Mimi Coffey | Attorney at Law

One of my favorite lines is "I don't trust anyone who has not had a DWI." Truthfully, my clients are among my favorite people. They are social, resourceful and gregarious. Most drinking in a DWI scenario involves socializing with other people. The Barbara Streisand line, "People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world" is so true. It is important for prosecutors, judges, and jurors to understand the life changing consequences of a DWI conviction. Here are 3 consequences that some people may not be familiar with: Our Family (Willy, our German exchange son, is in a Texas shirt) 1. You can't host a foreign exchange student for 5 years from the conviction.   2.  If you have a green card ("Permanent Resident") and receive a DWI conviction,  finalizing the process and becoming a citizen is difficult. I am not an immigration lawyer (if you are in this situation, you should also consult with an immigration attorney),...

The State Bar of Texas regulates all lawyer advertising. For a lawyer to advertise a flyer, billboard, website, or other solicitation, they must pay a fee to the State Bar of Texas and adhere to the advertising and ethics rules that bind Texas lawyers. The State Bar of Texas will review the advertisement and either approve or disprove of its use. The rules are in place to protect the public from false advertising. However, the State Bar is having a hard time keeping up with cunning new ways for marketers to profit from lawyers and trick the public. The above letter I received from the mail is an example of 'for profit' entrepreneurship. For $410, I can have a plaque and use a logo on my website that touts me as one of America's "Most Feared Lawyers." The question is by whom? Who owns this company that goes by "De Medici Ratings"? How many lawyers vote? What lawyers vote? I have received at least 2-3 other such solicitations in the mail from compan...

Making the World a Better Place Judge David Rippel Collin County Court at Law no 4 As a people’s attorney (defense lawyer standing up for the citizen against the government in the defense of one’s constitutional rights) for 20 years, the wisdom I have gained in what makes the world a better place is truly invaluable. Here are a few nuggets and observations. A court focused on their statistics (how many trials they have a year, how old their oldest cases are, the number of dispositions), is not one that is attentive to the needs of the citizen accused or society as a whole. You can’t force justice. Most of the time, it is like baking a cake. For all the parts to come together perfectly- it takes time. Courts that harangue defense lawyers by not allowing them some say in scheduling, do this to everyone’s (including theirs) detriment. This is a court concerned about bragging rights to their fellow colleagues. The fact is- hardly anyone knows the judges they are vot...

Where do I begin? Judges, jurors, district attorneys, cops, MADD? Let's start where it belongs: the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). Back in 1977, the government gave NHTSA a grant to create some roadside tests for DWI arrests. Dr. Marcelline Burns, who holds a Ph.D in psychology was given carte blanche authority on this project. She came up with the field tests we know today. Her research was so bad (flunking on both the validity and reliability scales researchers measure tests against), that she reattempted her same research in 1981 with the same scientifically unacceptable results. This time she refused to release the validity data. Same story- when the feds lowered the legal limit from .10 to .08 she conducted three "studies" (San Diego, Colorado, and Florida) in an attempt to justify her tests to the lower legal limit. It was such a massive failure she refused to release the validity or reliability data. Federal judge Grimm in an exhaustive review...

St. Augustine said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” The same goes for law. This past week I travelled to Missouri to speak at their annual DWI conference. It was held at the Tan Tar A Resort in Osage Beach, Missouri. On top of work, I spent weeks in advance preparing my talk entitled “DWI Defense- Texas Style.” Little did I know, I would be the one be learning. The Missouri lawyers were so hospitable even providing me with two of their kind lawyers personally taking time out of their schedule to provide me with rides to and from the airport (a two hour drive!) Their magnanimity was sweeping. If I wasn’t in my room fine tuning the speech, it was only to sleep and shower. They graciously hosted me to dinners, happy hours, late night parties. They even invited me to swim (they have a slide at their big pool). Travis Noble, one of the state’s most respected DWI lawyers approached me with a big bag of cigars informing me he knew of my taste for repose...

THE law entitles a citizen accused to a public defender if they are indigent. Indigent would be defined as receiving government assistance for subsistence (unemployment, food stamps, and public housing). The courts require proof of this and to receive a public defender without financially qualifying is a theft offense, which is a crime of moral turpitude and serious. Most people think that a public defender is free to them. It is not. Although the taxpayers pay for this legal service (some counties have a public defender’s office- others use a wheel court appointment system), it is not free to the citizen accused. The law allows the court to order the defendant to pay back the services (at a much discounted rate) back as a condition of the plea or sentence. If it is a dismissal, the judge can order these fees paid back (proof) before the dismissal is signed. The court appointment system does not amount to getting a “free lawyer.” People in prison make the distinction of “free...

Mimi Coffey's 2007-2021 Founding Father Reading List My favorite thing to do outside of work is read.  Just give me cold, hard facts, no spin…The more I an can connect on Founding Fathers and the intent of the law, the better off  my clients are, we ALL are as citizens of this great country and a greater respect for justice for all.  My favorite books are on the lives of our Founding Fathers. To understand those who formed this country and its constitution gives me the inspiration and guidance I need to carry on with those principles as I seek justice through the law to help others. Here is a list of books I have completed through the  years. The astericks mark my favorites. They are close in order to how they were read. Before television and radio, the intellects of generations past prized their books and shared their reading lists. To understand the books one reads is to have a window to their soul. Reading List 2007: 1*Joseph E...