As time goes on, it seems like Williamson County, Texas has an ever growing reputation. I’ve heard many of my clients joke “come on vacation, leave on probation.” While that may be true for some, it depends on what time activities you’re getting involved in on the weekends. Let’s be blunt, no one likes crime
The reason behind this blog post, like so many others, is to demystify the criminal defense process in Texas. I think that many of my clients come into my office with some false ideas about how their cases will end. As I’ve said before, I like to let my clients know what to expect right
Most people think that they’re arrested only when the silver bracelets are put around their wrists. In Texas, that’s not so. One of the things I look closely at, when I receive your criminal discovery, is when the police legally “arrested” you. You have Constitutional protections when it comes to arrests and searches. Depending on
In a previous post I explained the difference between deferred adjudication probation and “straight probation in Texas.” If you’re not sure about the difference between the two, or whether or not the difference matters, go back and read that post. Not all probation is the same. Normally, you’re placed on probation because of an agreement
Recently I had a client come into my office because he was getting sued on an unrelated case. This was a big deal to him because he’s on criminal probation. He was worried that getting sued while on probation could get him revoked. If you’re on misdemeanor or felony probation in Texas, if you get
This is the third part in my series of posts on Fourth Amendment Exceptions. The Fourth Amendment requires police officers to get search warrants from a Judge when they want to search you, your home, your car, your office, etc… If you remember from previous posts, Fourth Amendment Exceptions are situations where police don’t need
Every day I spend time reading, writing, and filling out legal forms. Everyone hates filling out forms and I feel your pain 100%. The worst thing is being handed a clipboard in the doctor’s office with ten pages of boxes to check, lines to fill out, and explanations to write. Your eyes gloss over right
What is Drug Paraphernalia? Possession of drug paraphernalia in Texas is a fairly common crime. Paraphernalia are things related to the use, sale, storage, or creation of illegal drugs. The short answer is, if it’s related to drugs, it’ll be considered paraphernalia by police. Some examples of drug paraphernalia in Texas are bongs, bowls, grinders,
In this post I want to talk about the public’s perception of “loopholes” in the law. Normally you’ll hear someone in a movie or TV show say… “my lawyer got me off.” Things like this make people look down on the legal system even more than the public already does. What are these loopholes and how
If you’re in the Austin area and someone you care about has been arrested, one of your first thoughts on your mind will be how to get them out of jail. In a previous post I talked about the types of bonds in Texas. Depending on what type of crime was committed, a Judge may
Exception #2 Search Incident to Arrest In one of the last posts I wrote about exceptions to police needing a Warrant under the Fourth Amendment. Whether it’s a search warrant or an arrest warrant, once you’re arrested, a police officer can search you, your clothes, and the area immediately around you. At this point, the
Simply put, assault causes bodily injury is any unwanted contact between two people. In my experience, assault cases almost always happen because of drugs and/or alcohol. It doesn’t matter whether or not there was a visible mark or injury. This applies to bar fights, grabbing someone else with your hand, punching, kicking, slapping etc…. In
