Areas of Practice
ASSAULT
Most assault cases nowadays allege “assault family violence”. These charges are often brought even though the alleged victim is not a family member in any sense of the word. The cases are difficult cases for several reasons. First, there are often no independent witnesses, so that it comes down to one person’s word against another’s. Second, a defendant can be convicted even if the other party claims only very minor injuries that don’t require medical treatment and, therefore, any verification by medical people. Finally, a conviction for even misdemeanor assault family violence will cause serious consequences.We have handled a good number of these cases. We never charge for an initial consultation and we would be happy to talk to you about your case to help you decide what your options are and how you want to handle the matter.
DRUG OFFENSES
The penalties for most drug possession offenses in Texas are harsher than they ought to be. So you have to look for every possible defense in these cases so that you can try your case properly or, at least, work out an acceptable plea agreement. Most drug possession prosecutions succeed or fail based on the legality of the stop and the search during which the drugs were discovered. If you are reading this before being arrested, let me advise you never to give the police permission to search your car or you. If they ask for such permission (which they often do), just tell them politely that you will not give them permission to search you or your car. When they ask why, tell them that your lawyer has advised you not to give such permission.
If you are stopped, do not argue with the police officer or try to explain things to him. Be polite and say as little as possible. Again, tell the police officer that you will be glad to talk to him after you have talked to your lawyer. When he tells you that you do not have a right to a lawyer at that point, tell him that you know that, but you are still not going to talk to him without talking to your lawyer. And then stick with that.
DWI
If you are charged with a first DWI, you will probably be offered probation if you plead guilty. But a conviction for driving while intoxicated causes all sorts of problems apart from the sentence imposed by the court. Your insurance costs go up substantially. You are subject to surcharges to get your driver’s license renewed. A DWI conviction, although it’s only a misdemeanor, can sometimes cost you a job.
So you need a lawyer who has dealt with this before to discover whatever evidence the prosecutors have and then to go over that evidence with you so that you can decide whether you want to plead guilty or whether you want to take your case to trial. If you want to try your case, then you need a lawyer with courtroom experience who is willing to stand up for you and fight for a “not guilty” verdict. We are here to help you make the best decision.
Of course a second DWI charge will subject you to all the problems discussed above, and will, if you plead guilty, probably require you to serve some jail time. A third DWI is a felony, and a felony conviction causes an entirely different level of bad consequences. We have defended people charged with second and third (and even fourth and fifth) DWI’s. You can deal with second or third DWI charges, but you need a lawyer who you can work with and who will let you know what your options are, and is willing to stand by you through a trial if necessary.
BUSINESS LITIGATION
Business litigation varies enormously - from a simple breach of contract case to the collapse of a major partnership. When these kinds of problems arise, you want to sit down with your lawyer and try to get an idea of how much time and how many resources you want to devote to the case. Over the years we have handled commercial lawsuits of all kinds. They are all different. With some of them, you want to start immediately to try to work out an acceptable agreement. With others, you want to draw the line and go to war. You probably want to meet with your lawyer to decide as quickly as possible what course of action you want to take.We are available for a free consultation to discuss generally what’s involved in your case and how to respond to it.
INTOXICATION ASSAULT/INTOXICATION MANSLAUGHTER
These charges occur when someone who is driving while intoxicated causes serious injury or death to another person. Intoxication assault is a third degree felony. If the injured party dies, then the charge becomes intoxication manslaughter, which a second degree felony. If you are charged with causing injury or death while driving while intoxicated, you need to find someone to represent you as soon as you can. The accident needs to be investigated as quickly as possible and you and your lawyer need to decide whether expert witnesses should be hired to testify at the trial of the case.
If you have been charged with intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter, you need to find the right lawyer as soon as you can. You can talk to us about your case and we will not charge you unless you decide to hire us. Furthermore, anything you say to us is privileged even if you do not hire us. These are serious charges and you need to be represented by a lawyer with whom you feel confident. Give us a call and we will set up a meeting as soon as possible.
PROBATION REVOCATION
If you have ever been on probation, then you know that probation is a lot more than a slap on the wrist. The conditions of probation are difficult and there are a lot of them. It is extremely difficult to go through an entire term of probation without violating one of those conditions. So anyone who is on probation is likely to face a motion to revoke that probation. If the state files a motion to revoke, alleging that you have violated one of the terms of your probation or alleging that you have committed another offense, you are in a difficult situation. First, you will probably find out about the motion to revoke when your probation officer arrests you and puts you in jail. At this point, you need a lawyer who understands what a motion to revoke is all about. You do not have a constitutional right to bail if you are jailed pending a motion to revoke. But your lawyer might be able to arrange bail for you from the judge who sentenced you to probation in the first place. You are entitled to a hearing to determine whether you violated your probation. However, you don’t have a right to a jury trial in that hearing, so the judge gets to decide whether you violated a condition of probation. Furthermore, the prosecution doesn’t have to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but instead only by a preponderance of the evidence.Obviously, a defendant has a steep hill to climb in a probation revocation proceeding. That’s why you need to get a lawyer as quickly as you can so that he or she can begin investigating the case and working with the probation department and the judge to try to keep you on probation.