duistatelaws.com Key takeaways
- The El Paso charge is DWI, whatever the search said; DUI in Texas is an under-21 offense.
- The county’s criminal-only county courts — seven of them — list DWI first among their case types.
- The county lists its criminal Jail Magistrate at 600 E Overland, apart from the county courts.
- The DWI Intervention & Treatment Program takes adults with misdemeanor, felony and federal DWI offenses, for at least 18 months.
- The county says assessment results from the program cannot be used to prosecute someone who is discharged from it.
- 15 days to request the license hearing from DPS.
from the date you were served with the notice to demand a hearing from Texas Department of Public Safety. The request goes to DPS, not to the court, and no judge in El Paso County will make it for you. Tex. Transp. Code §§ 524.031, 724.041.
People in El Paso search for a DUI lawyer; the charge on the paperwork will say DWI, the Texas offense for an adult driver under Penal Code section 49.04. (Texas keeps the letters DUI for a lesser offense that only reaches drivers under 21.) The Texas penalty ranges are laid out on the Texas DWI laws page.
What the county adds is structure: a group of county courts that hears only criminal cases and names DWI first, a separate jail magistrate, and a DWI program that reaches beyond state convictions. This page sets those out from the county’s own pages.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by a state agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing: 7 to 30 days in the eight states on this site that use an agency hearing |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — whether the suspension waits for the ruling is set by each state's statute |
| 4 | One or more pretrial settings | Suspension takes effect automatically with no hearing |
| 5 | Trial, plea or dismissal | — |
| Clock | Weeks to months. No filing deadline runs against the driver. | Counted in days from the notice, and fixed by statute. |
Where an El Paso DWI is heard
El Paso County sorts its county courts at law by the kind of case they hear. The group it lists as criminal cases only — County Courts at Law 1, 2 and 4 and County Criminal Courts at Law 1 to 4 — names its criminal case types as DWI, family violence, bond forfeitures, burglaries and prostitution. A misdemeanor DWI — Class B for a first case, Class A for a second or for a first at 0.15 or above — is a county court at law case, and this is the group the county lists it under. Once a DWI becomes a felony it moves to a district court, and the county names the 327th and the 409th as the district courts that hear only criminal cases. The felony versions are set out, with their grades, in Penal Code sections 49.09, 49.045, 49.07 and 49.08.
County Criminal Court at Law 1
- Hears
- One of the seven county courts El Paso County lists as criminal cases only
- Building
- Suite 706, 7th floor
- Address
- 500 E San Antonio, Suite 706, El Paso, TX 79901
- Detail
- The group is County Courts at Law 1, 2 and 4 and County Criminal Courts at Law 1–4; the county lists DWI first among its case types
- Phone
- 915-273-3723
- Why it matters
- The court number on your paperwork decides which of the seven.
Jail Magistrate
- Hears
- Criminal jail magistrates
- Building
- Jail Magistrate
- Address
- 600 E Overland, El Paso, TX 79901
- Detail
- The county lists a presiding criminal jail magistrate and four more
- Why it matters
- A different address from the courthouse.
DWI Intervention & Treatment Program
- Hears
- A specialized court program for adults convicted of DWI
- Building
- DWI Intervention & Treatment Program office, Suite 704
- Address
- 500 E San Antonio, Suite 704, El Paso, TX 79901
- Detail
- Misdemeanor, felony and federal DWI offenses; minimum 18 months
- Phone
- 915-273-3717
The county lists its Jail Magistrate at 600 E Overland, with a presiding criminal jail magistrate and four more. County Criminal Court at Law 1, by contrast, is at 500 E San Antonio, Suite 706, on the 7th floor.
The county also lists a county court at law, No. 7, that takes both civil and criminal cases, and separate groups for civil-only and family-only cases. The court number on your paperwork decides which one you are in.
Not sure which court your case is in?
Enter the ZIP code where the arrest happened and the full form opens with it filled in.
The jail magistrate and the first fifteen days
El Paso County lists its criminal jail magistrates on East Overland, at a different address from County Criminal Court at Law 1 on East San Antonio. In Texas bond conditions after a DWI arrest are set by a magistrate, and one of them is written into statute: under Code of Criminal Procedure article 17.441 a repeat DWI — or a first charge of DWI with a child passenger, intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter — brings an ignition interlock order at magistration unless the magistrate finds it would not serve the interest of justice. The interlock page compares that rule with the other five states.
Separately from all of that, the Department of Public Safety starts its own case the moment a test is failed or refused. The notice of suspension handed over at the arrest is the start of a 15-day window to ask DPS, in writing, for an Administrative License Revocation hearing. The Jail Magistrate does not file that request. Let the window pass and the suspension takes effect on day forty with no hearing.
| What happened | First time | With a prior | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the test | 90 days | 1 year | Tex. Transp. Code § 524.022(a) |
| Refused the test | 180 days | 2 years | Tex. Transp. Code § 724.035(a)–(b) |
The DWI Intervention & Treatment Program
El Paso County describes its DWI program as the first dedicated specialized court in the region to handle adults convicted of DWI offenses, with a mission of reducing recidivism through a judicially supervised regime of treatment and case management. It lists who is eligible:
- adults, 17 or older;
- with DWI offenses — misdemeanor, felony and federal;
- residing in El Paso County.
It lists who is disqualified: anyone with a final conviction for an offense involving death, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, an offense of a sexual nature, or assault on a public servant. The program lasts at least 18 months.
Entry runs through a screening. An Assistant District Attorney, the program coordinator and a counselor check that a referral meets the criteria; the counselor completes a clinical assessment and they recommend placement to the program team. An accepted participant signs a program contract and completes the program as a condition of community supervision. The county adds one protection: if a participant is discharged unsuccessfully, the assessment results and other disclosures may not be used for prosecution.
The statewide penalties are on the Texas DWI laws page.
A DWI through the El Paso County system
Every row below is El Paso County. What changes is the stage of the case.
| Situation | County | Where the case goes |
|---|---|---|
| A misdemeanor DWI in El Paso County | El Paso | A county court at law; the criminal-only group lists DWI first |
| A felony DWI in El Paso County | El Paso | A criminal district court, such as the 327th or 409th |
| The criminal jail magistrates | El Paso | 600 E Overland |
| Convicted of DWI and referred to treatment | El Paso | DWI Intervention & Treatment Program, Suite 704 |
The county describes its DWI program as open to adults residing in El Paso County with misdemeanor, felony or federal DWI offenses.
The other Texas cities on this site are Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Fort Worth.
Common questions about El Paso DWI cases
Which court hears an El Paso DWI?
A misdemeanor DWI is a county court at law case. El Paso County lists DWI first among the case types of the courts it groups as criminal cases only — County Courts at Law 1, 2 and 4 and County Criminal Courts at Law 1 to 4. A felony DWI goes to a district court such as the 327th or 409th.
Where is the El Paso jail magistrate?
The county lists the Jail Magistrate at 600 E Overland, El Paso, a different address from County Criminal Court at Law 1 at 500 E San Antonio, Suite 706.
Who qualifies for the El Paso County DWI program?
Adults 17 or older, residing in El Paso County, with misdemeanor, felony or federal DWI offenses. A final conviction involving death, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a sexual offense or assault on a public servant disqualifies. The program lasts at least 18 months.
Can what I say in the DWI program be used against me?
The county states that if a participant is discharged unsuccessfully, the detailed assessment results and other disclosures may not be used for prosecution purposes.
Will the El Paso jail magistrate order an interlock?
On a repeat DWI, or a first charge of DWI with a child passenger, intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter, Texas law has the magistrate order one as a bond condition unless doing so would not serve the interest of justice.
What is the deadline to keep my license after an El Paso DWI arrest?
The written hearing request must reach the Department of Public Safety within fifteen days of the suspension notice. Nobody at the jail or the courthouse sends it for you, and without it the suspension starts on the fortieth day.
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More for Texas
- Texas DWI law — the full penalty matrix, the statutes, and the rules on priors and interlock
- Houston and Harris County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Dallas — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Austin and Travis County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- San Antonio and Bexar County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Fort Worth and Tarrant County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Denton — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Refusing a breathalyzer — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- How long it stays on your record — three records, three clocks
- SR-22 insurance after a Texas suspension — what the filing certifies and how long it runs
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in Texas — what the device costs and who installs it
Sources
- El Paso County, courts directory — read September 26, 2026
- El Paso County, County Courts at Law — Criminal Cases Only — read September 26, 2026
- El Paso County, County Criminal Court at Law 1 — read September 26, 2026
- El Paso County, District Courts — Criminal Cases Only — read September 26, 2026
- El Paso County, Jail Magistrate — read September 26, 2026
- El Paso County, DWI Drug Court Intervention & Treatment Program — read September 26, 2026
- Texas Penal Code chapter 49 (sections 49.045, 49.07, 49.08), Texas Legislature — read September 26, 2026
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.01(2)(B) and the rest of the Texas statutes cited on this page — read in force 2026
Court addresses, hours and phone numbers were read from each court’s or office’s own published page on September 26, 2026. Those change without notice; confirm before you rely on them. No judge is named anywhere on this page, because a roster is exactly the kind of detail that goes stale silently.