Field Sobriety And Breath Tests In Orange, TX
Almost every Texas DWI rests on three kinds of evidence: what the officer saw at the roadside, a breath number from an Intoxilyzer 9000, or a blood result from a lab. This page explains how each test works, what rules it runs on, and where the evidence can be checked.
What Are DWI Field, Breath And Blood Tests In Texas?
Texas DWI cases use three kinds of testing evidence. Standardized field sobriety tests are roadside balance and eye tests that an officer scores. Breath tests use the Intoxilyzer 9000 under DPS rules. Blood tests are run by a lab. Chapter 724 of the Transportation Code covers specimens, and Penal Code § 49.01 sets the 0.08 alcohol concentration that the results are measured against.
Source: Texas Transportation Code Chapter 724, Implied Consent
At The Roadside
What Are Field Sobriety Tests, And What Do They Measure?
Standardized field sobriety tests, or SFSTs, are three roadside tests developed through research funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Officers in Orange County and across Texas are trained on them from the NHTSA manual. The manual lists specific instructions for each test and specific "clues" the officer is supposed to look for.
Horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN). The officer moves a stimulus, often a pen or penlight, side to side in front of the eyes. Nystagmus is an involuntary jerking of the eye. The officer looks for three clues in each eye: lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation, and onset of nystagmus before 45 degrees. Six clues are possible in total.
Walk-and-turn. The person takes nine heel-to-toe steps along a line, turns in a prescribed way, and takes nine steps back. The manual lists eight clues, including starting too soon, stopping, missing heel to toe, stepping off the line, raising the arms and taking the wrong number of steps.
One-leg-stand. The person raises one foot about six inches and counts aloud for about 30 seconds. The four clues are swaying, using the arms for balance, hopping and putting the foot down.
The tests are called standardized for a reason.
The NHTSA materials tie the reliability of the clues to the tests being given the way the manual describes. The instructions, the demonstration, the surface, the lighting and the footwear are all part of that.
- Was the person screened for medical or eye conditions before HGN
- Was the stimulus held at the distance and speed the manual sets
- Was the surface level, dry and reasonably lit
- Were the instructions given in full and the test demonstrated
- Did the dash or body camera capture what the report describes
Texas law does not require anyone to perform these tests. Declining them carries no license suspension, which is different from refusing a breath or blood specimen.
Other things an officer may note are not part of the three standardized tests, such as the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and answers to questions. These are observations, not measurements, and each has an innocent explanation in some situations, such as allergies, fatigue or a long shift.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Rules For DWI Breath And Blood Tests In Texas?
Once a DWI arrest is made, the officer asks for a breath or blood specimen under the implied consent law in Transportation Code chapter 724. Which test is used, and how, shapes what evidence the state ends up with. A test result is not a punishment by itself, but it drives both the criminal case and the license case.
So residual mouth alcohol does not skew the result.
Within 0.02 grams per 210 liters of breath.
Under § 724.019, by a person of the driver's choosing.
Two years with a prior enforcement contact.
- Breath instrument
- The Intoxilyzer 9000, operated under the DPS breath alcohol testing program (37 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 19).
- Before the breath test
- A 15 minute observation period, so residual mouth alcohol does not skew the result.
- The breath samples
- Two separate breath samples, each run alongside instrument checks. The two results have to agree within 0.02 grams per 210 liters of breath.
- Blood analysis
- Gas chromatography at a crime lab, which separates alcohol from other compounds in the sample and measures it against known standards.
- If a specimen is refused
- A 180 day license suspension, or two years with a prior contact (§ 724.035). The refusal can be offered at trial (§ 724.061). Officers can seek a blood search warrant from a magistrate.
- Additional blood test
- The right to have a physician, nurse, chemist or qualified technician of the person's choosing draw an additional blood specimen within two hours of arrest (§ 724.019).
These are the rules the statute and the DPS program set. They describe how a test is supposed to be run, not what any one result will mean in a given case.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About DWI Tests In Texas?
Can I refuse the roadside tests but still be arrested?
What is a handheld roadside breath device, and is it the same as the Intoxilyzer?
Why does the time of the test matter?
What if a medical condition affected the roadside tests?
What if I took a blood test at a hospital after a crash?
Where The Evidence Can Break Down
How Can DWI Test Results Be Challenged?
A breath or blood result looks exact on paper. It is the end product of a process with written steps, and the records of those steps are part of the evidence.
For breath, that means 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 a fixed relationship to blood that does not match every person's physiology.
For blood, it means the draw itself, the tube and its preservative, how the sample was stored and shipped, the chain of custody, and the chromatograms the lab produced. A chromatogram is the graph the instrument prints as compounds separate. It is the raw data behind the number on the report.
The timing of the test is its own issue.
Texas defines intoxication in part as an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more (Penal Code § 49.01). The test measures the concentration when the sample was taken, not when the person was driving.
Estimating backward to the time of driving is called retrograde extrapolation. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set out the limits on that kind of expert testimony in Mata v. State (2001), including what the expert needs to know about the person and the timeline for the estimate to be reliable.
Brennon Mitchell is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, which means training in the chromatography labs use to read blood data. That helps with reading a lab file. It does not decide how any one case ends.
Drugs raise different science. A blood panel for drugs shows presence and quantity, and Texas sets no per se concentration for drugs. The drug DWI page covers that side, and the first DWI page sets out what the charge itself requires.
Was The Stop Lawful?
Test results can be thrown out if the stop or the detention behind them was not justified.
Was The Manual Followed?
Were the field tests given, demonstrated and scored the way NHTSA training describes?
Was The Observation Complete?
Does the video show a full 15 minutes before the breath test, with nothing in the mouth?
Are The Instrument Records Clean?
Do the certification, maintenance and calibration records for the Intoxilyzer 9000 line up with the test date?
Was There A Warrant Or An Exception?
A blood draw is a search. Was it done with a warrant, valid consent or a recognized exception?
Does The Lab Data Support The Number?
Do the chromatograms, calibrations and chain of custody back up the figure on the report?
Local Process
How Do DWI Test Results Get Used In Orange County?
Testing follows Texas law across the state. Where the arrest is booked, who uses the result, and where the case is filed are specific to Orange County.
Arrest And Request
After an arrest, the officer asks for a breath or blood specimen. A written warning explains the consequences of refusing.
Testing
A breath test runs after the observation period. A blood draw happens by consent or under a warrant. The additional blood test right can be used within two hours.
Two Cases Use The Result
The result goes to prosecutors in the criminal case and to DPS in the license case, which is decided at an ALR hearing.
Discovery
The defense can ask for the video, instrument records and lab file under Code of Criminal Procedure article 39.14.
- Where testing and booking happen
- The Orange County Correctional Facility at 205 S Border Street, run by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, books arrests from Orange Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Vidor Police Department, Bridge City Police Department, Pinehurst Police Department, and West Orange Police Department.
- Who uses the result
- The Orange County District and County Attorney's Office in the criminal case, and DPS at the ALR hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
- Where it is filed
- A misdemeanor DWI is filed in one of the Orange County Courts at Law. A felony DWI is heard in 128th District Court, 163rd District Court, and 260th District Court.
- If the case is appealed
- The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A DWI Test?
Test evidence is fixed the moment it is collected, but it can still be reviewed. These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Keep Every Document
Save the specimen refusal or consent form, the notice of suspension, the bond papers and any hospital records.
Note The Timeline
Write down when you last drank or ate, when you were stopped, and when any test was done.
Remember The 15 Days
The license case has its own deadline, whatever the test showed.
Ask For The Video
Dash camera, body camera and booking room video are worth requesting early because retention periods can be short.
Do Not Rely On The Number
A result is one piece of evidence. It does not settle the case.
Talk Before Deciding
Do not plead or let a deadline pass until the testing records have been reviewed.
A lawyer can request the instrument records, the video and the lab file, and read them against the rules above. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about a DWI testing issue in Orange County. 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 Orange 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 Orange, TX
The same tests appear in every kind of DWI case, whatever the level of the charge. See the full DWI defense overview for Orange.
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 Orange 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 Orange Ask
Do I have to do field sobriety tests in Orange, TX?
Texas implied consent law, Transportation Code chapter 724, applies to specimens of breath and blood. It does not require a driver to perform the roadside balance and eye tests, and there is no license suspension tied to declining them. An officer can still arrest based on other observations, and the video of the encounter becomes evidence either way.
What breath test machine is used for DWI arrests in Orange County?
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 the instruments, the operators who run them and the technical supervisors who maintain them. Those records can be requested and reviewed in any case built on a breath result.
What is the 15 minute observation period for a breath test in Orange, TX?
Before a breath test, the operator has to observe the person for 15 minutes to make sure nothing has entered the mouth, such as food, drink, tobacco, or regurgitation, that could leave residual alcohol behind. Mouth alcohol can inflate a breath reading. Whether that observation period was actually completed is a question the booking video can answer.
Can a blood test be challenged in an Orange County DWI case?
A blood result comes from gas chromatography performed by a lab, and the analysis, the chain of custody and the blood tube itself are all open to examination. Texas law also lets a person who gave a specimen have an additional blood sample drawn by a physician, nurse, chemist or qualified technician of their choosing, within two hours of arrest, under § 724.019.
Can police in Orange, TX get a warrant for my blood if I refuse a breath test?
A refusal does not end the matter. An officer can apply to a magistrate for a search warrant to draw blood, and a blood specimen taken under a warrant is admissible if the warrant and the draw meet legal requirements. The refusal itself also triggers a separate 180 day license suspension under § 724.035, or two years with a prior enforcement 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.
Orange Office
