Second DWI in Texas

Is a second DWI a Class A misdemeanor in Texas?

Yes. Penal Code § 49.09(a) makes a second DWI “a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum term of confinement of 30 days” once one prior intoxication conviction is shown. Section 12.21 caps a Class A at $4,000 and one year.

What counts as the prior is wider than a previous DWI. Section 49.09(a) counts a previous conviction for operating a motor vehicle, an aircraft, a watercraft, or an amusement ride while intoxicated. Subsection (d) makes such a conviction final whether the sentence was imposed or probated, and subsection (g) treats deferred adjudication community supervision under art. 42A.102 for driving or boating while intoxicated as a conviction. Nothing in subsection (a) puts a time limit on how old the prior may be.

The Class A level is not unique to a repeat. Section 49.04(d) puts a first offense at the same level where an analysis of blood, breath or urine showed an alcohol concentration of 0.15 or more. The difference a prior makes is the 30-day floor, which § 49.09(a) writes into the offense and § 49.04 has no equivalent of.

How much jail time does a second DWI carry in Texas?

30 days to one year. Section 49.09(a) sets the minimum term of confinement at 30 days and § 12.21 caps a Class A misdemeanor at one year in jail.

A suspended sentence changes the number without removing it. Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.053(a) lets a judge suspend the imposition of the sentence and grant community supervision. Article 42A.401(a) then requires that judge to order confinement anyway, as a condition of the supervision:

• Not less than 72 hours of continuous confinement in county jail where the defendant was punished under § 49.09(a).
• Not less than five days where the defendant is also subject to § 49.09(h), which is the second offense committed within five years of the previous one.

That is where a second offense parts company with a first. Article 42A.401(a) lists five cases where supervision carries jail, and every one of them names a repeat or an injury offense; a first offense punished under § 49.04 appears on none of them.

What are the fine and the license suspension for a second DWI?

Up to $4,000 for the offense, a separate $4,500 state fine, and a suspension of 180 days to two years. Penal Code § 12.21 sets the cap, Transportation Code § 709.001(b)(2) the state fine, and § 521.344(a)(2)(B) the suspension.

The state fine turns on a calendar rather than on the count. Section 709.001(b) reads “within a 36-month period”, so a second conviction more than three years after the first is charged at $3,000 rather than $4,500. Subsection (b)(3) overrides both figures with $6,000 where the analysis showed 0.15 or more, and subsection (c) requires a court that finds the person indigent to waive all fines and costs imposed under the section.

The suspension is the court’s, and it is not the only one. Section 524.022(a)(2) suspends a license for one year after a failed specimen where the driving record shows an alcohol-related or drug-related enforcement contact in the preceding 10 years, and § 724.035(b) makes a refusal two years on the same record. Those run on the arrest, before a court has decided anything.

Does a second DWI require an ignition interlock in Texas?

On community supervision, yes. Article 42A.408(c)(2) makes the device mandatory where the defendant is placed on community supervision after a conviction punished under § 49.09(a) or (b), which covers a second conviction under the standard DWI statutes. Subsection (b) leaves it discretionary elsewhere.

A five-year repeat carries the device past the supervision. Section 49.09(h) applies to a second or subsequent intoxication offense committed within five years of the previous one. It requires the court to order the device installed on each motor vehicle owned or operated by the defendant, to keep it there until the first anniversary of the ending date of the license suspension, and to make the defendant obtain it at the defendant’s own cost, though the court may set a reasonable payment schedule. That same subsection is what moves the suspension to one to two years under § 521.344(a)(2)(C).

An interlock is also the way to keep driving during a suspension. Article 42A.407(g) lets someone whose license is suspended for an offense under §§ 49.04–49.08 drive through the suspension if they use the device for the entire period and hold an occupational driver’s license with an ignition interlock designation under Transportation Code § 521.2465.

Bond, supervision and the occupational license each set their own clock on the device, and the three do not agree. All of them, with what the providers charge a month, are in the guide to Texas ignition interlock law.

What class does a second DWI require in Texas?

The 32-hour one. Article 42A.404(a) requires a defendant punished under § 49.09 to complete an educational program for repeat offenders regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, as a condition of community supervision. That program is the 32-hour DWI Intervention class.

Which program: art. 42A.403 sends a first intoxication offense to the 12-hour education program; art. 42A.404 sends anyone punished under § 49.09 to the 32-hour repeat offender program. Your order names one of the two, and completing the other does not satisfy it.

The deadline works differently from the first-offense one. Article 42A.403(a) writes a date into the statute for the 12-hour program: before the 181st day after supervision is granted. Article 42A.404 states no equivalent deadline, so the date comes from the order. Section 521.344(f) names art. 42A.404 by number and works from that date: once it has passed according to department records, the director shall suspend the license of a person who does not successfully complete the program, or, if the person is a resident without a license, issue an order prohibiting them from obtaining one. Subsection (e) does the equivalent for the 12-hour program, and revokes rather than suspends.

A waiver is possible, on a written motion. Article 42A.404(b) lets a judge waive the requirement where the defendant shows good cause by a written motion, and lists what the judge may consider: school and work schedule, health, the distance to an in-person program, residence outside the state or lack of transportation, and access to reliable internet for an online program. Subsection (b-1) makes the waiver mandatory where the defendant completed education at a residential treatment facility under art. 42A.4045.

Two more conditions attach alongside it. Article 42A.402(a) requires an evaluation for drug or alcohol dependence on every chapter 49 supervision, and art. 42A.406(b) puts the reporting duty on the instructor, who notifies the Department of Public Safety on completion so the record shows it. The full Texas DWI penalties guide sets all of this beside the first and third offense. If you are holding the order, send us a photo of it and we will read the program name off it before you book anything.