Field Sobriety And Breath Tests In Beaumont, TX
A Texas DWI case is built from three kinds of evidence: what the officer observed at the roadside, a breath number from an Intoxilyzer 9000, or a blood result from a laboratory. Each follows written procedures, and each can be measured against them. This page explains how the tests work, where they can fail and how results are used in Jefferson County.
What Are DWI Field, Breath And Blood Tests In Texas?
Texas DWI cases rest on three kinds of testing evidence. Standardized field sobriety tests are roadside eye and balance exercises that an officer scores. Breath tests use the Intoxilyzer 9000 under DPS rules, and blood tests are run by a laboratory. Transportation Code Chapter 724 governs specimens, and Penal Code § 49.01 sets the 0.08 concentration the results are measured against.
Source: Texas Transportation Code Chapter 724, Implied Consent
At The Roadside
What Are The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests?
Standardized field sobriety tests, or SFSTs, grew out of research funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Officers in Jefferson County and across Texas learn them from the NHTSA manual, which sets the instructions for each test and the clues an officer scores.
Horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN). The officer moves a pen or light across the field of vision and watches each eye for an involuntary jerk. There are three clues per eye: lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained jerking at maximum deviation, and onset of jerking before 45 degrees. Six clues are possible.
Walk-and-turn. The person takes nine heel-to-toe steps on a line, turns in a prescribed way and returns. The manual lists eight clues, among them starting too soon, stopping, stepping off the line and raising the arms.
One-leg-stand. The person lifts one foot about six inches and counts for about 30 seconds. The four clues are swaying, using the arms, hopping and putting the foot down.
Standardized means the manual's method.
The NHTSA materials tie the reliability of the clues to the test being given as described. The instructions, the demonstration, the surface, the lighting and the footwear are all part of that method.
- Was a medical or eye screen done before HGN
- Was the stimulus held at the distance and speed the manual sets
- Was the ground level, dry and lit
- Were the instructions complete and the test demonstrated
- Does the video match what the report says
Texas law does not make anyone perform these tests, and declining carries no license suspension. That differs from refusing a breath or blood specimen.
Chemical Testing Rules
What Are The Rules For DWI Breath And Blood Tests In Texas?
After a DWI arrest, the officer asks for a breath or blood specimen under the implied consent law in Transportation Code chapter 724. The type of test and the way it is run decide what evidence the state ends up holding. These are the rules as written, not a forecast for any one result.
Within 0.020 grams per 210 liters of breath.
Under § 724.019.
Two years with a prior contact.
- Breath instrument
- The Intoxilyzer 9000, operated under the DPS breath alcohol testing program (37 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 19).
- Before a breath test
- A 15 minute observation period, so residual mouth alcohol does not distort the number.
- Breath samples
- Two samples, each run with instrument checks. The results must agree within 0.020 grams per 210 liters of breath.
- Blood analysis
- Gas chromatography at a laboratory, which separates alcohol from other compounds and measures it against known standards.
- If a specimen is refused
- A 180 day suspension, or two years with a prior contact (§ 724.035). The refusal can be offered at trial (§ 724.061), and an officer can seek a blood search warrant.
- Additional blood test
- The right to an additional specimen drawn by a qualified person of the person's choosing within two hours of arrest (§ 724.019).
A test result is not a punishment by itself, but it feeds two cases at once: the criminal charge and the license case.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About DWI Tests In Texas?
Can a driver refuse the roadside tests and still be arrested?
Is the roadside breath device the same as the Intoxilyzer?
Why does the time of the test matter?
What if a physical condition affected the roadside tests?
What if blood was drawn at a hospital after a crash?
Where The Evidence Can Break Down
How Can DWI Test Results Be Challenged?
A printed breath or blood result looks exact. It is the product of a chain of steps, and the records of those steps are part of the evidence.
For breath, the chain includes the instrument's certification and maintenance logs, the operator's certification, the observation period on video, and whether both samples were valid and agreed. The Intoxilyzer measures alcohol in breath and relies on an assumed relationship to blood alcohol that does not fit every body the same way.
For blood, it includes the draw, the tube and preservative, storage and shipping, the chain of custody and the chromatograms. A chromatogram is the graph an instrument prints as compounds separate, and it is the raw data behind the number on the lab report.
Timing is its own issue.
Penal Code § 49.01 defines intoxication in part as a concentration of 0.08 or more. The test measures the concentration when the sample was taken, not when the person was driving, and the gap can be an hour or longer.
Working backward from the test to the time of driving is called retrograde extrapolation. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals addressed the limits of that expert testimony in Mata v. State (2001), including what the expert must know about the person and the timeline.
Drugs raise different science: a panel shows presence and amount, and Texas sets no per se concentration, so the state must prove loss of normal faculties. See the drug DWI page and the first DWI page.
Was The Stop Justified?
A result can be challenged if the stop or detention behind it lacked a legal basis.
Did The Officer Follow The Manual?
Compare the instructions, demonstrations and scoring on video with the NHTSA method.
Is The Full 15 Minutes On Tape?
The booking video can show whether anything entered the mouth before the breath test.
Do The Instrument Records Line Up?
Certification, maintenance and calibration dates should fit the date of the test.
Was There A Warrant Or An Exception?
A blood draw is a search, so the warrant affidavit or the claimed exception gets reviewed.
Does The Lab File Support The Number?
Chromatograms, calibrations and custody records either back up the report or they do not.
Local Process
How Do DWI Test Results Get Used In Jefferson County?
Testing rules are the same statewide. The booking, the prosecutor and the courtroom are specific to Jefferson County.
Request And Warning
After the arrest, the officer asks for a breath or blood specimen and gives a written warning about the consequences of refusing.
The Test
A breath test follows the observation period. Blood is drawn by consent or under a warrant, and the additional test right runs for two hours.
Two Cases Use The Result
Prosecutors use it in the criminal case, and DPS uses it at the ALR hearing.
Discovery
The defense asks for the video, instrument records and lab file under Code of Criminal Procedure article 39.14.
- Who arrests
- Beaumont Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Port Arthur Police Department, Nederland Police Department, Port Neches Police Department, or Groves Police Department, with arrestees booked into the county jail system. Arrestees from every law enforcement agency in the county are booked into the county's jail system.
- Who uses the result
- The prosecutor in the criminal case, and DPS at the ALR hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
- Where a misdemeanor goes
- Filed in one of the Jefferson County Courts at Law, with prosecutors in Jefferson County handling it.
- Where a felony goes
- Heard in the district courts at the Jefferson County Courthouse on 1085 Pearl Street, prosecuted by the Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- Appeals go to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A DWI Test?
Test evidence is fixed at the moment it is collected, but it can still be reviewed. These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Save The Forms
Keep the consent or refusal form, the notice of suspension, the bond papers and any hospital records.
Build A Timeline
Write down your last drink and last meal, the time of the stop and the time of each test.
Mind The 15 Days
The license case has its own deadline, and it runs whatever the test showed.
Ask For Video Early
Dash, body and booking room recordings may be kept for a limited time.
Do Not Lean On The Number
One result is one piece of evidence, and it does not settle the case.
Talk Before Deciding
Hold off on a plea or on letting a deadline pass until the testing records are reviewed.
A lawyer can request the instrument records, the video and the lab file and read them against the rules above. Mitchell Law Firm serves Jefferson County from its Orange office and offers a confidential conversation about a DWI testing issue. Calling early helps keep the evidence available.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 49: definition of intoxicated and DWI offenses
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 724: implied consent, refusals and the additional blood test
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 524: administrative license suspension
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 18: search warrants
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: discovery of the state's evidence
- Texas Department of Public Safety: breath alcohol testing program
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Beaumont trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related DWI Charges
Other DWI Cases Handled In Beaumont, TX
The same tests appear in every kind of DWI case, whatever the level of the charge. See the full DWI defense overview for Beaumont.
First, Repeat And Felony DWI
Priors never expire in Texas, and a second or third charge moves the case into a different range entirely.
Drug And Substance DWI
You do not need alcohol to be charged. Prescriptions and legal hemp products lead to DWI arrests in Jefferson County.
The Driver And The Vehicle
Age, license type, home state, and what was being operated all change where the same stop leads.
Your License And The Process
The evidence, the deadlines, and what a conviction reaches beyond the courtroom.
Health Care Licenses
Boards that license patient care run their own review of an alcohol arrest, separate from the court.
Other Professional Licenses
Law, finance, aviation, teaching, real estate, and security work each answer to their own board or agency.
Common Questions
DWI Testing Questions People In Beaumont Ask
Is a driver required to do field sobriety tests in Beaumont, TX?
Texas implied consent law, Transportation Code chapter 724, covers specimens of breath and blood. It does not require a driver to perform the roadside balance and eye tests, and no license suspension is tied to declining them. An officer can still arrest on other observations, and the video of the encounter becomes evidence either way.
What breath machine is used in Jefferson County DWI arrests?
Texas uses the Intoxilyzer 9000 under the Department of Public Safety breath alcohol testing program, whose rules are in Title 37 of the Texas Administrative Code, chapter 19. The program certifies instruments, operators and technical supervisors, and those records can be requested and reviewed in any case built on a breath result.
What is the 15 minute observation period before a breath test in Beaumont, TX?
Before a breath test, the operator has to watch the person for 15 minutes to confirm that nothing entered the mouth, such as food, drink, tobacco or regurgitation, that could leave residual alcohol. Mouth alcohol can inflate a reading. Whether the full period was completed is a question the booking video can answer.
Can a blood test result be challenged in a Beaumont DWI case?
A blood result comes from gas chromatography at a laboratory, and the draw, the chain of custody and the analysis are all open to examination. Under § 724.019, a person who gave a specimen may also have an additional blood sample drawn by a physician, nurse, chemist or qualified technician of their choosing within two hours of arrest.
Can police in Jefferson County get a warrant for blood after a breath test refusal?
A refusal does not end the investigation. An officer can apply to a magistrate for a search warrant to draw blood, and a specimen taken under a warrant is admissible when the warrant and the draw meet legal requirements. The refusal also triggers a separate license suspension of 180 days under § 724.035, or two years with a prior contact.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
The Science Has Rules
Every test in a DWI file was run under a protocol. The file shows whether it was followed.
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