Search Results for: sexual assault
Illegal Search Warrants: Challenging the Underlying Affidavit
Texas Defense Attorney Strategies against Illegal Search Warrants Under Texas law, a “search warrant” is defined as “a written order, issued by a magistrate and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to search for any property or thing and to seize the same and bring it before such magistrate or commanding him to search…
Criminal Solicitation of a Minor: Criminal Charges under Texas Penal Code § 15.031
Anyone arrested for Criminal Solicitation of a Minor in Texas likely faces other serious felony sex crime charges and a statutory limitation on defenses that can be asserted on their behalf. Sex crimes involving minors are given special consideration by the Texas Legislature, as the lawmakers have passed detailed and specific criminal statutes dealing…
Attacks on Police in Texas are Hate Crimes under 2017 Police Protection Act
Look in the dictionary and “hate crime” is defined as any crime that is motivated by hostility towards the victim because he or she is a member of a specific group (like gender, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation). The FBI has its own definition: a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in…
Is There Chaos in the Dallas Criminal Justice System? Consider These Five News Stories in May 2016
Criminal defense lawyers tend to see the world a bit differently than most. Maybe that’s because we are privy to things that most of the general public is not and it skews our perspective. However, if anyone has been reading the news stories for the past three or four weeks coming out of Dallas County,…
Family Violence in Texas: Crimes Based Upon Domestic Violence – It’s More Than a Fight That Turns Physical
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, there were 185,817 reports of family violence made to Texas law enforcement in 2014. Most will assume that these numbers reflect fights between men and women, either married couples or romantic relationships, where emotions got high and things turned physical. After all, that’s what everyone is…
Grand Jury in Texas: Defending Witnesses and Targets of Grand Jury Investigations
You read about grand juries all the time: just this month, there was national news coverage in the Tamir Rice case, because there was no indictment; the grand jury voted against it. Another example: in the Sandra Bland case, there was an indictment because the grand jury voted for it – after the grand jury…
Sex Offender Registry in Texas: Stigma and Second Chances
Just being charged with a sex crime can cause real harm not only to the reputation of the person who has been arrested, but also to their careers, finances, family life, and personal and professional relationships. (We’ve discussed this in a prior post.) Charges aren’t convictions. Innocent people get arrested. It’s very sad to consider…
Dennis Hastert Plea Deal: My Prediction Coming True and The Impact on Future Prosecutions
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow – but soon, and most likely on October 28 according to the Chicago Tribune, Dennis Hastert (former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives) is going to be facing a federal judge with a plea deal in hand, an agreement reportedly ironed out between his defense team and the federal prosecutors….
Police in Dallas – Fort Worth Get Papers Graded: Low Crime Clearance Rates for North Texas
Today, the video of a South Carolina police officer shooting a man running away from a traffic stop has gone viral, and the officer has been arrested for murder. If you haven’t seen the footage, you can watch it on YouTube (it’s pretty graphic). For more videos of excessive force by law enforcement around the…
Want a Visa? Just Fake a Crime and No Deportation for You!
Practicing criminal defense law here in Dallas, where I represent clients across the State of Texas, it’s not unusual for our offices to see folk who aren’t American citizens. However, there’s a growing problem brewing here in the United States that people need to know is happening. And this is real; it’s going on right…
