Exclusive: Prosecutors dismiss DWI charge against Sen. Charles Schwertner

Travis County prosecutors have dismissed a drunken driving charge against state Sen. Charles Schwertner, the lawmaker's lawyer told the American-Statesman.

Schwertner, R-Georgetown, was arrested in February, early in the legislative session, after an early morning traffic stop in Austin and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor that briefly sent him to jail.

Schwertner's lawyer, Perry Minton, said Monday night that prosecutors with the county attorney's office told him they have dismissed the case. County Attorney Delia Garza's office confirmed the dismissal Tuesday afternoon.

"After reviewing the evidence presented to our office, we determined there was not sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," the county attorney's office said in a statement. "Mr. Schwertner also voluntarily submitted to alcohol counseling and alcohol monitoring with no violations. One of our priorities in ensuring public safety is to encourage people to seek the help and education they need to be accountable and prevent potential future harm. After considering all factors, prosecutorial discretion determined the appropriate resolution was a dismissal. Mr. Schwertner’s case was given the same consideration as other individuals facing a first-time DWI offense."

Schwertner, a 53-year-old orthopedic surgeon, was elected to the Texas House in 2010 before winning a Senate seat in 2012. His district includes Georgetown, Round Rock, Bastrop, Bryan, College Station and Huntsville.

Minton said the county attorney's office made the right decision "based strictly on the evidence."

"Sen. Schwertner is grateful for this quick decision and remains focused on his family and constituents," Minton said.

At 12:45 a.m. Feb. 7, an Austin officer spotted a 2022 black Cadillac "swerving to the right and left and split the two lanes repeatedly" along West 45th Street, according to an affidavit. The officer pulled Schwertner over and said the senator had bloodshot, glassy and watery eyes and was confused and had slurred speech.

Later that morning, Schwertner was set to preside over a Senate committee meeting on the state's power grid and recent winter outages. The meeting proceeded with Schwertner absent.

At the time, Minton issued a statement saying Schwertner was "humble and embarrassed by his circumstances but he was clear-eyed, sober and making good sense."

Schwertner finished the regular legislative session in good standing as he was elected by his fellow senators to serve as president pro tem until the next regular legislative session in 2025. In September, he will serve as one of 30 jurors in suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Senate.

Schwertner's arrest came more than four years after the University of Texas closed an investigation in 2018 that cleared him of accusations by a graduate student that he had sent explicit and unwanted text messages to her.

The student complained to UT after Schwertner appeared to interrupt an otherwise professional texting exchange by writing, “I really just wanted to f--- you,” and sending an image of a man's genitalia. The student replied: “Please stop. This is unprofessional. I’m a student interested in learning about Healthcare Policy. These advances are unwanted.”

Though Schwertner was not a UT employee, the school could have taken action against him by banning him from campus and university events.

The school closed the investigation without taking action against Schwertner, saying that it could not prove he violated school policy. From the beginning, Schwertner denied sending the messages and instead said they came from a third person with whom he shared an account on the Hushed app, which allows people to send text messages using proxy phone numbers to conceal their primary number. Schwertner declined to reveal the third person's identity to investigators.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Charles Schwertner: Texas senator's DWI charge dismissed, lawyer says