Criminal Defense

  • Being arrested and going to jail is at minimum an inconvenience, but most people consider it unnerving and even terrifying. Getting out on bond as soon as possible is my top priority as your attorney.
 
  • Even if Pretrial Services doesn’t recommend that you receive a Personal Bond, I can go to the judge and ask for him/her to override that and release you with a minimum fee paid to the County.
 
  • One distinct advantage to having an attorney obtain your release is that I can waive the Magistration process and obtain your release minutes to hours sooner.
 
  • Other types of bonds available to arrestees who can’t or don’t want a Personal Bond are Surety bonds (Bonding Companies), Cash Deposit Bond (10% paid to the County, and most is returned at the end of the case), and Cash Bonds (100% paid to the County, but most is returned at the end of the case).
 
    • COMMON PECUNIARY LOSS LEVELS (Amount of items/money allegedly stolen)
      • Class C Misdemeanor = <$100
      • Class B Misdemeanor = >$100 but <$750, or you have a previous conviction
      • Class A Misdemeanor = >$750 but <$2,500
      • State Jail Felony = >$2,500 but <$30,000
      • 3rd Degree Felony = >$30,000 but <$150,000
      • 2nd Degree Felony = >$150,000 but <$300,000
      • 1st Degree Felony = >$300,000

    • The offense of Theft has enhancements that can raise it a level up if the actor, or alleged victim, holds a certain position in society (Government contractor, Elderly victim, etc.)

    • FRAUD/FORGERY/MORE COMPLEX THEFT OFFENSES
      • This is a very broad category that encompasses everything from not paying a service person who’s already performed, to forging a check on an account that you know isn’t yours.

    • WHITE COLLAR CRIME
      • Generally described as Fraud – tricking someone out of their money, either through an employment relationship or a personal one.
      • It can also involve identity theft, bribery, securities fraud and internet crimes.

    • Example: The first big jury trial I ever won was in Hays County, and my client was acquitted by a jury of his peers, after being accused of creating, printing, signing, and passing 16 fake checks at the business where he worked as manager. The State was unable to prove the checks came from my client’s computer, and I used an expert to back this up. The cards were stacked against us, but justice and computer science prevailed!
      • 2007, Hays County District Court, case Expunged – no records exist anymore, much to my client’s delight
        • INTRO
          • Texas has some of the toughest drug laws in the United States, and our Legislature, like in most states, has been remiss to reevaluate them, even considering recent scientific and social justice developments.
          • There is a growing population of scientists who study the brain, both in the mental health and biological health arenas, and they are coming up with results that challenge our current criminal justice punishments of people accused of drug crimes.
         
      • Not only does the charge evaluation depend on the type of drug alleged to have been possessed, but also the weight of the substance; these factors also effect the punishment level, which ranges from a Class B Misdemeanor level to a 1st degree Felony.
    • Even though the United States Constitution gives us the 2nd Amendment right to “bear arms”, even a slight violation of weapons laws in Texas can result in incarceration, or even a lifetime ban from buying or possessing a gun in the future. People in Texas may be more comfortable than some with the ownership of firearms, but if you are charged with one of these crimes, it must be treated as seriously as any other criminal offense, if not more.
    • INTRO – Having a criminal conviction is never easy to deal with and can stigmatize you in our society. But having a violent criminal conviction can change your life dramatically. Many employers, universities, schools and scholarship programs will not accept someone who has pled to, or been found guilty of, a violent crime.
      • ASSAULT – There are a variety of situations that can lead to an Assault charge in Texas. The identity of the Complainant is one major factor that determines how the alleged crime is charged.
      • Texas Penal Code §22.01 states that a person can commit Assault by:
        • Causing bodily injury to another person;
        • Threatening another person with imminent bodily injury;
        • Causing physical contact with another person knowing that the contact can be regarded as offensive or provocative.
      • Misdemeanor Assault
        • Simple (by Contact) – The least-often charged of the Assault offenses, a person can be cited with a Class C misdemeanor if someone accuses him/her of touching them in a provocative or offensive way. This is a fine-only offense, so no jail time can be given as a sentence.
        • Causing Bodily Injury – This charge happens when the Complainant accuses the person of touching them in an unwanted way, that also caused them pain. No visible injury is necessary in order for an officer to charge someone with this Class A offense, which is punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a possible $4,000 fine.
        • Causing Bodily Injury / Family Violence – When the person complaining of an unwanted touching (slap, kick, punch, etc.) is a household member, family member, or a person you’ve had a dating/marriage relationship with, a special legal finding of Family Violence (the “FV”) is made, and stays on the accused’s record even if the case does not end in a conviction of this Class A misdemeanor.
      • Enhanced Assaults – when an Assault is charged involving a special circumstance, or type of victim alleged, the charge can be elevated to the Felony level. Some examples of the most common Felony assaults, 3rd degree, are:
        • Having been previously convicted of Family Violence Assault are you’re facing the same charge again (even if the Complainant is different);
        • The Complainant alleges that you intentionally, recklessly or knowingly impeded the normal breathing or circulation of him/her, by applying pressure to their throat or neck, or blocking their nose or mouth (exp – strangling);
        • Complainant is a public servant (on or off-duty), a government contractor performing a service, Emergency Personnel (Fire, Police, EMS who are on duty), or a Security Officer who’s on duty.
        • A 3rd degree felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and a possible fine of up to $10,000.
      • AGGRAVATED ROBBERY
        • Robbery is a property crime with alleged threats or actions of violence associated with the commission of the crime.
        • Plain Robbery is a 2nd degree Felony, punishable by no less than 2 years, and no more than 20 years in prison.
        • But if the Complainant alleges you’ve
          • caused serious bodily injury to him/her,
          • that you used a weapon,
          • or that you caused bodily injury or put them in fear of imminent bodily injury and they are elderly or disabled
        • Aggravated Robbery is punishable by no less than 5 years, no more than 99 years, in prison, as it’s a 1st degree Felony
      • SEXUAL ASSAULT
        • One of the most serious crimes a person can be charged with; there are various situations in which this offense can be charged, depending on the age of the alleged actors, and whether or not consent was involved.
        • This offense is usually charged as a 2nd degree Felony, but can be enhanced to a 1st degree, and in very rare circumstances involving reproductive medicine, a State Jail Felony. However, in all of these scenarios except the State Jail type, if the accused and the alleged victim are within three years of each other’s age, there may be an affirmative defense, called the “Romeo and Juliet” defense.
    • INJURY TO CHILD/ELDERLY/DISABLED
      • Essentially this crime is an Assault, but with special victim circumstances, which raises the normal penalty to a Felony level.
    • When you’ve agreed to be placed on probation for a certain offense, the court supervises you for a term of months or years, in order to make sure you’re being the most healthy, productive, law-abiding person you can. But if something happens, the probation department will not only bring up the violation that caused the Motion to Revoke your probation to be filed, but your officer will also throw in any other minor violation that has occurred since you’ve been under their supervision. You need an attorney who knows the County, the Department, and the Judge’s style, as each judge operates differently in the ways they decide to punish, or rehabilitate, the person who is accused of violating probation. I can help you get your affairs in order, and present the best possible case to the court, negotiating an outcome that benefits all parties involved.
    • Some of the most important decisions in our country have been decided in the United States Federal District Courts, including the highest court of our land, the U.S. Supreme Court. If you are charged with a criminal case in the U.S. Federal District Court, Western District (Austin, Texas location), I can help get you through this intimidating and serious process. Your case may progress more quickly than it would in state court, although this depends on both the state and federal jurisdictions in question. In addition, the discovery process is usually easier in federal court, which helps speed the case negotiations along. Moreover, federal judges are known for being more likely than state court judges to dismiss an action, particularly on procedural grounds.
    • Most people think that if their case was dismissed it is not on their “record”; that’s a common, but risky and mistaken assumption. The Texas Department of Public Safety is the clearing house for records from all arrests that occur within the state. Not only does Texas DPS keep a record of the criminal history of everyone arrested within the state, but the Texas Legislature allows DPS to sell your personal criminal history information to internet companies, and others, who don’t always maintain the strictest level of compliance with rules on how and to whom they release this information.

    • Criminal history, whether all dismissals, or a mixture of convictions and dismissals, is stigmatizing and detrimental to not only a person’s search for a job, but also to their search for housing, as well as loans for school and government assistance. It can hamper a person’s life quite a bit, to say the least.

    • There are only two ways to remove or hide these blemishes from your record: Expunction and a Non-Disclosure.

    • A Petition for Expunction should be filed if your case was dismissed, or you were acquitted after a trial; it would erase and destroy all records of your arrest, and you could thereafter deny that you were ever arrested for this offense.

    • A Petition for Non-Disclosure is available to people whose case ended with supervised probation that was Deferred, was completed successfully, and their case was discharged/dismissed. There are other qualifiers having to do with a person’s overall criminal history record, but if eligible, an Order for Non-Disclosure will seal the person’s arrest record for the offense, and only the agencies listed under Texas Government Code § 411.0765 can still see it (mostly governmental, but also banking and licensing agencies, among others).