Intoxication Assault & Manslaughter in Texas

When DWI in Texas causes serious bodily injury or death, a person may be charged with Intoxication Assault (Texas Penal Code §49.07) or Intoxication Manslaughter (Texas Penal Code § 49.08). These types of cases are prosecuted as DWI, but with the added element that serious bodily injury or death resulted because of the intoxication. From a defense perspective, the fact that a person may have been driving while intoxicated does not necessarily mean that they caused the harm to the other individual. This causation element plays a major role in determining whether a person was guilty of DWI only, or Intoxication Assault or Manslaughter as well. Due to these complexities of these cases, both the prosecutor and defense attorney must be fully prepared and well versed in the law before involving themselves in litigation.

Learning Objectives:

1. Examine the DWI statute in Texas
2. Discuss Texas Penal Code 49.07 and explore current case law surrounding legal definitions of serious bodily injury and causation with respect to Intoxication Assault
3. Explore the issues surrounding causation with respect to Intoxication Manslaughter
4. Analyze case law regarding concurrent causation