Wife got Texas DWI - Is there a specific form for ALR Discovery Request?

[govtdog]

Name of State is Texas.
We requested ALR hearing and it will be on Nov 26.
Our first regular court hearing is on Nov 19.

We want to do a discovery request from the DPS according to TAC 159.151 but am not sure about how to word the request? Is there a specific form for doing this via FAX?

Will the DPS send us the copies of documents and any video/audio recordings via email, fax or regular mail and will we get them prior to our regular court hearing?

Thanks for any and all help you can offer!

 

[FlyingRon]

First off, you can only discover things they possess. It's unlikely they are in possession of any recordings. They most likely have at most the arrest paperwork and a statement from the officer and possibly the Intoxilizer or whatever was used, output. If you request it, you can get the certification records of the machine used.

37 TAC §17.16 prescribes how you do it. You don't need any specific form but you do need to fully identify your case and specifically what you are looking for.

 

[govtdog]

Ron, Thank you very much for your help!

I do have 37 TAC 17.16 and plan on faxing the request tomorrow morning.

How will they send me the requested discovery... or can I request it gets sent back to me via a specific way such as return fax or email?

Finally, where(from whom?)and how can I request a copy of the audio/video recording made by the Houston Police at the time of the arrest which followed my wife getting into a minor single car accident? Harris County is the court in her case.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[FlyingRon]

You make the request to the person who as the information. You're not likely to get such discovery for the administrative action. Your attorney can do so for the actual DUI criminal proceedings. In fact, many attorneys use the admin proceeding to discover things.

 

[Zigner]

govtdog - are you an attorney?

 

[Antigone*]

govtdog - are you an attorney?

I highly suspect he is not. And if he is not an attorney HE cannot make the request unless he is willing to commit a crime himself.

 

[govtdog]

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

No, I am not an attorney. If we could afford one, I wouldn't have to ask these questions at all. We asked for a court appointed attorney, but apparently, if you can afford to pay $120 for the $500 bond, the court considers you wealthy enough to hire a lawyer. We have been saving up whatever we can during the 60 days of having our case twice continued, but am no where near having the $2-5K(rates quoted from the dozen or so attorneys we have contacted). And, those rates are only valid if we DON'T go to trial.

I will not be officially requesting anything... it will be my wife, the defendant who will be doing that. I am just doing all the research, grunt work, typing and anything else I can do to help. According to Rule 159.151, "the defendant shall be allowed to review, inspect, and obtain copies of any non-privileged documents or records in DPS's ALR file or in the posession of the DPS's ALR Division"... so I am hoping we can get discovery without an attorney when my wife requests it.

Do we request discovery in the same way with regard to audio/video and other evidence which the Harris County District Attorney may have for use against my wife?

My wife has little memory of what happened after being in the accident, so we don't know anything other than she took and must have failed the breath test. Only after seeing all the evidence against her can we begin to determine what we need to do next - use remaining retirement funds to hire a lawyer or maybe just try and work directly with the DA to plead the case for as little fine penalty as possible.

Does that make sense?

As for the Discovery Request to the DPS, how does this look and will this suffice?

Case: 2012XXXXXXX
DL: 131XXXXX
Name: Jane Doe
Address: 123 Main Street, CIty, TX. 77001

Sir or Madam:
Per Chapter 159.151 of the Rules of Procedure for Administrative License Suspension Hearings, I am requesting any and all documents, records and any other tangible evidence which the DPS is in possession of and/or plans to use against me in my ALR Hearing.

This will include but not be limited to the following: DIC-23, DIC-24, DIC-25, DIC-56, Driving Record, TLE-1, TLE-1A, Criminal Complaint, Intoxilyzer Slip, STS-3, Offense Report and Accident Report.

Additionally, please send to me the inspection, maintenance and any repair records for the instruments used to test my breath and/or blood samples.

Please send the requested documents and other evidence to me at the address listed above, or if preferred, to me at [email protected], or via fax to me at 713-xxx-xxxx.

If you have any questions or need further information in order to comply with this request, please contact me via phone at 713-xxx-xxxx.
Thank you very much for your help in this matter.

Regards,

My Wife’s Signature

 

[govtdog]

Sooooooo, is that request OKAY???

 

[Antigone*]

Sooooooo, is that request OKAY???

You threw a hissyfit, DOG, so no it is NOT okay.

 

[Zigner]

Sooooooo, is that request OKAY???

None of us would recommend that you continue down this line of unlawfully practicing law. Wifey needs an attorney.

 

[govtdog]

Hissyfit... no. Thanks anyway for your suggestion but no.

We are OPEN to ANY attorney who wants to be the best and prove it by their recent work in court.