If you’re being charged with assault on a family member, you should usually fight that case. Family violence cases are different than other types of cases. They come with harsher penalties, are harder for the state to win, and police are more likely to arrest innocent people in these cases. Affirmative Finding of Family Violence In Texas, if you’re found guilty at trial or take a plea agreement, the judge will Read More
Want Your Case Dismissed? Don’t Accept a Plea.
https://youtu.be/rsDxcWy8EuI When people come to my office and talk with me about their case, I ask what they want to have happen with their case. Almost everyone wants their case dismissed. Whether they broke the law or not, most want to move past this case without paying fines, being on probation, or doing jail time. The Three Ways Your Case Could End There are three ways that your case could end. It Read More
Fake ID vs Stealing Beer in Texas
A kid called me awhile back. He was arrested and charged with having a fake ID. Of course, he had the fake ID to get into bars and to buy beer. He was 20, but his ID said he was over 21. Punishment for a Fake ID and for Theft When I looked up the law, I was shocked to see that possessing a fake ID is a class A misdemeanor. That means that if he’s found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to a year in jail and up to Read More
Motion to Suppress Granted – DWI Case Dismissed
This morning, I had a hearing on a motion to dismiss in Bexar County - County Court 2. My client was charged with DWI with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher. The judge granted the motion to suppress, and the case was dismissed this morning. My client was driving home at midnight on a Thursday night. An officer was behind him and pulled him over for failing to maintain a single lane. Last year, the Texas Court Read More
May the 4th Amendment Be With You
Greetings, and May the Fourth Be With You, fellow Star Wars fans! Today is a day to celebrate Star Wars, and in keeping with the spirit of the day, we thought we'd look at how the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution relates to the Star Wars universe. The Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. In the Star Wars universe, we see Read More
Everything You Need to Know About Expunctions in San Antonio
Every time that I have someone come to my office looking to hire an attorney, they always tell me that they want their case dismissed. There are a lot of reasons to want a case dismissed. One of the main reasons is that this case does not show up on background checks for the rest of your life. You need to get an expunction for that to happen. When I was charged with DWI, I was worried about how it was going to Read More
Don’t Hire an Attorney To Be Your Bondsman
I often get asked by potential clients if I can handle their bonds too. You should never hire an attorney to also handle your bond. It creates a conflict of interest and doesn’t save you any money. Texas Attorneys Can Act as Bondsman (It's a Bad Idea) In Texas, attorneys can also act as bondsmen for clients they represent. Instead of going to a bail bondsman to bond out of jail, someone who is arrested can hire Read More
Why is Gay Sex Still Against the Law in Texas?
Did you know that it’s against the law in Texas to engage in homosexual sex? Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code prohibits “deviate sexual intercourse [between] individual[s] of the same sex.” The penal code notes that this law is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court declared this specific law unconstitutional in 2003 in Lawrence vs. Texas. The Supreme Court held that state laws that ban gay sex violate the Read More
What is Assault Family – Choking
Assault is normally a misdemeanor, but there are times when it can be enhanced to a felony. If you are being charged with assault against a family member and you are accused of choking that person, it can be enhanced to a third-degree felony. If you have a previous family violence conviction, it becomes a second-degree felony. What Does the Evidence Usually Look Like Whether or not they decide to enhance your Read More
What is Deferred Adjudication?
When you’re charged with a crime, there are three ways the case can end: your case could be dismissed, it could go to trial, or you could plea. A plea is when you plead guilty or no contest to the court without going through the trial process. Usually when someone pleas, there is an agreement with the state about what the punishment will be. You can also do plea without an agreement from the state and it’s up to the Read More