The hours and days after a DWI arrest in Texas are when cases are quietly won or lost. Here's a practical, ordered playbook — what to do, and what to avoid.
1. Calendar your ALR deadline immediately
You have 15 days from your arrest to request an Administrative License Revocation hearing. Miss it and your license is suspended automatically on roughly the 40th day. This is the most time-critical item on this list — more urgent than your court date. How the ALR process works.
2. Write everything down — today
Memory fades and details win DWI cases. While it's fresh, document: where you were and what you ate and drank (with times), the route you drove, where and why you were stopped, everything the officer said, the field sobriety tests given (surface, lighting, footwear), whether you were read warnings before any test, and names of anyone who saw you that evening. Date and sign it. Give it to your attorney and no one else.
3. Exercise your right to remain silent
Be polite, provide your license and insurance, and stop talking. Roadside explanations — "I only had two," "I'm coming from a friend's birthday" — appear in police reports and get quoted by prosecutors. You are not required to answer investigative questions, and field sobriety tests in Texas are voluntary.
4. Understand what refusing a test means
Refusing a breath or blood test triggers a 180-day license suspension (first offense) — but deprives the state of its best evidence. Officers may get a blood-draw warrant anyway, especially during "no refusal" weekends, which most DFW counties run on holidays. There is no universally right answer; there is only the decision you made, which your attorney now works with. More on refusal consequences.
5. Get out and stay compliant
If bond conditions include an ignition interlock, alcohol monitoring, or travel restrictions, follow them to the letter. Bond violations hand prosecutors leverage and judges a reason to revoke release.
6. Hire a local DWI attorney — fast
Not a generalist, not the cheapest billboard: an attorney who practices DWI defense in the county where you were arrested. They'll file the ALR request, start discovery, and look for stop, test, and procedural defects while the evidence still exists. Browse listed DFW DWI attorneys — a free consultation takes minutes to request.
7. Stay off social media
Photos, check-ins, and "can't believe this happened" posts from the night of the arrest are discoverable and routinely used by prosecutors. Make accounts private and post nothing about the incident — better yet, post nothing at all.
8. Keep every document
The temporary driving permit, bond paperwork, property receipts, the yellow DIC-24/DIC-25 statutory warning forms — all of it matters. Photograph everything and back it up.
9. Prepare for the long game
Most DFW misdemeanor DWI cases run 3–9 months. Arrange transportation contingencies (family, rideshare budgets, and if needed an occupational license), keep your address current with the court, and never miss a court date — a missed appearance means a warrant.
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