Search Results for: forfeiture
When Businesses are Charged with Crimes: Organizational Offenders
First things first, we all know they’re not people. In legal jargon, corporations are “legal entities” that exist through the operation of state law (usually) under things like the Texas Business Organizations Code, where “corporation” is defined as “…an entity governed as a corporation under Title 2 or 7. The term includes a for-profit corporation,…
Bail after Federal Arrest in Texas and The Bail Reform Act of 1984
Bail after an arrest by federal law enforcement is very different than when someone enters the state criminal justice system. Texas bail is allowed much more often than it is in federal court. It’s not that bail is not routinely considered a part of federal matters. News coverage is filled with federal bail stories. This…
Jalisco New Generation Cartel Arrests in Texas: 2023
The amount of law enforcement effort at every level (state, federal, international) to try and combat the growing global business empire of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is undeniably extreme and well-funded. From a criminal defense perspective, few governmental efforts in recent memory have had this zeal and scope. In 2023, we should expect a…
Texas Governor’s Designation of Mexican Cartels As Terrorist Organizations: Criminal Defense Perspective
On September 21, 2022, the Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a press release with its accompanying Executive Order GA-42 and the news that, at least in the State of Texas, Mexican cartels are now considered to be “terrorist organizations” by state law enforcement. In the release, Governor Abbott explains that the growing market…
Restitution Under Federal and Texas Law: Criminal Defense Overview
Our criminal justice system provides for the government to take property (real and personal) from individuals in a number of ways. For instance, monetary fines are established by statute as punishment alongside periods of incarceration. There are also forfeiture laws, which allow the taking of property even before any conviction has occurred. For more on…
PPP Fraud: Government Loans and Federal Arrests Based on COVID-19 Relief
Last year, in response to the economic harm suffered in Texas and across the country due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), authorizing over Two Trillion Dollars ($2,000,000,000,000.00) in relief with $377 Billion of that sum dedicated to help small business owners. The Paycheck Protection…
Racketeering in Texas: Criminal Defense Against RICO Charges
Today, everyone recognizes organized crime known as the “Mafia” or the “Cosa Nostra,” but it wasn’t until the middle of the 20th Century that these criminal enterprises were confirmed to exist. A man named Joseph Valachi is credited with being the first organization member to authenticate its existence, and he did so during public testimony…
Civil Claims
Civil Personal Injury Claims Related to Criminal Investigations, Prosecutions, or Criminal Harm Over the past two decades, Michael Lowe has taken a great many cases to trial in civil lawsuits as well as in criminal courtrooms, first as a prosecutor for the Office of the District Attorney for Dallas County and later, as a criminal…
Cyber Crimes, Computer Crimes, Internet Arrests: Texas Criminal Defense Overview
Crimes involving computer use and accessing the internet can involve all sorts of criminal activity, but they come with their own separate criminal charges and punishments. The aspects of cybercrime defense are widespread because of the range of activity underlying the internet usage made the basis of the charges. From money laundering or child pornography…
Search of a Residence in Texas: When Police Search Your Home
When the police search your dwelling, they have specific limitations on where they can search and what they can take. Police officers (or federal law enforcement agents) show up at your front door, demanding to be allowed inside your home because they have a search warrant allowing them to do so, whether you like it…
