Houston DWI Attorney — One Arrest. Two Cases. A 15-Day Window.

Experienced DWI Defense Attorney in Harris County

DWI defense attorney Michael D. Mercer has a proven track record of success defending DWI charges in Houston and Harris County, Texas. Since 2012 — across more than three thousand cases — Mr. Mercer has fought hard for Texans charged with DWI, challenging police and prosecutors to prove each and every case against his clients.

Your best possible chance of successfully fighting a DWI charge in Harris County is to work with an experienced DWI attorney who knows how to defend your rights. Call us now for a free consultation and speak with a top Houston criminal defense attorney about your DWI case. Facing DWI/DUI charges in Houston? Contact us at (713) 208-7682 today for a free consultation.

Here’s what happened while you were being processed out of the Harris County Joint Processing Center at 1200 Baker: the criminal case filed itself into a courtroom at 1201 Franklin, and a second case — a civil action against your driver’s license, run by the Texas Department of Public Safety — started counting down from the paperwork an officer handed you during the stop. Most people never learn about the second case until it lands. It lands on the 40th day.

The first case is real enough on its own. A DWI in Texas runs from 72 hours in the Harris County Jail to ten years in prison, depending on which version of the charge the Harris County District Attorney’s office files — and a prosecutor made that call at intake before you ever saw a magistrate. The Houston Police Department’s traffic enforcement divisions work the freeways every night; the Harris County Sheriff’s Office patrol districts cover the unincorporated belt; DPS troopers and all eight constable precincts ride the same corridors. Every one of those arrests — Houston, Pasadena, Baytown, Humble, Spring, Cypress, Katy — funnels into the same building downtown.

Now the part the fear is crowding out. In the state’s own court data for FY2025, 26.4% of the felony DWI-category cases Texas disposed were dismissed. The State doesn’t dismiss out of mercy. It dismisses when it can’t complete the checklist — and a DWI checklist, as you’ll see below, is built almost entirely out of evidence that has rules.

Michael D. Mercer began his career at the Harris County DA’s office. He has now spent over a decade on the other side, three blocks from the courthouse at 917 Franklin, appearing in the 16 County Criminal Courts at Law and 29 felony district courts where every Harris County DWI lands. Over 3,000 cases since 2012 — the vast majority dismissed. That record, not adjectives, is the argument. The consultation is free, any hour: (713) 208-7682. The lawyer who answers is the lawyer who appears.

01 · THE CHARGE

What Texas Law Requires the State to Prove

“Sec. 49.04. DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED. (a) A person commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle in a public place.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and Section 49.09, an offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours.”
— TEX. PENAL CODE §49.04 (current through the 89th Legislature, 2nd C.S., 2025)

Fourteen words make the whole charge. Read it the way we read it: not as a sentence you’ve already been handed, but as a checklist with four boxes — intoxicated, operating, a motor vehicle, a public place. Leave one box unchecked and there is no case. That is Penal Code §2.01‘s presumption of innocence at work: the State must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt, every time.

The first box splits into two doors, and Texas defines both:

‘”Intoxicated” means:
(A) not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or
(B) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.”
— TEX. PENAL CODE §49.01(2) (current through the 89th Legislature, 2nd C.S., 2025)

Notice what the (A) door means in practice. Prescription medication counts. THC counts. Alcohol concentration below 0.08 still counts, if the State claims you lost the normal use of your faculties. When there’s no specimen number, the officer’s opinion becomes the entire case — and opinions get cross-examined. A DWI arrest involving marijuana or a THC pen runs on this same statute; the substance changes the lab work, not the elements.

The variants reprice the same four boxes:

• Open container in the car (§49.031 + §49.04(c)): Class B, but the minimum jumps from 72 hours to six days.
• .15 or more (§49.04(d)): upgraded to a Class A misdemeanor.
• A child under 15 in the vehicle (§49.045): a state jail felony — the charge leaves the misdemeanor courts entirely.
• The newest door: effective September 1, 2025, DWI in a school crossing zone during reduced-speed hours is a state jail felony on a first offense (§49.04(e), S.B. 826). If your citation carries that line, the case changed under your feet while most of Houston’s DWI content was still describing last year’s law.
• The freeway felonies — intoxication assault (§49.07) and intoxication manslaughter (§49.08) — turn on two words the whole defense reads first: the injury or death must occur “by reason of that intoxication.” Causation is an element, not a mood. And the freeways don’t stop at the county line: a crash on I-45 where The Woodlands begins hands the same file to Montgomery County’s prosecutors in Conroe; one farther south on the Gulf Freeway, past League City, belongs to Galveston County’s courts in Galveston. Same statute. Different courthouse, different DA — the checklist doesn’t change.

And the fourth box — a public place — is not a formality. Parked-car cases, private-lot cases, driveway cases: “operating” and “public” get proven with the same officer narrative the rest of the case rides on, and both get tested. Bring us the charging instrument and the facts of the stop — we’ll tell you what the State can actually prove: (713) 208-7682.

Specific DWI and Alcohol Related Charges

DWI Defense Attorney Michael Mercer defends the following DWI and alcohol related charges in Houston, Harris County, Texas:

DWI 1st Offense · DWI 2nd Offense · DWI 3rd Offense or Greater · DWI Arrest Involving Marijuana, THC Vape Pens or Synthetic Marijuana · DWI with a Child Passenger · Public Intoxication · Intoxication Assault · Intoxication Manslaughter · Drivers License Suspensions

DWI with marijuana, THC pens & synthetics →

02 · THE RANGE

The Real Range, the State’s Fine, and the State’s Own Numbers — Penalties for DWI Charges in Texas

The ladder below is built from the current statute — not from memory. Rows come from Penal Code §49.04, §49.045, §49.09, and the Chapter 12 punishment ranges, all current through the 89th Legislature’s 2025 sessions.

The charge	Grade	Confinement	Fine cap
DWI, first offense — §49.04(b)	Class B misdemeanor	72 hours–180 days	$2,000
First offense with an open container — §49.04(c)	Class B misdemeanor	6 days–180 days	$2,000
First offense at .15 or above — §49.04(d)	Class A misdemeanor	72 hours–1 year	$4,000
DWI in a school crossing zone (reduced-speed hours) — §49.04(e), eff. 9/1/2025	State jail felony	180 days–2 years	$10,000
DWI with a child passenger under 15 — §49.045	State jail felony	180 days–2 years	$10,000
DWI, second — §49.09(a)	Class A misdemeanor	30 days–1 year	$4,000
DWI, third — §49.09(b)(2)	Third-degree felony	2–10 years	$10,000
Intoxication assault — §49.07	Third-degree felony	2–10 years	$10,000
Intoxication manslaughter — §49.08	Second-degree felony (first-degree variants added effective 9/1/2025)	2–20 years	$10,000

Source: Texas Penal Code §§49.04–49.09 and §§12.21–12.35, statutes.capitol.texas.gov [OFFICIAL]. A conviction can also carry its own license suspension, separate from everything in the next section.

Two honest notes on this table. First: the second-offense floor is 30 days of jail — the “72 hours” figure floating around the internet (and some law-firm pages) is old law. Second: on top of the court’s fine, a final conviction triggers the state fine under Transportation Code §709.001 — $3,000 on a first conviction inside 36 months, $4,500 on a second in that window, $6,000 at a proven .15 or above — waivable by the court on an indigence finding. Texas repealed the old yearly driver-responsibility surcharges in 2019 and replaced them with this schedule; the cost section below runs the full ledger.

DWI 1st Offense (Class B Misdemeanor)

On a first offense, watch the plea structure: a drivers license suspension of 90 days awaits anyone who takes a time-served plea, as opposed to a probation — and depending on the facts of your case (accident, prior record, alcohol problem, etc.), the court may order additional conditions, such as an Ignition Interlock Device, alcohol treatment, random drug tests, or restitution.

DWI 2nd Offense (Class A Misdemeanor)

The Ignition Interlock device requires a breath sample before starting your car and periodically while driving; on a DWI 2nd it is required as a condition of bond, as well as a condition of probation after a guilty plea. Drivers license suspension for not less than 180 days nor more than two (2) years, if convicted (Transportation Code §521.344(a)(2)(B)). Call experienced DWI Defense Attorney Michael Mercer to find out how to avoid getting your license suspended or to apply for an occupational license.

DWI 3rd Offense or Greater (3rd degree felony)

On a DWI 3rd offense or greater, the Ignition Interlock Device is required as a condition of bond while your case is pending as well as a condition of any occupational or provisional licenses after conviction — with a drivers license suspension of up to 2 years beginning after your release from confinement, and mandatory rehabilitative treatment for alcohol/drugs.

Intoxication Assault DWI (3rd degree felony)

The freeway felonies, in his own explanation: a person commits intoxication assault DWI if by accident or mistake, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, a person by reason of that intoxication causes serious bodily injury to another — injury that creates a substantial risk of death or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

Intoxication Manslaughter DWI (2nd degree felony)

A person commits intoxication manslaughter DWI if, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place, an intoxicated person, by reason of that intoxication, causes the death of another by accident or mistake.

The reality row nobody else prints: Texas courts dismissed 20,132 of the 76,113 felony DWI-category cases disposed in FY2025 — 26.4% — and 45.7% of all disposed misdemeanor cases (172,741 of 377,733) ended in dismissal statewide (Office of Court Administration). A charge is a claim. The numbers above are the rate at which claims fail.

Beyond the grid, a conviction reaches into the rest of your life: your job, your insurance, your professional license, and your right to carry — carrying while intoxicated stays illegal in Texas even where carrying is otherwise lawful (§46.02). And then there’s the record — we’ll get there. First, the license.

Weapons charges — the traffic-stop companion →

03 · THE LICENSE · DAY 1 OF 15

The License Case: a 15-Day Clock, a Stay That Works, and a Hearing That Pays Twice — DWI Attorney for Driver’s License Suspensions

Picture a real stop — composite, but this is how the machinery looks from inside it: a 1 a.m. exit off the 290 corridor, lights behind you, an officer reciting warnings from a form called the DIC-24, a night at 1200 Baker, and on the way out, a sheet of paper that says your license will be suspended. That paper is the second case. Transportation Code §724.015 makes the officer read you the consequences before ever asking for a specimen — that a refusal can be used against you at trial (§724.061), that refusal suspends the license for not less than 180 days, that a failing sample suspends it for not less than 90 days, and that you have a right to a hearing. What the warning never does is explain the hearing. That part is here.

“Sec. 524.031. HEARING REQUEST. If, not later than the 15th day after the date on which the person receives notice of suspension under Section 524.011 or is presumed to have received notice under Section 524.013, the department receives at its headquarters in Austin, in writing, including a facsimile transmission, or by another manner prescribed by the department, a request that a hearing be held, a hearing shall be held as provided by this subchapter.”
— TEX. TRANSP. CODE §524.031 (current through the 89th Legislature, 2nd C.S., 2025)

Fifteen days. Both lanes — refusal and “bad number” — run on that same 15th-day rule (§524.031; §724.041 for refusals). Miss it and there is no hearing at all: the suspension takes effect automatically on the 40th day after notice, and it cannot be probated (§524.021). But here is the sentence no warning form contains, and the one sentence this page exists to put in front of you:

“A request for a hearing stays suspension of a person’s driver’s license until the date of the final decision of the administrative law judge.”
— TEX. TRANSP. CODE §524.032(d) (current through the 89th Legislature, 2nd C.S., 2025, as amended by H.B. 3146, eff. 9/1/2025)

File the request; keep driving while the fight happens. The hearing itself is an administrative proceeding heard by a State Office of Administrative Hearings judge, sited in the county of arrest for any county this size (§524.034) — a stop in Spring or Cypress stays in Harris County, while a stop on I-45’s north end belongs to Montgomery County in Conroe, and a Highway 288 stop past Pearland is heard toward Angleton, Brazoria County’s seat — or by telephone. The issues are narrow and provable: the alcohol concentration, and whether reasonable suspicion or probable cause existed at all (§524.035; §724.042 in the refusal lane). Lose narrowly on one issue and the suspension isn’t sustained — the license gets reinstated. Get acquitted later in the criminal case, and the law orders the suspension rescinded and scrubbed from your driving record (§524.015(b); §724.048(c)). Even the reinstatement fee is modest and fixed: $125 (§524.051) — waived if the suspension was rescinded or never sustained.

Two rights live here that nobody tells you at the roadside. You could have requested your own additional blood draw within two hours of the arrest, from a professional you chose (§724.019) — and if the State’s side refused that request, the refusal itself can be offered at trial (§724.062). And the blood the State draws rides on warrants: Texas does not permit a forced draw without a warrant or genuine exigency (§724.012(e)), which is why the blood-warrant machinery runs around the clock on holiday weekends across Houston and Harris County.

In his own standing advice: depending on the facts of your DWI case, you will likely need to hire a DWI attorney to contest the suspension of your Texas drivers license. Texas law imposes an automatic suspension of your license if you refused the taking of a breath specimen or if your blood alcohol content was over .08. Your DWI attorney can contest this suspension by requesting a hearing — and the hearing must be requested within 15 days of your arrest, so don’t waste time in hiring a top DWI lawyer to defend you.

License Suspension Periods in DWI Cases

Adults: refused breath test — not less than 180 days. Provided breath test — not less than 90 days IF you blew over .08 BAC. Minors: refused test — not less than 180 days. Provided test — not less than 60 days IF any alcohol detected.

Contact a Houston DWI attorney at Mercer Law NOW to learn how to prevent your license from being suspended. Time is of the essence.

The lasting payoff is quieter. The ALR hearing is the only place the arresting officer testifies under oath before the criminal case matures — about the stop, the timing, the warning, the machine. We treat it as a discovery laboratory: the State’s story gets locked down early, on the record, whether the stop was a Pasadena Police stop on their side of the Ship Channel or an HPD traffic-unit stop on Westheimer. One courthouse for the criminal case; one 15-day clock for the license; both defended.

And if your arrest happened one county line past Houston — Sugar Land rather than Katy, League City rather than Clear Lake — the law reads the same but the courtroom moves: Fort Bend County‘s courts sit in Richmond, Montgomery County‘s in Conroe, Galveston County’s in Galveston, Brazoria County’s in Angleton. Different courthouse, same doctrine, and the record travels with us. Tyler Nichols, in a public Google review: “I know from personal experience as Mr. Mercer has gotten 2 dismissals for me on felony cases. One of those cases being in a county he wasn’t to sure of. Nonetheless that didn’t stop him from coming in and getting the judge to see the truth.”

The clock runs whether you call or not. Call: (713) 208-7682. For everything that happens around that clock — booking, magistration under CCP art. 15.17, bond — walk through the first 48 hours after a Harris County arrest.

Arrested in the last 48 hours? Hour by hour →

04 · WHERE THE CHECKLIST BREAKS

Where a DWI Case Breaks

A DWI file is not a verdict. It is four elements and two intoxication doors, built from a stop, a judgment call, a machine, and a stack of procedure — and most of it decays with time and paperwork. After more than three thousand of these cases since 2012, we read every file for the same five breaks.

1. The stop. Everything after it — the tests, the number, the blood — depends on reasonable suspicion for the pull-over. No lawful stop, no foundation, and suppression takes the case apart from the front end. We’ve set exactly that kind of case for a suppression hearing here at 1201 Franklin; the district attorney’s office dismissed before the hearing. (The client tells that story in the proof section below.)

2. “Normal use” is a judgment call. Without a specimen, §49.01(2)(A) makes the officer’s opinion the whole case — and field sobriety exercises are administered-and-scored performances with known problems: instructions drift, surfaces slope, footwear matters, injury and age and nervousness look exactly like impairment on a report. The video the roadside made is the first thing we demand.

3. The machine. A breath instrument answers to DPS rules and a certified technical supervisor’s paper trail — at ALR, instrument reliability is normally proven by affidavit (§524.038), and we can subpoena the operator or the supervisor with a showing of good cause (§524.039). Blood answers to §724.017: only certain licensed professionals may draw it, it must be drawn in a sanitary place, and if a certified EMT draws it, a peace officer must observe and take custody at once — chain of custody in the statute itself. Then the lab: collection, storage, fermentation, calibration, and the time gap between driving and drawing.

4. The warrant. When blood is demanded, §724.012(e) requires a warrant or real exigency, and §724.012(a-1) and (b) spell out the narrow mandatory-draw categories — a collision believed to involve death or serious bodily injury, a child passenger, qualifying priors. Warrant paperwork has to be right. When it isn’t, the draw — and everything downstream of it — goes.

5. Operation and place. “Operating a motor vehicle in a public place” is an element, not an assumption. Parked cars, private lots, keys in the console — the State still has the burden on all four boxes, beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hire an Experienced Harris County DWI Lawyer

The punishment in each DWI case will differ based on the facts and also on the DWI Defense Lawyer you hire. As a top DWI Defense Lawyer in Harris County, Michael Mercer focuses 100% of his practice on criminal defense. He is a Texas trial lawyer, through and through. He understands the pretrial and trial processes in DWI cases like few other attorneys in the area.

An experienced DWI Lawyer knows how to challenge the state in a DWI case, either through the selective pretrial intervention program, by setting the case for trial, by filing motions to suppress illegally obtained evidence or by winning based on problems with the breath and blood tests. Clients who hire defense attorney Michael D. Mercer have high expectations when it comes to defending their DWI’s and negotiating for the best possible result in each case.

Find the break in yours: (713) 208-7682. And when the evidence allows it, some Harris County DWI cases resolve through pretrial diversion programs that end in dismissal — an outcome that needs its own section here, because diversion is one of the doors worth fighting for.

Pretrial diversion in Harris County →

05 · THE COST

What a DWI Actually Costs in Texas

The honest ledger, because nobody else publishes one. The criminal fine: up to $2,000 on a first Class B, $4,000 at Class A level (§§12.21, 12.22). The state fine, stacked on top of that by Transportation Code §709.001, and only on a final conviction: $3,000 — first conviction inside a 36-month window; $4,500 — a second inside that window; $6,000 — any conviction with a proven .15-or-higher specimen (§709.001(b)). One sentence of that statute changes real outcomes: on a finding of indigence, the court shall waive the fines and costs under the section (§709.001(c)) — the waiver is law, not charity, but nobody gets it who doesn’t ask.

Then the machinery: bail on a misdemeanor DWI in Harris County often comes by personal recognizance bond; probation carries a court-set reimbursement fee of $25 to $60 a month under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.652, which the judge may waive or reduce for significant financial hardship, before any ordered fine; the ignition interlock — and under §49.09(h), a second intoxication offense within five years makes a deep-lung device on every vehicle you own or operate a mandatory court order, kept until a year after suspension ends — runs monthly too. License reinstatement is $125 (§524.051). Insurance re-rates afterward. Lawyers in this market quote anywhere from a few thousand to five figures; we’ve published this candor for years because it helps people plan.

The blunt total: the cost of a DWI in Texas can be extremely burdensome. There are attorneys’ fees, bail bonds, court fees, DPS fees, probation fees, ignition interlock fees and more. Next to spending time in jail, the cost of a DWI on the person accused might be the most daunting aspect of a DWI charge. Depending on the DWI lawyer you hire and whether you get convicted, a DWI could cost you up to $30,000 when all is said and done.

Factors that Affect the Cost of a DWI

• Attorney fees — anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000. As with all other industries, you get what you pay for when it comes to a DWI Lawyer. Do your research on whomever you hire. Meet with the lawyer in person before retaining them.
• Bail bond fees — most misdemeanor DWIs will qualify for a PR bond, which costs you nothing. Felony DWIs may come with bonds between $5,000 and $30,000, depending on the facts of the case.
• State fines — should you get convicted of a DWI in Texas, the state fine runs between $3,000 and $6,000 (Transp. Code §709.001). Have your DWI lawyer request the judge to waive these fees during your plea.
• Probation fees — standard probation fees in Harris County, TX are around $70/month. This does not include any fine you agreed to pay as part of your probation, or the cost of installing and maintaining an interlock device in your vehicle should the judge require one.

Our own structure is a public record, not a pitch: flat fees and payment plans — printed on our official State Bar of Texas profile, beside fourteen years of practice and zero disciplinary history. And the phone you call is the personal cell of Michael D. Mercer — his cell, not a call center, at any hour, and se habla español from the first conversation on. The evaluation itself costs nothing: request a free quote or call (713) 208-7682.

Request a free case evaluation →

06 · THE RECORD

What Can Be Erased, What Can Be Sealed, and What Never Forgets — Can I Get a DWI Off of My Record in Texas?

A DWI outcome lives two lives: the court file and the license file. Understand both before you bargain for either.

If the case dies, the arrest can be erased. Dismissal, acquittal, or a diversion-dismissed case leads to expunction under Chapter 55A of the Code of Criminal Procedure — the recodified law in force since January 1, 2025 — which orders the records returned or destroyed and lets you deny the arrest ever happened (art. 55A.401). One carve-out the internet always misses: an expunction erases the criminal records; the ALR suspension record follows its own lane in the Transportation Code (art. 55A.152). The license cleanup is its own step, and we do it too.

In plain English: in Texas, expunction of DWI arrests is available when your DWI case resulted in a dismissal, when you received a Not Guilty verdict at trial and were acquitted, or when you successfully completed a pretrial diversion program. Expunction of a DWI case results in the destruction of any and all records arising from the arrest, no matter who created them. This is different from a Petition for Non-Disclosure, which allows for certain state agencies to maintain records of the arrest, even after the case has been sealed. To get a DWI off of your record by way of a Non-Disclosure, you must meet one of the following conditions: successful completion of a deferred adjudication, or a guilty plea resulting in conviction — as long as you have no other criminal history and your blood alcohol level was under .15 (thanks to the Non-Disclosure laws enacted in 2017).

If it resolved without a conviction, it may be sealed. Since 2019, deferred adjudication has been legally available for an ordinary first DWI — but only where the specimen wasn’t .15 or above, the defendant held no commercial license, and the charge isn’t on a repeat track (CCP art. 42A.102(b)). Seal it afterward under Government Code §411.0726, two years after discharge. Completed straight probation: §411.0731 — two years if the probation carried a six-month interlock condition, five without. A jail-served sentence: §411.0736 — three years with interlock, five without. All three lanes exclude a proven .15 case and vanish if the offense involved a collision injuring another person.

Here is the trade almost nobody states out loud. A deferred-adjudication DWI, completed and even sealed, counts as a conviction for enhancement purposes forever (§49.09(g)). The second case gets fought like the third. That’s not a reason to refuse deferred; it’s a reason to take it with open eyes — because seal or no seal, the State’s memory is permanent. Done right, though, the deferred still protects the thing professionals fear losing most: after dismissal and discharge, it generally can’t be used to deny you a professional or occupational license (art. 42A.111(c-1)).

Dismissed is step one. Erased is the finish line. The full map of both doors — eligibility, waiting clocks, the Harris County filing path — lives on our expungements and record-sealing page.

Expungement & nondisclosure — erase the record →

07 · THE PROOF · TWO VOICES

The Proof, in Two Voices: DWI Client Reviews

4.9 stars · 117 Google reviews · 45 written answers from the lawyer himself. The record, in their words — and his.

Max Goldstein, Class A DWI, in a public Google review: “During a difficult time in my life, I found myself being charged with a Class A DWI, which is not something I’m proud of.” Then the sentence a DWI page exists for: “My license was never suspended and have been given an opportunity towards earning my charge being dismissed.”

MERCER RESPONDS (his owner response, on the record): “I remember our initial consultation and I could see the fear in your eyes. So grateful to be in a position to ease your anxiety and help you through this process. We got the best result possible. It was a pleasure advocating for you and getting you through this.”

Henry Sierra, DWI: “Me and my family are grateful for his representation on my dwi case with a dismissal.”

The lawyer’s answer tells you how: MERCER RESPONDS: “My client was detained unlawfully without probable cause. The DA put up a fight and we responded by setting the case for a suppression hearing. We did our investigation and research and convinced the DA to dismiss this case before the hearing. Best possible result for a great client!”

And Carla Kennedy, on a COVID-era DWI: “I had challenging factors and all during Covid19-but Michael Mercer really went to bat for me and my DWI was dismissed!!”

R. C., in a five-star Google review, May 8, 2024: “Mr Mercer is really good at what he does. I would recommend Mr Mercer to anyone that needs a good lawyer. he’s on top of everything keeps you informed and works hard on your case. I’m extremely grateful for him working so diligently on my case. I appreciate how he took the time to look at all the paperwork that I had given him and to get to know a little bit about me. I’m definitely confident with giving him a five-star rating.”

RG One, February 5, 2019: “I hired a top Houston drug lawyer with Mercer and Keirnan to defend my possession of a Controlled Substance Case. After a free consultation with Criminal defense attorney Michael Mercer, Mercer and Keirnan signed on to my case and after a few months my felony drug charge was dismissed!”

T. M., December 30, 2018 — the reason he hired us, in his words: “I hired Mercer Law because of their experience handling DWIs and other charges. Working closely with them throughout my case, it became very clear that I had made the right decision. They will always have a permanent place in my cell phone just in case anyone I know is in trouble and needs a good defense attorney. Hire Michael Mercer.”

courtnee angelone, two charges in one year, ★★★★★ Google review: “I cannot thank these two guys enough. I never thought I would be searching for a criminal defense attorney, and there I was with 2 charges in 1 year. They represented me on both cases from the beginning. They got me what they promised on day 1, even though I messed up again and received another charge. What more can you ask for? They know people and they know Houston – Harris County. I spent time with each one of these gentlemen and they are amazing Drug and DWI lawyers, and good down-to-earth men to know. Now I can move on with my life with a clean record and huge weight lifted.”

Gabriel Olmos, reckless driving — the Class B misdemeanor a DWI charge is often reduced to; his was dismissed instead: “Mr. Mercer help me with my reckless driving misdemeanor B, he was able to get it dismissed and I was also able to keep my career job bc my job was on the line when they found out but, Mr. Mercer is a very good lawyer to help you out in any situation.”

Prior results don’t guarantee any outcome; every case turns on its own facts. The pattern is still on the record — including the dismissals listed, by cause number, on our case results page.

The full docket — our case results →

THE CALL · TOP HOUSTON DWI ATTORNEY AVAILABLE 24/7

The Next Call You Make

Your situation feels singular tonight. We’ve seen its machinery — the stop, the paperwork, the 15-day clock — thousands of times, from the inside of the DA’s process at the start of a career to three blocks from 1201 Franklin every day since. A member of HCCLA and TCDLA since that year, 2012. The vast majority of our cases have ended in dismissal — stated plainly, because it’s verifiable.

Harris County DWI attorney Michael Mercer treats his clients like family and practices with passion and aggression. Let Mr. Mercer show you the best course of action to take. Contact us at (713) 208-7682 to talk to a Harris County DWI defense attorney for a free evaluation of your case.

You haven’t been convicted of anything. The second case — the one against your license — is the one with the shortest fuse and the one only you can start defending. (713) 208-7682. Free, confidential, at any hour; the cell belongs to the lawyer who will stand with you in court, and we answer it in Spanish too — se habla español. The walk from our door to your courtroom takes four minutes. The call takes one.

Straight answers

What actually happens after a DWI arrest in Harris County?

Two cases, not one. The criminal case: booking at the Harris County Joint Processing Center on Baker Street, then magistration within about 48 hours (CCP art. 15.17) where a magistrate sets bond, then court at 1201 Franklin — misdemeanor DWI in the County Criminal Courts at Law, felony in a district court, same building, whether the arrest was HPD’s, a constable’s, the County Sheriff’s, or DPS’s. Meanwhile DPS opens a civil case against your license with a 15-day hearing deadline (Transp. Code §§724.015, 524.031). The first call protects both.

What is the 15-day rule I keep hearing about?

Transportation Code §524.031: if DPS receives your written hearing request by the 15th day after you received (or are presumed to have received) the suspension notice, “a hearing shall be held” — and §524.032(d): the request stays the suspension until the administrative law judge’s final decision. Miss it, and the suspension takes effect on the 40th day, unprobatable (§524.021). The license case starts before the court case does — which is why we file early.

Should I have refused the breath test — and what if I did?

There’s no honest slogan here; here’s the law. Refusing raises the suspension lane — 180 days, 2 years with a prior contact (§724.035) — and the refusal “may be introduced into evidence” at trial (§724.061). And in the warrant era, the State usually gets blood anyway: Texas needs only a warrant or true exigency for a draw (§724.012(e)), and some circumstances make it mandatory. Providing over .08 runs the 90-day lane (§524.022). What mattered more than your choice: within two hours you could have requested your own blood test (§724.019). Now the fight moves where it belongs — to the evidence, with counsel.

Can I be charged with DWI without blowing over .08?

Yes — and it surprises people. Texas defines “intoxicated” twice: 0.08 or more, or not having the normal use of your mental or physical faculties “by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug… or any other substance” (§49.01(2)(A)). Prescriptions count. THC counts. The case then rests on officer observations and field tests — the half of the State’s toolbox that suppresses, cross-examines, and breaks most often.

Is a DWI a felony in Texas?

Not usually at first — but there are now more doors into felony court. A first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor (72 hours to 180 days); at .15 it becomes Class A (§49.04(d)); with a passenger under 15 it’s a state jail felony (§49.045); a third is a third-degree felony (§49.09(b)(2)); a crash causing serious injury or death is intoxication assault or manslaughter (§§49.07–49.08, up to 2–20 years — with a 2025 first-degree expansion). And since September 1, 2025, a DWI in a school crossing zone during reduced-speed hours is a state jail felony even on a first offense (§49.04(e)).

Will I go to jail for a first DWI in Houston?

The range is honest: 72 hours to 180 days (§49.04(b)). But a defended first offense in Harris County rarely ends in more jail than the night of the arrest. Probation is statutorily available; deferred adjudication has existed for an ordinary first DWI since 2019 (CCP art. 42A.102(b) — not at .15+, not for commercial-license holders); and diversion programs dismiss cases outright. Statewide, 45.7% of disposed misdemeanor cases ended in dismissal in FY2025 (Office of Court Administration). Nobody owed you that number. Now you have it.

Can a DWI actually be dismissed or reduced in Harris County?

Dismissed, yes — the felony DWI category alone saw 20,132 statewide dismissals in FY2025 (26.4%, OCA), and suppression is the classic engine: a bad stop can take the entire case with it. Reduced, sometimes — when evidence problems give the State a reason. The leverage comes from the file, not the ask. One client’s DWI ended exactly that way: held unlawfully, suppression hearing set, case dismissed before the hearing — his words and the lawyer’s own account are in the proof section above.

What does a DWI cost in Texas, all in?

Layers, honestly: the court fine (to $2,000 on a first Class B); the state fine on conviction — $3,000 first within 36 months, $4,500 for a second in that window, $6,000 at .15 or more, waivable on an indigence finding (§709.001); the $125 reinstatement fee (§524.051); bond, classes, supervision fees, the interlock where ordered — mandatory by statute on a second offense within five years (§49.09(h)); insurance. Then the lawyer: ours work flat fees with payment plans — that’s on our State Bar record, not in a pitch — and the consultation costs nothing, ever.

Can a DWI come off my record in Texas?

Two doors. Dismissed, acquitted, or diversion-dismissed: expunction under Chapter 55A (effective January 1, 2025) — but the ALR suspension record is a separate cleanup (art. 55A.152). Resolved without conviction: sealing may exist — §411.0726 after deferred (2 years), §411.0731 after probation (2 with interlock, else 5), §411.0736 after a jail sentence (3 or 5) — all barred for .15+ or an injuring collision. One plain warning: a deferred DWI counts as an enhancement conviction forever (§49.09(g)).

I was arrested passing through Houston — I don’t live in Texas. Now what?

Don’t board a plane and let it sit. Texas reports the arrest and suspension into the interstate license system; your home state acts on it, and an open Harris County warrant outlives the flight home. Chris Castro’s review is the answer in practice: “Excellent lawyer—handled my case in Harris County while I was in NY and got it dismissed. Reliable, professional, and someone you can trust.” The courthouse is three blocks from our office — not from yours. In many settings, we appear so you don’t have to.