Montgomery County DA’s office will be conducting ‘No Refusal’ stops throughout the holiday week

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Montgomery County continues to have some of the most deadly roads in the State of Texas. Year after year, a Montgomery County resident is more likely to be involved in a vehicular related crime than all other crimes combined. Additionally, the offense of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is the number one crime committed in the county. Consequently, District Attorney Brett Ligon continues to devote resources and efforts to prevent deaths on Montgomery County roadway.

The Vehicular Crimes Section is composed of prosecutors and investigators that handle the most serious crimes involving vehicles such as Intoxication Manslaughter and Intoxication Assault. From the moment the crash happens, these individuals will respond to the scene to assist law enforcement with any legal matters they may have during the crash investigation. These prosecutors work closely with law enforcement and will be involved in the decision to file criminal charges and will handle the case to its ultimate disposition.

In addition, the Vehicular Crimes prosecutors and investigators coordinate the District Attorney’s Office nationally recognized No Refusal Program, which has been adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a model for how to effectively and efficiently obtain blood samples from impaired drivers.

From now through the New Year’s holiday – and additionally on weekends, holidays, and other random dates – the No Refusal program ensures that the scientific evidence of guilt or innocence in DWI cases is collected in each DWI arrest.

The process of the No Refusal Program is as follows:

1. the officer makes a DWI arrest, ask for a breath sample, and the person refuses;
2. the officer calls on the duty prosecutor and requests a search warrant for the suspect’s blood;
3. the prosecutor meets with the officer and drafts a search warrant;
4. the prosecutor sends the search warrant to an on-call judge;
5. the judge reviews the warrant to ensure that probable cause exists to take the person’s blood;
6. if the judge finds probable cause, they sign the warrant and send it back to the prosecutor. If no probable cause is found, no blood warrant will be taken;
7. the prosecutor receives the signed warrant and gives it to an investigator who shows it to the suspect; and
8. a nurse then takes a sample of the person’s blood.

As the name of the program implies, there is no refusing to take the blood test if all other tests and options are exhausted and the judge agrees to the warrant. Woodlands Online encourages you to either celebrate at home, select a designated driver, use a rideshare service, or take advantage of an overnight stay at one of the Township’s many excellent hotels.