Intoxication Assault Lawyer In Conroe, TX
Intoxication assault is the charge when a DWI crash leaves someone seriously hurt, and no intent has to be proven. In Montgomery County the District Attorney's Office has its own Vehicular Crimes Unit, so this page covers the elements, the penalty levels, the defenses and the first steps.
What Is Intoxication Assault In Texas?
Intoxication assault is a DWI that causes serious bodily injury to another person. Texas Penal Code § 49.07 makes it a third degree felony, with higher levels for certain victims. The state does not have to prove intent, but it must prove that the injury resulted from the intoxication. Serious bodily injury is defined in Penal Code § 1.07.
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Intoxication Assault?
Penal Code § 49.07 makes it a third degree felony to cause serious bodily injury to another person, by accident or mistake, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. The same section reaches aircraft, watercraft and amusement rides.
No intent is part of the offense. Penal Code § 49.11 removes the mental state for intoxication crimes, so the state does not have to show that the driver meant, knew or recklessly risked anything.
Two questions stay open for the state. Was the harm serious bodily injury as the Penal Code defines it? And did the intoxication cause it? Under § 6.04, a driver is not responsible when another cause was clearly sufficient by itself and the driver's conduct was clearly insufficient.
What the state has to prove under § 49.07:
- Operating a motor vehicle in a public place, or an aircraft, watercraft or amusement ride
- While intoxicated, by a 0.08 concentration or loss of normal faculties
- Serious bodily injury to another person
- Caused by reason of the intoxication
"Serious bodily injury" has a narrow meaning in § 1.07. A wrist fracture that heals on schedule, or a cut that leaves no lasting mark, raises the question of whether the definition is met. The medical records answer it, not the scene photographs.
If the injured person dies, the charge becomes intoxication manslaughter. Where intoxication is not alleged, a crash injury can be charged as vehicular assault under other statutes.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Intoxication Assault In Texas?
The base level is a third degree felony. Section 49.09 raises it for particular victims and injuries, and several procedural rules make these cases heavier than the range alone suggests. These are statutory limits, not predictions.
Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.401.
- Base level
- Third degree felony: two to ten years in prison, fine up to $10,000.
- Second degree
- When the injury is a traumatic brain injury resulting in a persistent vegetative state, or the injured person is a firefighter or EMS worker on duty.
- First degree
- Five to ninety-nine years or life, when the injured person is a peace officer or judge on duty.
- Community supervision
- Available, with at least 30 days in county jail as a condition under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.401.
- Deferred adjudication
- Barred by art. 42A.102.
- Several injured people
- Sentences can be ordered to run consecutively under Penal Code § 3.03(b).
- Bond
- An ignition interlock under art. 17.441 unless the magistrate finds it not in the interest of justice.
A vehicle can be found to be a deadly weapon in an intoxication assault case. The effect of that finding on probation and parole is set out on the 3G offenses page.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Intoxication Assault In Texas?
Does it matter if the other driver was also at fault?
What if the injury is not serious bodily injury?
Can I still be charged if the injured person does not want to pursue it?
Will a civil lawsuit follow?
Possible Defenses
How Can Intoxication Assault Be Defended?
When prosecutors and investigators respond to the scene, the state's account of the crash is being built from the first hour. Measurements, photographs, witness statements and vehicle data are all collected then. The same material can be examined from the other side, because each piece has a method behind it. No result can be promised.
- Reconstruction: scene measurements, point of impact and speed calculations
- Event data recorders: what each vehicle's module recorded, and what it did not
- Medicine: whether the injury meets the § 1.07 definition, and for how long
- Blood: a warrant or claimed exception, the timing of the draw and the lab analysis
Causation and timing are the questions most often in dispute.
The other driver's speed, a failed signal, a vehicle defect or the road itself can each bear on whether intoxication caused the injury. Section 6.04 is where that question starts.
Timing matters for the blood too. A hospital draw can come hours after the crash, and a hospital result is not the same as a forensic result. In Montgomery County, a crash draw can also follow a warrant, and that warrant can be challenged on the affidavit, the draw and the lab work. The DWI court process page covers how those challenges are raised.
Was It Serious Bodily Injury?
Do the medical records show an injury inside the statutory definition?
Did Intoxication Cause It?
Could another driver, a signal failure or road conditions explain the crash?
Was The Blood Draw Lawful?
A hospital or roadside draw needs a warrant, consent or an exception, and the result can be tested.
What Does The Data Recorder Show?
Speed, braking and steering data can support or contradict the report.
Who Was Driving?
In some crashes, who sat behind the wheel is itself disputed.
Is The Charge Level Right?
Does the victim or the injury actually support a higher felony level?
Local Process
What Happens After An Intoxication Assault Arrest In Montgomery County?
The DA's Office runs a dedicated Vehicular Crimes Unit of prosecutors and investigators that responds directly to crash scenes and handles intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault and fatal hit and run cases. The prosecution's file on an injury crash can therefore start at the scene, not weeks later when a report arrives.
Investigation And Arrest
Officers work the scene, collect evidence and may seek a blood warrant. The arrest can come at the scene or later.
Magistrate And Bond
The arrested person goes before a magistrate, who sets bond and any interlock condition.
Grand Jury
A felony needs an indictment unless it is waived. The grand jury can indict, indict on a different offense or return no bill.
District Court
The case moves to a district court for discovery, motions, settings and a plea or trial.
- Who investigates
- The first responding agency, from Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Constables, Precincts 1 through 5, Willis Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department, Oak Ridge North Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Splendora Police Department, or Roman Forest Police Department, alongside the District Attorney's Vehicular Crimes Unit.
- Charging
- Grand jury indictment, presented by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
- Where it is heard
- Heard in the district courts at the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center on 207 W Phillips St.
- Where you are held
- The Montgomery County Jail at 1 Criminal Justice Drive, run by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- Appeals go to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After An Intoxication Assault Charge?
Crash evidence changes quickly. These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Protect The ALR Deadline
A crash with injuries does not stop the license clock. Request the hearing within 15 days.
Do Not Discuss The Crash
Do not talk about it with police, the other driver, insurers or online.
Preserve The Vehicle
Ask about the vehicle and its data recorder before either is released or repaired.
Keep Medical Records
Save records of your own treatment and anything showing your condition after the crash.
Follow Bond Conditions
Meet every condition, including any ignition interlock order.
Get Advice Early
Early review can matter before the grand jury hears the case.
Speak with a lawyer before giving statements to police or an insurer. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about an intoxication assault charge in Montgomery County, and an early call helps preserve the evidence.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 49: §§ 49.07, 49.09 and 49.11
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 1: § 1.07 definition of serious bodily injury
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 6: § 6.04 causation
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 3: § 3.03 sentences for multiple offenses
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: community supervision and deferred adjudication
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 17: bail and ignition interlock
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 524: administrative license suspension
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Conroe 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 Conroe, TX
Intoxication assault sits between a DWI and intoxication manslaughter, and it shares much of its evidence with both. See the full DWI defense overview for Conroe.
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 Montgomery 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
Intoxication Assault Questions People In Conroe Ask
What does intoxication assault mean in Conroe, TX?
Under Texas Penal Code § 49.07, intoxication assault is causing serious bodily injury to another person, by accident or mistake, while operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. The statute also covers aircraft, watercraft and amusement rides. The injury has to be caused by the intoxication, and the state does not have to prove any intent to injure.
Who investigates an intoxication assault crash in Montgomery County?
The first response comes from the agency with jurisdiction over the road, which could be a city police department, the Sheriff's Office, a constable precinct or DPS. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office also runs a Vehicular Crimes Unit of prosecutors and investigators that responds directly to crash scenes and handles intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter cases.
What injury is serious enough for intoxication assault in Montgomery County?
Penal Code § 1.07 defines serious bodily injury as injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ. An injury that falls short of that definition cannot support intoxication assault, although a DWI charge for the same driving can remain.
What sentence can intoxication assault carry in Conroe?
At its base level, intoxication assault is a third degree felony: two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. It rises to a second degree felony for a traumatic brain injury that results in a persistent vegetative state, or an injured on-duty firefighter or EMS worker, and to a first degree felony when the injured person is an on-duty peace officer or judge.
Can intoxication assault sentences be stacked in Montgomery County?
Penal Code § 3.03(b) allows the court to order sentences for intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter from the same criminal episode to run one after another rather than at the same time. That matters when a single crash injures or kills more than one person. Whether any sentences are stacked is a decision for the court.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
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