The Cameron County District Attorney takes DWI cases so seriously he is literally out for blood. He wants law enforcement to get warrants in every DWI case, if someone refuses to voluntarily give a breath sample .
You will live with the result of your case for the rest of your life. You can’t change any choice in the past, but it’s not too late to choose the best possible DWI defense lawyer for your case. It will be one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
Choose a fighter who knows DWI defense thoroughly, not just a great lawyer. Phillip W. Goff has more than 25 years of success in criminal law, and he possesses a deep understanding of the science and law needed to successfully defend clients against DWI charges. His practice is dedicated to DWI defense like few others in the country. His passion is defending your future. He understands this is a huge moment in your life, that what happens in your case can have lifelong consequences. You should hire DWI defense attorney Phillip W. Goff.
Winning and losing frequently depends upon whether your lawyer thoroughly understands every part of the evidence against you. Scientific evidence and specialized training must be scrutinized in every case.
DWI cases routinely involve complicated evidence of science and specialized training. A misdemeanor first time DWI case requires far more expertise than most felony cases. Successfully defending a person against a DWI charge requires thorough understanding of that science and training. Without it, a lawyer can do little more than hope for the best.
Cops will swear every person they arrest is intoxicated based on their “training”, even if an alcohol test shows otherwise.
Their training literally teaches them to arrest as many people as it takes to scare people into “deterrence.” Here’s a sample of some language from their own training manuals: “Law enforcement officers must arrest enough violators enough of the time to convince the general public that they will get caught, sooner or later, if they continue to drive while impaired” and “No specific deterrence program can amount to much, unless police officers arrest large numbers of violators,” and “we can create the fear of being caught.”
That same training goes on to teach dubious techniques to enable them to arrest virtually anyone they encounter. The ridiculous methods this training teaches are called “sobriety tests,” but they don’t test sobriety at all. They make people do completely abnormal tasks, despite Texas law describing intoxication as “not having the NORMAL use of mental or physical faculties”. The result is the “sobriety tests” make everyone appear drunk.
Their training creates a vicious cycle which will cause innocent people to be arrested for DWI: 1) cops are convinced by trainers they should arrest as many people for DWI as they can, then 2) they are provided tools to arrest everyone they encounter.
If your lawyer doesn’t how to fight that training, you are dead in the water. Attorney Phillip Goff knows their training so well he’s even graduated from the same National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) course your arresting officer took.
Expert scientific testimony is normal in DWI cases. Your lawyer must be intimately familiar with the experts' knowledge, training, and testimony. Merely asking an expert witness the wrong question can lose your case. Asking no questions of an expert can give your jury the impression the expert is infallible and right about you being guilty. If you choose a lawyer who doesn’t fully understand the science in DWI cases, you essentially give up on your chances of winning.
Even “good" or “great” criminal lawyers could make your DWI situation worse. Knowing the law well is not enough to fight the state’s advantages. Your lawyer must understand the science and training used by the government’s witnesses against you.
Fighting hard isn’t enough. A powerful desire to help isn’t enough. The best of intentions don’t magically make a lawyer understand the science of breath testing and blood testing. Aggression and passionate fighting don’t enable a lawyer to effectively cross-examine a witness about a topic the lawyer doesn’t understand.
Many criminal lawyers who take on clients with DWI charges treat DWI defense like it's just another criminal case. It's not. Few lawyers fully commit to doing it right. Phillip W. Goff knows the law and commits his time, energy, and money to DWI defense.
Phillip W. Goff possesses a working knowledge of science and specialized training specific to DWI defense. It took time to hone his skills and knowledge.
Phillip W. Goff has been a proud member of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) since 2001. He is one of the first DWI defense attorneys in the United States to complete NCDD's “Serious Science, Blood Analysis and Trial Advocacy” curriculum, which trains trial lawyers to understand how laboratories and blood testing work. He is the only Cameron County attorney who has completed this curriculum, and only 20 dedicated DWI attorneys in Texas have done so.
In 2023, he earned the Forensic “Lawyer-Scientist” designation from the American Chemistry Society – Chemistry and Law Division . Only 100 attorneys nationwide have earned this designation. Only two other attorneys south of San Antonio have earned this designation.
Both of those elite trainings require extensive travel for hands on experience in labs, can take years to complete, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Only two other attorneys in Texas have graduated from both the “Serious Science” and Forensic “Lawyer-Scientist” curricula. Mr. Goff is the only attorney outside of Houston who has completed both.
All of Phillip W. Goff's efforts are focused on one goal: to provide you the best possible defense against your DWI charge. He constantly stays on the forefront of DWI defense law, eagerly learning the latest information to help his clients.
Every day, Phillip W. Goff tracks developments in DWI defense throughout the country. His library includes police policy manuals, training manuals, learned treatises, science books, college textbooks related to expert witnesses’ education, and other books and resources to help win your DWI case. Special publications like these are used for questioning cops and expert witnesses who routinely testify against his clients. He frequently attends the very best legal training specific to DWI defense lawyers.
Fellow lawyers regularly consult with him on their DWI cases because they know he knows, and they can trust it.
Phillip W. Goff can readily identify errors cops make with so-called "field sobriety" tests. His training and familiarity with these manuals enable him to frequently demonstrate the falsity of cops' testimony claiming they conducted testing by the book. He has a copy of every training manual on the topic ever published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). He has even graduated from the very same course your arresting officer took, so he won't be fooled by their testimony and can expose it for what it is.
His understanding of breath testing is based upon decades of study and familiarity. He knows the cops' regulations, the special rules and laws associated with breath testing int Texas, and how the CMI Intoxilyzer 9000 works in principle and in practice. (People almost always call the breath test device “Breathalyzer,” but that’s an actual brand name of products not used by cops in Texas.)
Blood testing is more important now than ever. Phillip W. Goff knows how your blood sample was supposed to be collected from your arm, what should happen once it is in the grey top tube, how it is supposed to be stored, and when and how it should be transported to the lab. He knows how your blood sample was supposed to be treated when it arrived at the lab. He has prepared samples in labs just like the lab's expert witness at your trial. He's performed maintenance on the same type of machine the lab used to analyze your blood. He even knows how the machine measuring your blood alcohol level works.
DWI arrests bring special circumstances other charges don't. Some have life-long effects. It is much more than simply showing up in court for the date on your bond paperwork and hoping for the best. You need a lawyer who knows your DWI case can reach far beyond what happens in court.
Everyone knows DWI involves driver license issues. Most people don’t know some suspensions may be avoided entirely or lessened, while some are mandatory. Lengths of suspensions depend on many factors. Your lawyer absolutely must know what makes some suspensions different than others. One kind of suspension can come from Administrative License Revocations hearings.
Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearings have complicated rules, and you must properly request the hearing to even have a chance to win. Even losing an ALR hearing can provide insights to help with your criminal case defense. Few lawyers handle ALR hearings well; some lawyers don't understand ALR hearings at all. Phillip W. Goff has an excellent grasp of ALR hearings and using the hearings to help defend against the criminal case.
DWI bond conditions like alcohol interlock devices are intense. Occupational Driver License eligibility can mean the difference between keeping and losing a job. Conviction means surcharge payments of $3,000.00 to $6,000.00 and license revocation for nonpayment. You may qualify for a break on such fees, but that won't do you any good if your lawyer doesn’t already know about it.
Professionals facing DWI charges have special considerations. Truck drivers with CDLs (CDL = commercial driver license) have obvious issues, and your lawyer needs to know them. Doctors, teachers, pilots, and many other professionals could lose their careers.
The choice you make today could be the difference between a great outcome or an awful one. Now is not the time to hire a lawyer who treats DWI like just another criminal case. You need attorney Phillip W. Goff.
Pick a real DWI defense lawyer who has faced off with cops and so-called scientists in DWI defense trenches for a long time.
Attorney Phillip W. Goff has successfully defended people like you against DWI charges for decades. He knows it backwards and forwards. Dismissal with cleaning up your criminal record is always the first goal whenever possible. You may have no choice but to fight the case all the way. He has done that successfully. You may prefer to avoid trial and negotiate the best outcome under the circumstances. He’s done that successfully, too. His reviews show his clients appreciate his work.
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