Being pulled over on a Houston highway and arrested for Driving While Intoxicated is one of the highest-stakes interactions a person can have with the Texas legal system. In the minutes after the lights come on, adrenaline produces errors that follow people for years. The consequences of a Texas DWI conviction reach past the fine: a permanent criminal record, loss of driving privileges, insurance costs, and potentially jail. At The Demerson Firm, PLLC, we see the same avoidab

The moment the handcuffs close, things move quickly. Whether it is a late-night DWI stop on the 610 Loop or a knock at the door about a felony investigation, the next 24 hours are the most consequential stretch of a criminal case — and most of what happens in them is decided by the person under arrest, not by a lawyer. At The Demerson Firm, PLLC, we see the same avoidable mistakes constantly, made by people acting on adrenaline, fear, and what they remember from television. H

If a Houston traffic stop turns into a DWI investigation and ends with a blood draw, it can feel like the outcome is already decided. Prosecutors present blood results as the definitive answer — a machine produced a number above 0.08, and that is that. It is more complicated than that, and the reasons are worth understanding. A blood result depends on the constitutional basis for taking the sample, the procedure used to draw it, how it was stored, and how it was analyzed. Wea

If a police officer pulls you over on a Houston freeway and says he smells marijuana in your car, can he search it? In Texas, as of today, the answer is almost certainly yes — and that surprises a lot of people, because hemp has been legal here since 2019 and nobody can tell legal hemp from illegal marijuana by smell. That contradiction is real, and it is worth understanding — but you will find a lot of confident writing online claiming the hemp law killed odor-based car sear

The flashing lights in your rearview mirror on I-10 or the 610 Loop produce an immediate physical response — heart rate up, palms damp, a sense of dread. For most Texans the fear is not really about the ticket. It is not knowing where the line is between what an officer can require and what you can decline. A traffic stop is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Knowing the boundaries of that seizure is the difference between protecting your record and handing the State the e

The first 24 hours after an arrest in Harris County shape everything that follows. Decisions made in that window — or not made — set the trajectory of the case, and the system does not pause while a family works out what to do. This guide walks through what actually happens: intake at the Harris County Joint Processing Center, the magistration hearing required by Article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, how bail gets set, and what a lawyer can do in that first day tha

You are driving home along I-10 or navigating the interchanges of I-45 in Houston when the flashing lights appear in your rearview mirror. After a brief conversation, the officer asks you to step out of the vehicle to perform a few "simple" tests. What follows is not just a test of your balance; it is a structured sequence designed to build a case. Most drivers believe these tests are objective measures of sobriety, and believe they have no choice but to take them. Both assum

An arrest is disorienting, and the decisions you make in the first hour can shape the entire case. This is a practical guide to what Texas law actually gives you, what it does not, and what happens in the days right after. It is written for Harris County and the surrounding counties, where the procedures below are what you should expect. 1. Stay Calm Remain composed and avoid escalating the situation. The scene of an arrest is not where a case is won, and everything you do is