You face a challenge with any arrest. The result stays with you for life, so getting serious help for the most favorable the outcome must be your priority. DWI charges come with major consequences. The DWI lawyer you pick will be one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
Choose a fighter. Choose a lawyer who knows DWI defense thoroughly. Knowing the law is just a start. Phillip W. Goff has 30 years of success in criminal law. Only a handful of defense lawyers can truthfully say that. He also has amassed a deep understanding of the science and law needed to successfully defend clients against DWI charges.
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.
His practice is dedicated to DWI defense like few lawyers in the country. His passion is defending your future. You face a huge moment in your life, one that can have lifelong consequences. You should hire DWI defense attorney Phillip W. Goff.
The lawyer you choose must thoroughly understand every part of the evidence against you. Otherwise, it’s just guesswork, even for lawyers who know the law well. Knowledge of scientific evidence is essential, as is understanding specialized training for DWI cases. You need a lawyer capable of scrutinizing every weakness in every case. Lawyers who don’t understand the science and training law enforcement uses in DWI cases are helpless against such evidence.
DWI cases almost always involve complicated evidence of science and specialized training. A misdemeanor first time DWI case requires far knowledge and 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 and focus on whatever is left of a defense. That is not a situation you want for one of the most important events in your life.
Cops swear every person they arrest is intoxicated based on their “training”, even if an alcohol test shows otherwise. One police training shows up in almost every DWI case: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ’s Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, otherwise known as SFSTs.
Cops trained in SFSTs, which includes almost every Texas peace officer on patrol, seem oblivious to the fact their training literally teaches them to arrest as many people as it takes to scare people into “deterrence.” Don’t believe me? 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.” If there is a close call, how do you think the cop will decide with that training?
That same training teaches dubious techniques which make virtually everyone they encounter “intoxicated,” whether they are or not. You probably couldn’t perform the tests without failing, regardless of current sobriety. Police training teaches what are called “sobriety tests,” but they don’t test sobriety at all, nor do they test intoxication. Texas law describes intoxication as “not having the NORMAL use of mental or physical faculties.” They make people do completely abnormal tasks, despite “Sobriety tests” make everyone appear drunk.
Even worse, the scoring on the tests is absurd and outrageous. How fair can a test be when you can execute it perfectly and still fail? You can do the 9-step heel-to-toe walk on a line, turn around and walk back 9 steps exactly as instructed, yet STILL FAIL. All you have to do to fail with a perfect performance is 1) to move one or both of your feet while the cop gives test instructions; and 2) to start before the cop says begin. No joke. The cop will swear you are intoxicated because the training tells the cop you ARE intoxicated, despite the obvious lie it is.
Their training creates a vicious cycle which causes 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 which subject everyone they encounter to arrest.
If a lawyer doesn’t know all about that training, you should expect that lawyer to be ineffective fighting those “tests.” Frankly, that leaves you and your future 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. In fact, he’s even been trained as a trainer (December 2024), so he is authorized to teach the classes the cops take. You’ll find no other attorney in South Texas who has such expertise.
Expert scientific testimony is the norm in DWI cases. Your lawyer absolutely must be intimately familiar with the experts' knowledge, training, and testimony. Asking an expert witness the wrong question when you don’t even know it’s 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.
Your DWI lawyer should know exactly what .08 or greater breath or blood test means, as well as how the number relates to time of driving. For example, a .10 result from a blood draw or breath test two hours after arrest does not necessarily mean the same number on the report. The alcohol level you had at the time of driving could have been the same, higher, or lower than .10, and the analysis depends upon many factors. Understanding how alcohol is absorbed and eliminated from the blood stream is absolutely essential to defending you.
Even “good" or “great” criminal lawyers could make your DWI situation worse by asking a state’s expert a poor question. Many lawyers end up helping the state by repeating what the expert says without being able to point out flaws or inherent problems. The state’s experts take classes in how to testify, and they will say everything they can to convict you. Success requires a plan based on knowledge of the science and how it can help in your particular circumstances. To be effective, 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, you can access all of it to help you in this difficult time.
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.
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 in 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. Almost all the counties in the Coastal Bend use warrants in DWI cases now. 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. In fact, he has personally visited the lab likely to have tested your sample. He even knows how the very machine measuring your blood alcohol level works.
DWI arrests bring special circumstance s 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, nurses, 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. Now is not the time to go “cheap” or with someone you know who had “a guy” with some fuzzy knowledge about DWI. Go with a tried and true DWI defense lawyer.
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.
Nueces County is the crown jewel of the Coastal Bend region. Neighboring counties include San Patricio County , Aransas County, Brooks County , Refugio County, Kleberg County , Kenedy County, Bee County , and Jim Wells County. Outer regions include Live Oak County , and Calhoun County. Some of the hot spots for DWI arrests in the Coastal Bend include Port Aransas, Corpus Christi, Portland, Rockport, Falfurrias, Sarita, Robstown, Kingsville, Alice, Port Lavaca, Beeville, Goliad, and Refugio. Wherever your arrest happened, Phillip Goff is the right call to make. Don’t delay. Call now.
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