On Demand
Audio
Not Guilty v. Goliath: Taking Down High Blood Tests using the Disconnect Defense in Texas
Produced on April 29, 2016
Course Information
Course Description
DWI is one of the most prominent criminal charges in America. Thanks to the efforts of MADD, reasonable plea offers are routinely not available. Further, thanks to blood testing and “no-refusal” weekends, DWI cases are getting more scientific and harder to win. Attorney Mark Thiessen has, throughout his experience as a Texas DWI attorney, developed a trial-tested method to beat high blood tests using common sense, which he shares in this course.
These tactics opened the door to Mark’s being nominated as the youngest criminal trial Super Lawyer in Texas from 2013 to present. Mark is an ACS-CHAL Lawyer-Scientist and still the DWI Committee chair for Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA). Further, Mark has won everything from a full refusal DWI to a .28 hospital enzymatic assay blood test, a .26 gas chromatography blood test, and a .24 breath test. This course aims to help attorneys develop and deploy the same tactics that have helped Mark obtain his DWI trial success.
Learning Objectives:
I. Find the right case to win
II. Understand the disconnect Defense Ishispa
III. Comprehend the science of gas chromatography
IV. Sew the Disconnect Defense through your entire case
V. Identify trial tactics to empower the jury to deliver a Not Guilty Verdict
Credit Information
Faculty
Mark Ryan Thiessen
The Thiessen Law Firm
Licenses
State Bar of Texas, 2003
United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, 2004
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals 2010
United States Supreme Court, 2010
Employment
The Thiessen Law Firm
Houston, TX
Owner: July 2011 - Present
Practice focuses on:
- Criminal Defense
- specializing in DWI and Controlled Substances
Trichter & Murphy, P.C.,
Houston, TX
Associate: January 2006 - July 2011
Practice focuses on:
- Criminal Defense
- specializing in DWI and Controlled Substances
Brown Sims, P.C.,
Houston, TX
Associate April 2005 - January 2006
Practice focuses on:
- Insurance Defense
- Toxic Tort
- Personal Injury
Bell, Ryniker, Letourneau & Nork ,
Houston, TX
Associate September 2003 - April 2005
Intern January 2003 - August 2003
Practice focuses on:
- Admiralty/Maritime
- Civil Litigation
National Honors
- 2014 - AV rated as preeminent attorney by Martindale-Hubble
- 2014 - ACS-CHAL Forensic-Lawyer Scientist Graduate
- 2014 – Charter Member & Board of Directors DUI Defense Lawyers Association
- 2010-2014 – AVVO Rated 10/10: Superb
- 2012-2014 – Axion Laboratories Forensic Chromatography Course Graduate
- 2013 – Thomas Reuters’ Texas Super Lawyer
- 2010-2013 - Thomas Reuters’ Super Lawyers Rising Star
- 2011-2013 – Lawline.com Faculty Member
- Lifetime – Strathmore’s Who’s Who Lifetime Member
- 2010-2013 – LAWQA Legal Advisor
- May 2013 – Trial Lawyer College; Closing Argument
- 2012 – Lawline.com Furthered 40 Attorneys in the Nation
- April 2011 – Trial Lawyers College: Voir Dire Workshop
- June 2010 – Trial Lawyers College: Psychodrama Workshop
State Honors
- 2014 – TCDLA Board Member
- 2014 – American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys “10 Best” Attorneys for the State of Texas
- 2014-2015 – TCDLA: DWI Committee Chair
- 2013-2014 – TCDLA: DWI Committee Chair
- 2011-2012 – TDCLA: Young Attorneys Co-Chair
- 2011-Present - The College of the State Bar of Texas
- 2011 – Texas Monthly: Top Young Lawyers in Texas – Rising Star
Local Honors
- 2013 – Houston Magazine Top Lawyer in Criminal Defense
- 2010-2014 - HCCLA: Elected Board of Directors
- 2012 – HCCLA: Unsung Herod Award
- 2010-12 – HCCLA: Lead Counsel for Second Chair Program
- 2013 – King XXVI Krewe of Maximilian-Galveston Mardi Gras
Speaking
- 07/18/14 - TCDLA Member’s Trip
- 11 Essential DWI Trial Tactics
- South Padre, TX
- 07/11/14 - Lone Star DWI: Blood Testing 101
- Basics of Blood Testing through the Disconnect Defense
- Austin, TX
- 07/11/14 - DWI Forensics Seminar
- Basics of Blood Testing through the Disconnect Defense
- Austin, TX
- 06/13/14 - TCDLA 27th Annual Rusty Duncan Advanced Criminal Law Course
- DWI Blood Testing Basic; What Works and What Doesn't
- Houston, TX
- 04/25/14 - TCDLA Trial Strategies that Work
- Opening and Closing Statement
- Houston, TX
- 02/23/14 - Harris County Municipal Justice Bar Association Annual CLE
- Trial Tactics From the Trenches
- Houston, TX
- 2/21/2014 - Third Annual Hon. Craig Washington & Sen. Rodney Ellis Criminal Law Seminar at Thurgood Marshall School of Law
- Advanced Trial Techniques
- Houston, TX
- 1/9/2014 - TCDLA 33rd Annual Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law
- Basics of Blood Testing to Taking Down Big Blood Tests; How We Do It
- Lubbock, TX
- 11/22/2013 - Houston Bar Association at Summer Creek High School
- Knowing Your Rights; Sex, Drugs, DWI and Assault
- Houston, TX
- 11/17/2013 - Houston Bar Association at Westside High School
- Mock Trial Voir Dire
- Houston, TX
- 10/17/2013 - TCDLA/ Public Defender's Office
- Indigent Defense Advanced Trial Tactics
- Houston, TX
- 8/23/2013 - TIED FOR #1 SPEAKER - TCDLA Top Gun DWI
- 10 Silver Bullets for DWI Trials
- Houston, TX
- 7/11/2013 - TCDLA Gideon's Trumpet Seminar Series
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- South Padre, TX
- 5/30/2013 - HCCLA Training Day: Criminal Law 101
- Trial Tactics from the Trenches
- Houston, TX
- 5/3/2013 - TCDLA DWI Defense Project
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- Arlington, TX
- 4/26/2013 - Harris County Public Defender
- Closing Arguments – Storytelling
- Houston, TX
- 4/19/2013 - TCDLA Gideon's Trumpet Seminar Series
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- Waco, TX
- 4/9/2013 - Houston Bar Association at Summer Creek High School
- Knowing Your Rights; Sex, Drugs, DWI and Assault
- Humble, TX
- 3/1/2013 - Harris County Public Defender
- Closing Arguments – Storytelling
- Houston, TX
- 2/15/2013 - Houston Bar Association
- Trial Tactics from the Criminal Trenches
- Houston, TX
- 2/15/2013 - Westlaw Ed. Center National Webinar
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- Houston, TX
- 1/11/2013 - TCDLA 32nd Annual Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- Lubbock, TX
- 11/13/2012 - Houston Bar Association at Summer Creek High School
- The Importance of Jury Service and Knowing the Law
- Humble, TX
- 9/21/2012 - TIED FOR #1 SPEAKER - TCDLA Gideon's Trumpet Seminar Series
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- Georgetown, TX
- 9/6/2012 - TCDLA Gideon's Trumpet Seminar Series
- Basics of Blood Testing; Attacking a DWI Blood Test
- Abilene, TX
- 8/19/2012 - TSU Thurgood Marshall School of Law
- Criminal Trial Clinic – DWI Trial Tactics and Voir Dire
- Houston, TX
- 8/17/2012 - TCDLA TOP GUN DWI Seminar
- Cross-Examination of Breath Test Technical Supervisor
- Austin, TX
- 5/17/2012 - Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association CLE
- Trial Tactics from the Trenches
- Houston, TX
- 2/9/2012 - TCDLA Boot Camp for Young Lawyers
- DWI Trial Tactics and Skills
- Dallas, TX
- 1/12/2012 - TSU Thurgood Marshall School of Law
- DWI Nuts and Bolts – DWI Voir Dire on High Breath Test with Accident
- Houston, TX
- 12/1/2011 - TCDLA Voir Dire Seminar
- Car Accidents and Hospital Enzymatic Assay Blood Testing
- Houston, TX
- 8/12/2011 - RATED #1 SPEAKER - Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Assoc.'s Top Gun DWI Seminar
- Final Argument
- Houston, TX
- 7/15/2011 - TCDLA Art of War Trial Tactics
- The Game of Trial; Running the Bases
- South Padre Island, TX
- 4/20/2011 - South Texas College of Law Advanced Advocacy Class
- The Game of Trial; Running the Bases
- Houston, TX
- 4/14/2011 RATED #1 SPEAKER TCDLA Art of War Trial Tactics The Game of Trial; Running the Bases Tyler, TX
- 1/28/2011 - RATED #1 SPEAKER - TCDLA Art of War Trial Tactics
- The Game of Trial; Running the Bases
- Edinburg, TX
- 11/18/2010 - RATED #1 SPEAKER - National College of DUI Defense/Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Assoc.'s Stuart Kinard Advanced DWI Seminar
- TIMBER! Chopping Down High Breath Tests without an Expert
- San Antonio, TX
- 9/2/2010 - Network of Professional Brazilians in Houston
- Understanding Your Rights in Texas and Secrets to Avoiding a DWI Arrest and Conviction
- Houston, TX
- 4/7/2010 - North Shore Senior High School
- Keeping Students Safe from DWI and Drugs
- Houston, TX
- 3/19/2010 - Galveston County Criminal Defense Lawyers Assoc. CLE
- TIMBER! Chopping Down High Breath Tests
- Galveston, TX
- 12/12/2009 - Montgomery County Criminal Defense Lawyers Assoc. CLE
- New Issues in Montgomery County – Death to the "E" Jury; Getting a Fair Trial
- Conroe, TX
- 5/8/2009 - David Burrows DWI Defense Project
- The Game of Trial; Running the Bases
- Dallas, TX
- Writing
- HCCLA Defender Magazine - Author - Motion of the Month – Challenging Electronic Juries (June 2010)
- TCDLA Voice for the Defense - Author - Vol. 38, No. 91 Motion of the Month - Defendant's Motion to Protect the Fairness of Future Juries (November 2009)
- TCDLA Voice for the Defense - Author - Vol. 39, No. 4 Catch of the Day - Motion Challenging Jury Array and to Quash Jury Panel (May 2010)
Reviews
excellent
Yes
Mark is a very enjoyable presenter.
Very interesting and entertaining. Explained some complex issues in an understandable manner.
Probably one of the best, if not the best, presentations I have seen on lawline. Thanks!
Outstanding! Thank you so much!
I've watched 30+ hours on Lawline this year, and this was the best yet! Love your energy and knowledge. Will be sending any DWI clients your way, if ever there are any I encounter. Thank you for sharing your passion.
Awesome
It is inspiring to see an attorney who is also a citizen scientist. Being educated about science is useful for many different practice areas.
great
Mark is a hoot in and out of court.
Thiessen is amazing. I'd listen to any course he offered.
Mark did a great job explaining the different ideas to use during a case. Great job!
this is probably the best CLE I have ever seen or taken! Well done.
I like this presenter
as always, his presentations are excellent.
Mark Thiessen is very enthusiastic about DWI defense in Texas!
This is the best program on defending DUI's in Texas. Informative and entertaining.
Mark is incredible. Skilled and knowledgeable beyond his years. Best of the best.
great speaker
Excellent video, very informative
Great info!
Outstanding material and presentation — I may join the fight for independent labs in Texas!
Well organized presentation!
passion is contagious
One of the best DWI CLEs I have taken.
Great speaker.
Lots of Good Ideas for conducting myself and how recognize and handle the right case when it comes along. thank you
Extremely informative
Great class!!
Best Course So Far. I have viewed around 8 and this was the best one.
Thank you
Great cle on blood tests, etc. Very knowledgeable.
Excellent presenter!!!
Great Presentation
This guy is amazing!
Outstanding presentation!
Excellent
Excellent presenter!
Love this guy!! He can do all the lawline videos on DWI!!