An increase in the number of citations for driving while intoxicated was a standard fare during the holiday season, wherever one lives—Texas included. It’s easy—all too easy—to get swept up in the festive spirit of holiday parties and make the unfortunate choice to get behind the wheel when one’s blood-alcohol content is above the legal limit.
For non-commercial drivers, that limit is .08 percent—which generally equates to two or three drinks per hour. And, while the criminal consequences for being pulled over for DWI are dire in and of themselves, many professionals may be unaware that, besides these consequences, a conviction threatens their professional license as well.
Every licensing board in Texas is charged with setting its own standards regarding the reporting of arrests and criminal charges levied against its licensees. In practice, this means that some professionals will be required to report their own DWI charges to their licensing boards as soon after the event as possible.
In other situations, the board will be advised of the charge through other channels and then contact the license-holder to initiate an investigation and disciplinary action. Naturally how these proceedings are conducted will also depend on the idiosyncrasies of a given board. Some prefer to allow the criminal case to be completed before taking action. Others will run their investigations concurrently to the criminal case. Either way, should a board determine that the license-holder violated the rules or standards set forth by the rules of the professional licensure agency, there will be disciplinary consequences.
In some cases, this action may be as light as simply requiring remediative measures via community service or taking a directed course of study. In others, a professional’s license may be suspended—and in some cases, it may even be either temporarily or permanently revoked. In the latter case, the former license-holder will be banned forever from their chosen profession in the state of Texas.
The best course of action is not to drive a vehicle while intoxicated. But if you’ve made a mistake and your license is now in danger, you will want a dedicated professional license defense attorney at your side to help you do everything possible to keep your license.
Hire the Experienced License Defense Attorneys of BERTOLINO LLP
The attorneys at BERTOLINO LLP know how to carefully research every potential case. We know where to look for evidence and how to use that information to build a successful legal strategy. Our firm is prepared to represent you at every stage of the complaint process. Our results speak for themselves.
If your professional license is at risk of suspension or revocation, BERTOLINO LLP can help. With offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, we represent licensed professionals across the entire State of Texas. Our honest, experienced attorneys will fight aggressively on behalf of your license and reputation.
Contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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