Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer BlogKaufman County DWI Court-
Facing a DWI charge in Kaufman county? Have a serious drinking problem and/or a history of alcohol related offenses? DWI court may be in your future.
What is the Kaufman County DWI court? This is from a handout I found in CC2. I think the DA’s office made this although I can’t be positive as no authorship is claimed.
“The Kaufman County DWI court is a twelve month minimum program that integrates local criminal justice resources, case management, and alcohol abuse treatment to rehabilitate targeted repeat DWI offenders. There are two aspects of the program, the Court side, and the Treatment side and there are three phases to the court side. As a participant progresses through the phases, the intensity of the program lessens.”
Phase I
– Weekly court meeting
– Group meeting twice a week
– Two AA (or similar) meeting a week
– Weekly probation meetings
Phase II
– Court meeting on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th week of the month
– Two AA (or similar) meetings per week
– Group meeting once a week
– Meet with probation every other week
Phase III
– Attend court once a month
– Aftercare group meeting once a month
– Two AA meeting/week
– Meet with probation every other week
Who is eligible?
– Over 17
– Reside or work in Kaufman county (there may be some leeway with this, just don’t live in Houston and expect to be accepted)
– Have no current holds (that means TDC can’t be waiting to pick you up)
– Physically and mentally capable of participating in the program
– Eligible to be on probation, or have your probation extended
– Must be alcohol or drug dependent
Disqualifications
– Severe mentally illness
– Prior conviction as an “abusive offender” (I think this means crimes of violence)
– Prior DWI court participant
– Prior felony conviction within 10 years of the immediate case
Why do people enter DWI court?
The carrot in this approach is that defendants get a better plea deal if they enter the program. For example, felony defendants get a shorter probation period (and avoid prison), but they have to sign up for some serious life changes.