If breath test evidence is the crown jewel of evidence for intoxication offenses, then blood test evidence is the Holy Grail of evidence.

All over Texas, and especially in Houston, blood testing has become more and more popular. Many cities, Houston included, now have what they call no-refusal weekends. In Houston, every weekend is a no-refusal weekend. This means that if you are arrested on a weekend, the officer arresting you will seek and obtain an evidentiary search warrant to have your blood drawn in the event that you refuse to give a specimen of your breath or blood.

In such instances, you will be taken a hospital and once the search warrant is signed and faxed over to the hospital, a nurse, or any qualified medical personnel as defined by the Texas Transportation Code, will draw your blood in accordance with the signed search warrant. This can often times take hours after the time of your arrest.

The Texas legislature also enacted what they call “mandatory blood draws”, whereby they could bypass the warrant requirement and have your blood drawn anyway for certain DWI cases.

In you were arrested for any of the following DWIs, you currently fall under the mandatory blood draw category.

• DWI resulting in an accident (someone taken to hospital)
• DWI with Child Passenger
• Felony DWI (DWI 3rd or more)
• Intoxication Assault
• Intoxication Manslaughter