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Texas MIC--what evidence is required?

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joc2009

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I was at a concert in a restaurant/bar establishment this weekend, and upon leaving, my friend and I were stopped by an officer and were told that someone had reported us to have been drinking. We had not had anything to drink at all, much less an alcoholic beverage. I was given a field sobriety test, which I passed, then a breathalizer. I breathed into it as hard as I could, but I have asthma and a heart murmur, and was unable to breathe as hard as is required. After several tries, I was lightheaded and about to pass out. I asked if I could sit down a minute, then try again. I had previously explained to the officer about my health conditions. He said I could, but then put it up in his car, and refused to let me do it again, although I requested it.

We still had our black Xs on our hands that they put on minors, and had made no attempt to remove them. I took pictures of these after the incident. The officer questioned the 21 year old friends we had been sitting with for part of the night, and they confirmed we had not been drinking. Other people who were there also came up to verify this.

Previously my friend and I had been standing up at the front of the stage when the music started, and some other customer had a pitcher of beer up there, and was filling up other peoples' glasses (I had no glass, of course). As he did this, he was sloshing it around quite a bit, and some was spilled on me. The officer said that I smelled like alcohol, and since someone had reported me as drinking, he wrote us MICs. He said he wasn't writing us MIPs because he hadn't seen us drinking. I have a feeling I might know the girl who "reported" us because there was a girl there that was mad at my friend because she used to go out with her boyfriend. Stupid high school drama stuff.

I'm upset because I have a lot to lose by this happening, like scholarships, etc. which is why I would never have done something so dumb. I'm going to fight this; I'm going to ask the court to subpoena any video of the establishment that may have been taken that night. Any other ideas? Did that cop do everything by the book? Because all he went on was the hearsay of someone and the fact that I smelled of alcohol. I didn't fail the breathalizer, but he was unable to get a reading.
 


CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
It is not hearsay what somebody says to an officer. That is a witness and that is their statement and if it is considered reliable by the trier of fact (judge or jury) then that is all it takes to convict somebody. But the statement is hearsay if anybody but that person tries to testify to it. If this witness is biased against you it may come out in court, or if there is no merit to what she has to say then its possible she will not show up for court or will come and tell the truth.

So, set the case for trial and request trial by jury, NOT trial by court. The staff/prosecutor/judge may tell you that you can't have a trial by jury but do not let them force you to have a trial by court. Lots of JP courts try to force people to waive their right to a jury. Bring this AG opinion with you and insist on a jury trial.

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/opinions/48morales/lo/1997/pdf/lo1997097.pdf

If you lose in trial bring enough money for double the amount of the ticket and you can file an appeal. The case will be transferred to County Court and it will be trial de novo (re-do the entire thing.) You basically get two bites at getting a not guilty on Class C offenses because appeals are trial de novo. The only downside is that court costs are higher in County Court.

If you really want to beat this charge you may want to consider hiring an attorney.
 

joc2009

Junior Member
Thanks so much for the info! I'm going to get notarized affidavits from the witnesses who were with me all night, and a note from my doctor verifying my medical condition, AND I'm going to hire an attorney. I'm hoping he'll be able to file a motion to dismiss. Any chance of that?

Oh, and I did find out that the girl in question WAS the culprit. Her boyfriend (who my friend used to date) fessed up that it was her.
 

CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
There is no such thing as a defense motion to dismiss, only a prosecutor can move to dismiss a case. There are various legal challenges to a case which can result in a dismissal but there is no way to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence without having a trial. That is the point of a trial. Getting those affidavits is a good idea and might convince the prosecutor to just dismiss the case, but if it does go to trial the affidavits are useless and those people will have to come testify on your behalf.
 

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