‘Texas Two-Step’ Lets Repeat DWI Offenders in Dallas County Slip By

In what amounts to winning the “DWI lottery,” some Dallas motorists are being convicted of driving while intoxicated – over and over again – without the same level of punishment that would normally await repeat offenders. Through a certain type of plea-agreement called “deferred adjudication,” some drunk drivers are sentenced to a probation period; after which the conviction is virtually expunged from their records. What makes this situation even more strange is that deferred-adjudication was banned for DWI convictions in 1983. However, for one reason or another, Dallas County judges have continued to order it upon defendants. It’s often referred to as the “Texas Two-Step” because after the defendant pleads (which is the first ‘step’), they’re “watched like a hawk” (the second step). Prosecutors seem to like it because of the threat of an increased penalty if the defendant violates their probation, and Judges like it because it provides them with additional options.