Quick answer: Austin-area officers build a DWI case in three layers: driving behavior before the stop, personal observations at the window (odor, eyes, speech), and field sobriety tests on video. Every layer is also a defense checkpoint — what the officer claims must match what the video shows.
By the time you see flashing lights in Austin, the case has already started. Officers are trained on NHTSA’s driving cues — weaving, wide turns, delayed responses to signals, speed variance — and the stated reason for the stop is the first thing a defense lawyer attacks, because a stop without a valid traffic violation or reasonable suspicion poisons everything that follows.
At the window, the officer is cataloguing: odor of alcohol, bloodshot or watery eyes, slurred speech, fumbling with documents, admissions (“just two beers”). These observations appear in every offense report in nearly identical language — which is exactly why in-car and body-worn video matters. APD records extensively, and the video regularly tells a more sober story than the report.
Then come the standardized field sobriety tests: horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk-and-turn, one-leg stand. Each has strict NHTSA administration protocols — instruction phrasing, timing, surface conditions, footwear, medical screening — and deviations invalidate the scoring. Central Texas realities like uneven shoulders, gravel, traffic wind, and pre-existing injuries are recurring grounds for challenging test results.
Finally, the election: breath or blood. In Travis County, refusals frequently end in a blood search warrant anyway, especially during no-refusal periods. Everything the officer did along the way — the stop, the observations, the tests, the warrant affidavit — is documented, recorded, and reviewable. That paper trail is where DWI cases are won.
Related questions
Do I have to answer questions at a DWI stop?
No. You must identify yourself and provide license, registration, and insurance. You may politely decline to answer questions about drinking and decline field sobriety tests — both carry consequences, but both are your right.
Are field sobriety tests reliable?
Even under perfect NHTSA conditions their accuracy is limited, and roadside conditions are rarely perfect. Administration errors are among the most common defects in Travis County DWI cases.
More: Travis County DWI defense · How Travis County courts handle DWI
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General legal information for Texas — not legal advice about your specific case. Last reviewed September 2026.