What to Expect When You're Arrested (in San Antonio)
I'm a criminal defense attorney in San Antonio. When I was in my early 20s, I was arrested for DWI. I had no idea what to expect or what was going on with my case because my attorney didn't let me know what to expect. Now that I'm an attorney, I want to make sure that you don't have to go through the same experience that I did. This podcast will let you know what you can expect to happen at the different stages of your case. Even though it focuses on how cases in San Antonio are handled, it will be helpful even if you're charged somewhere else. If you've been arrested for DWI, assault, possession, or anything else, you probably have many questions about what will happen in your case. You'll probably have more questions while your case works through the system. This podcast will answer many of your questions.
What to Expect When You're Arrested (in San Antonio)
Short Jail vs Long Probation, City Council Member DWI, Why Is Your Case Taking So Long
If you're being charged with a crime in San Antonio, use the link below to schedule a free consultation where we'd be happy to discuss your case with you: https://seanhenricksen.com/schedule-consultation/
The criminal justice system often presents defendants with difficult choices that can profoundly impact their futures. In this episode, we dive into one of the most challenging dilemmas: whether to accept a short jail sentence or lengthy probation. After a viral TikTok video showed someone celebrating nine years of probation instead of 30 days in jail, we explore why this might not be the victory it appears to be. The extended probation period creates nearly a decade of vulnerability where any misstep could result in severe consequences—potentially much worse than the original jail sentence.
We also address a frustration many defendants experience: why criminal cases seem to move at a glacial pace. From waiting on crucial evidence like body camera footage and lab results to understanding how prosecutors prioritize cases, we break down the factors that contribute to delays and what you can realistically expect during the process. For those seeking dismissals or heading to trial, we provide perspective on timeline expectations and management.
The recent arrest of a city councilwoman for DWI—the third such incident involving council members in three years—provides a timely case study on what to do (and not do) when encountering law enforcement. We discuss practical strategies for protecting your rights during traffic stops, including when to remain silent and decline field sobriety tests. Plus, we share preventative measures like using personal breathalyzers that could help you avoid DWI situations altogether. Whether you're currently facing charges or simply want to be prepared, this episode delivers essential guidance from an experienced criminal defense perspective.
Download our free guide "Five Things You Should Be Doing Right Now If You've Been Arrested" from the show notes and reach out if you need personalized assistance with your case.
Advertisement
Sean Henricksen Law Firm
sean@seanhenricksen.com
210-405-6410
106 S. St. Mary's St., Ste 445
San Antonio, Texas 78205
www.seanhenricksen.com
Hi and welcome back to another episode of what to expect when you're arrested. This is your host, sean Hendrickson, here from the Sean Hendrickson Law Firm, where we help good people like you avoid the devastating consequences of criminal charges. Today, we're going to be talking about a few things. First off, which is better? Is it better to have 30 days in jail or end up on probation for nine years? The next thing we're going to talk about is why your case may take longer than you would expect it to take. And, lastly, we did have a city councilwoman who was arrested last week for DWI, so we're going to talk about that a little bit as well. First off, before we do get started, I do have a free download for you if you're interested. It's five things you should be doing right now if you've been arrested. You can click down in the notes below and there's a link there and we can send that right out to you.
Speaker 0:There was an interesting thing that I noticed last week. So I've got a TikTok account and I kept getting notifications from a video that I had posted a few years back. And I went and I looked at that and a bunch of the comments talked about people coming there from a different video and I looked into it a little bit more and there was a video that had gone kind of viral on TikTok where this guy was thanking his attorney for getting him nine years of probation instead of him ending up on in jail for 30 days, and a lot of people in the comments thought that that was, you know, just a crazy thing, that you know you should just do your 30 days in jail instead of being on probation for nine years and honestly, you know, I kind of feel the same way. Also, if those are your only two options, the problem with being on probation for that long is that there's so many things that could go wrong. You've basically got to be perfect during that entire time, do everything that they ask you to do, check in regularly and not get in trouble for that entire nine years. If you do have any problems during that time you're on probation, the state is going to file a motion to revoke your probation and if the judge finds you did violate any of the conditions of your bond, then the judge can. You did violate any of the conditions of your bond, then the judge can sentence you to jail, and probably for a lot longer than 30 days, and so there's a big risk for of being on probation for that long, and I, for me, if those were my only two choices, I would probably do the 30 days in jail instead of being on probation for that long, and, you know, just risking it. I'd rather just get it done with and not have this hanging over my head for almost a decade. In reality, though, I think that there's a third option that we should be looking at. If they're willing to do just 30 days in jail, then why are we talking about nine years of probation? I think that I'd work on getting that nine years down to a much lower number, and you know, and you know getting a reasonable offer. Those numbers are just so far apart that that they don't really make sense, and so, without really knowing anything about the case that's probably you know I think a better option is at least, you know, get a better offer before making that decision.
Speaker 0:Another thing that I wanted to talk about and I get this question from a lot of people, some people who I am representing and some people who are coming in for consultations is they don't know why their case is taking so long, and ultimately, there can be a lot of reasons why a criminal case can take a lot longer than you would expect it to. For me personally, I want your case over with, just like you want your case over with, while getting a good result. We don't want to end your case just to end it and end up with you taking a bad deal, but we do want to get a good result for you as quickly as possible. But ultimately, you know, especially during those first court settings, in a lot of situations we still are waiting on some of the discovery. We may not have the body cam. If this is a case where there's lab results, like a DWI or a drug case, we may still be waiting on those lab results to come back in, and so that's what's happening a lot of times on those early settings, and the prosecutors haven't really had a chance to review your case at all either. They're usually more focused on that case that is set for trial next week that they are working on preparing for. So the offer that we may get at that first setting is just going to be based off of the police report, which is always written in a way to support the officer's decision to arrest you in the first place.
Speaker 0:Now, later on, it could take longer, because most people want their case dismissed, and that's what I want for my clients also is I want to get their case dismissed, if there's some way to do that. Ultimately, though, the decision on whether to dismiss a case and when to dismiss a case is up to the prosecutor, and again, we're kind of back at looking at what they're worried about, and they may not be focused that much on your case until it's time for them to review it and actually make that decision about is this case a case that they're going to take to trial, or is it a case that they are going to dismiss? Case that they're going to take to trial or is it a case that they are going to dismiss? And so a lot of dismissals that we do get come, you know, later on, kind of on the eve of trial, and so if that's what you're going for, then your case may last longer than normal. And then the third possibility is, if your case is one that's going to go to trial, then, basically, you're just kind of in line for your case to end up at trial. There are a lot of cases ahead of you, and, ultimately, the judge is looking at those older cases, or if somebody's in jail, then that case may get priority, but your case may get set at trial several times before it actually does go to trial. I know that it's frustrating having to, you know, sit there while your case, just you, just it feels like nothing is happening on your case. But ultimately your choice is either take a deal or wait for your case either to get dismissed or to go to trial. And if you don't have a good deal, or if this is a case where you do want a dismissal, unfortunately you may just have to wait for a little bit on that.
Speaker 0:The last thing that I wanted to talk about was there was another city council person who was arrested last week on a DWI and it doesn't look like a body cam is out or anything like that, and it looked like she refused the breathalyzer. So there's no blood results. So we don't really know, you know, I guess, if she even was intoxicated or not, and if she was, we don't know what that that blood number is going to come back at. But ultimately you know what is going to happen on a case like that. So when she got out of jail, the press was there and she already is apologizing to it, which generally. I would just recommend not making any statements about your case, because you know that could be used as an admission of guilt if this case were one that goes that ends up going to trial.
Speaker 0:So a couple of things that I want to mention about this case and about the fact that we've got another city council person that's been arrested. One is that this is the third city council person who's been arrested in three years for DWI, which is much higher than the city average. So why are city councilmen getting arrested so often? And the only thing that I could think of is that, as a city council person, they have to go to a lot of events while they're campaigning and everything, and at a lot of these events alcohol is served, so they're just have more of an opportunity than most people do to consume alcohol and then drive. It's definitely not an excuse or anything, and we'll get to that in a second. But the other thing that I noticed that's interesting about this is that all three of those city council people have hired the same defense firm to represent them, which just is an interesting fact. Doesn't mean anything one way or the other, from what I understand, they are very good attorneys and everything so, but it's interesting that they're all hiring the same law firm to represent them.
Speaker 0:The second thing that I want to talk about is what could she have done differently in this situation? So, apparently, she was at an event, she said she was coming from a club or something and she had some drinks there. So what she should have done differently? So, first off, it's completely legal to drive after you've had some drinks, so long as you're not intoxicated. So one thing that I always recommend people do is that they check themselves before driving. If they are going to drive after having something to drink, obviously the best thing to do would be to call an Uber or have somebody else drive home, but that's not a requirement under the law.
Speaker 0:The problem, though, is that people don't know when they're above 0.08. It's not something that people regularly test themselves on, and so most people really aren't going to know if they're legally intoxicated or not. That's why I, you know, just a little handheld breathalyzer from Amazon to test themselves before they drive, and that way they've got something more to go off of than just you know. I feel pretty good, you know, or something like that they can actually you know test their blood alcohol. It's not, you know, super accurate. It's not going to be allowed into court or anything else, but it's a way that you can test yourself to make sure that you're below the legal limit before you start driving.
Speaker 0:Looking over the news reports of what did happen when she was pulled over, apparently she did admit to coming from a club. She denied having had any alcohol to drink, which apparently she did have the odor of intoxication, an odor of alcohol coming from her, and she did do the field sobriety tests. What I always recommend to people anybody who's pulled over, whether they've been drinking or not is, if an officer starts asking you questions about drinking or anything like that, if they're investigating you for anything more than that initial traffic stop, then at that point you need to exercise your right to remain silent. Tell the officer that you want to speak with an attorney and do not do any field sobriety tests, because what it all comes down to is the police are trying to get more information on you Once they start smelling alcohol or hear that you're coming from a bar. They're just trying to get more information, because either of those two facts is not enough information to arrest somebody. They need more information to get probable cause to arrest somebody, and so they're going to ask you how much you've had to drink? When was the last thing that you had to drink? They're going to ask you where you're going to if you know where you are, if you know what time.
Speaker 0:It is a lot of other questions to get more information, and if they get enough information, including those field sobriety tests, to believe that they have probable cause to arrest you, then they're going to arrest you.
Speaker 0:If they don't get to a point where they have probable cause, then you get to go home. You've got no obligation at all to prove that you're okay to drive, and that's why I always recommend not talking to officers in that situation, because you don't want to get it to a point where they do have probable cause to arrest you if they don't have that already. I hope all this information has been helpful for you. If you have any questions about any of this, you can always feel free to email me my email address is in the notes or you can always give me a call at 210-405-6401 or schedule a free consultation. If you're being charged with a crime here in San Antonio, we'd be happy to discuss your case with you and let you know how we can help you out. If you have any questions, let me know, and I hope you have a great day.