Call For A Consultation 318-377-1555
Call For A Consultation 318-377-1555
Tomorrow morning you still need a way to get to work, and right now you don’t know if you’ll have a license to drive there. You need real answers, not uncertainty, because how you handle the next few days shapes your license and your case.
A DWI charge in Bossier Parish isn’t decided by the stop alone. It comes down to how the breath or blood test was administered, whether procedure was followed, and whether the officer had a real reason to pull you over in the first place.
Eric G. Johnson has spent his career testing exactly those questions, since 1993, starting in his father’s Louisiana law office. As an Criminal Defense Lawyer, his trial record includes a jury acquittal on a felony DWI charge, built on years of knowing how Bossier Parish prosecutors put these cases together.
Reach out to our Benton DWI lawyer and find out where yours can be challenged.
In Shreveport, Bossier City, Monroe, & Ruston, LA
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318-377-1555Eric G. Johnson holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible peer review rating for legal ability and ethics. He is rated 7.6 on Avvo based on real client reviews, and he is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, standing that reflects how he is regarded by the attorneys and clients who have actually worked with him.
That reputation shows up in the courtroom, not just on paper. Not every DWI case ends with a plea, and when a client came to Eric facing a felony DWI charge, the kind of case that carries years of prison exposure rather than a fine, he took it to trial rather than negotiate away the client’s chance at a clean record. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
That result reflects something a plea deal never can: a defense built to withstand full scrutiny in front of a jury, not just enough to shave time off a sentence. It is the kind of outcome clients remember, and the kind that leads other Louisiana attorneys to send their own clients to Eric Johnson.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.
We represent clients across Bossier Parish on every level of DWI charge, including:
Our DWI attorney in Benton can help you understand the charges against you and what defense options are available.
Louisiana law defines DWI broadly under La. R.S. 14:98, covering alcohol, drugs, or a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher.
A first offense alone can bring 10 days to 6 months in jail, a fine of $300 to $1,000, and a license suspension that runs 12 months once you’re convicted (a shorter suspension may already be in place from the arrest itself, before the criminal case is even decided). If your blood alcohol content was 0.15% or higher, the court will also order an ignition interlock device before you can drive again.
A second offense raises the stakes further, with mandatory jail time and a license suspension that can run two years or longer. By the fourth offense within 10 years, DWI becomes a felony punishable by 10 to 30 years at hard labor.
Louisiana’s implied consent law, R.S. 32:667, means refusing a breath or blood test after a lawful arrest triggers its own license suspension, typically a full year for a first refusal, separate from whatever happens in your criminal case. That suspension starts fast, and the window to challenge it at an administrative hearing is short.
Beyond the courtroom penalties, a DWI conviction also follows you into background checks for years, and it can put a professional license, a commercial driver’s license, or a job that requires a clean record at risk.
An arrest is not the same as a conviction. Many DWI cases in Bossier Parish are won or reduced before a jury is ever seated, through challenges to the stop, the field sobriety tests, or the chemical test itself.
This information reflects Louisiana law as of July 2026.
Louisiana law requires anyone in custody, felony or misdemeanor, to be brought before a judge within 72 hours of arrest, and what happens at that hearing can shape the rest of your case. Bond conditions, travel restrictions, and early plea pressure often get decided before most people have even hired a lawyer.
Getting an attorney involved early gives you a voice at that hearing instead of a set of conditions handed to you. It also protects the short window Louisiana gives you to request an administrative hearing and fight the automatic suspension of your license. That deadline runs on its own clock, separate from your criminal case.
The days right after an arrest are when the most can still be done. Waiting to call rarely helps, and it can quietly close options you did not know you had.
Costs vary depending on whether your case is a misdemeanor or felony charge and whether it settles or goes to trial. We discuss fees clearly and honestly during your consultation so there are no surprises later.
Yes. Even a first offense carries jail time, license consequences, and a permanent record, and small mistakes early in the case can close doors later. An attorney can often challenge the stop or the test results before you ever see a courtroom.
Louisiana law allows a short window to request an administrative hearing before your license is automatically suspended. Missing that window can cost you your driving privileges even before your criminal case is decided.
Most DWI cases here are handled at the Bossier Parish Courthouse on Burt Boulevard in Benton, home to the 26th Judicial District Court. Knowing how that courthouse runs, from arraignment dates to motion hearings, is part of building your defense from day one.
The 26th Judicial District operates a Drug Court division that can accept certain eligible drug and DWI cases, which may allow a client to avoid a conviction altogether. Whether you qualify depends heavily on your record and the specific facts of your arrest.
If you still have questions after reading this, the fastest way to get real answers is to talk to us directly.
A DWI arrest moves fast. License deadlines, administrative hearings, and court dates start stacking up before most people even have a lawyer, and every day that passes is a day some of those options quietly close.
You do not have to sort through Bossier Parish court deadlines alone, and you do not have to guess at what comes next. Eric G. Johnson has spent more than three decades in Louisiana courtrooms building defenses for people in exactly this situation, and he can start reviewing yours today.
Contact John D. & Eric G. Johnson Law Firm now for a confidential consultation. The sooner we talk, the more we can still do for your case.
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