Bexar County DWI: The Difference Between a Class B and Class A Charge
Most people who get arrested for DWI in Bexar County are surprised to learn that not all DWIs are the same charge. The State of Texas grades the offense, and the grade controls the courtroom you sit in, the punishment range the law allows, and the licensing consequences that come with it. Here is the practical distinction between a Class B DWI and a Class A DWI in Bexar County, written for the person who has just been arrested or whose family member has just been arrested.
The default: Class B
A first-time DWI in Texas is, by default, a Class B misdemeanor under Penal Code Section 49.04.[1] That means the case lands in one of the Bexar County Courts at Law, not the District Courts. The statutory punishment range is up to 180 days in the county jail, a fine of up to $2,000[2], and a possible driver’s license suspension separate from the criminal case.
A Class B in Bexar County looks like this on the calendar. There is a Central Magistrate appearance within twenty-four hours of arrest, an administrative first setting in the assigned County Court at Law a few weeks later, a discovery and motion phase, and either a plea or a trial. Many Class B DWIs resolve before trial, with terms that vary based on the facts and the defense work done in between.
What pushes a DWI up to Class A
Two things turn a first-offense DWI into a Class A misdemeanor under Section 49.04(d).[3] The driver had an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, or the breath or blood alcohol concentration came back at 0.15 or higher.
The 0.15-or-higher threshold is the one most people run into. The legal limit to be presumed intoxicated is 0.08. The Class A threshold is nearly twice that. The result is a meaningful jump in exposure. Class A in Texas is up to one year in the county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.[4] The case still sits in the County Courts at Law in Bexar County, not the District Courts, but the punishment range is materially different.
The 0.15 number is read off the breath or blood test the State runs. It is not unchallengeable. The defense work on a Class A DWI often turns on the science, the chain of custody, the calibration logs on the breath machine, and the timing of the test relative to the stop.
When a DWI becomes a felony
Beyond Class A misdemeanor, a DWI becomes a felony in a few specific circumstances under Texas law. A DWI third offense is a third-degree felony.[5] A DWI with a child passenger under fifteen is a state-jail felony.[6] An intoxication assault is a third-degree felony.[7] An intoxication manslaughter is a second-degree felony.[8] All of those would move the case from the County Courts at Law to the Bexar County District Courts, where the stakes and the procedures look different.
The general DWI page on this site has the longer walk-through. The court-by-court detail of Bexar County criminal cases is on the Bexar County criminal defense page.
Why the grade matters at the first phone call
The grade on the charging instrument is not always obvious from the booking paperwork. The arresting officer may have written “DWI” without specifying. The bond paperwork sometimes does and sometimes does not include the BAC reading. The lab results from a blood draw can take weeks to come back, which means the case can start as a Class B and get amended to a Class A later, or vice versa.
That is why the first conversation with a Bexar County DWI lawyer matters even before the lab result is in. The defense plan for a Class B first-offense DWI with no aggravators looks different from the defense plan for a 0.20 reading with an open container in the passenger seat. The first phone call sets up the documentation, the witness conversations, and the timing of any defense-side testing or expert review.
The driver’s license track is separate
One thing that catches people off guard. The criminal DWI case and the driver’s license suspension are two different proceedings. The license proceeding, called an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing, runs through the Texas Department of Public Safety, not the criminal court. You have a short window after the arrest to request the ALR hearing. Miss the window and the license suspension is automatic.
The ALR is a hearing about the stop and the chemical-test refusal or failure. It is not a hearing about whether the person was actually intoxicated. But it is a useful place to put facts on the record and to test the officer’s account before the criminal trial.
What this office handles
Forrest Good represents people charged with DWI in Bexar County, both Class B and Class A misdemeanors and the felony grades when they come up. He appears in the Bexar County Courts at Law and the Bexar County District Courts as the case requires. For the driver’s license side, he handles ALR hearings as part of the same engagement.
If you or someone in your family was arrested for DWI in Bexar County in the last few days, the next step is a conversation. Phone (210) 236-1441 (or text). The office is at 923 South Alamo Street in King William. The DWI overview page covers more of the procedural detail. The Bexar County criminal defense page covers how cases move through the local system more broadly.
References
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.04(b) (West 2024) (offense of driving while intoxicated is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum term of 72 hours of confinement). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 12.22 (West 2024) (Class B misdemeanor punishment range). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.04(c)–(d) (West 2024) (open container in driver’s possession or BAC of 0.15 or more elevates DWI to Class A misdemeanor). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 12.21 (West 2024) (Class A misdemeanor punishment range). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.09(b)(2) (West 2024) (enhancement of DWI to third-degree felony on third or subsequent offense). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.045 (West 2024) (DWI with child passenger). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.07 (West 2024) (intoxication assault). [link]
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.08 (West 2024) (intoxication manslaughter). [link]
