500 a year for 3 years.16 BAC or higher $2,000 a year for 3 years

 Trial conclusion Keep in mind, the surcharge IS NOT the punishment handed down for the court. It is money paid to the State of Texas.

 After the trial Punishment handed down from the court will only be speculation from me, but they can include, but not limited to: Jail time Fines Probation Alcohol classes *note all of these will cost you more money

 Cost summary Vehicle tow$ Bond$500-$2,500 Taxi/Uber$25-$50 Attorney retainer$2,500-$5,000$200-$250 hr ALR hearing 2-3 hr$600-$700 ALR reinstatement$125 Trial parking 1-2 day$15-$20 $30-$60 Trial day hr$1,600-$2,000$2,000-$2,500 Trial day 2$1,600-$2,000$2,000-$2,500 Surcharge$3,000/$4,500/$6,000 Total without punishment$7,600-$14,600 average $11,100