Prior Offenses At Trial- Texas Rule of Evidence 609 Defendants who have a lengthy criminal history often think the State can’t use their past convictions against them at trial. They are kind of right. We generally don’t allow the State to argue that since you’ve been a criminal in the…
It’s hard to second guess a defense lawyer’s work on a case, and it’s something we are asked to do often. When someone takes has a trial or enters an open plea to the court (pleading guilty with no agreed sentence) and gets a result they don’t want they usually…
Most of the country is moving past the days of arresting everyone for marijuana possession. Many states have robust medical marijuana programs, and some states have even legalized recreational marijuana. Texas is not one of those states. We have some of the most punitive, and embarrassingly stupid marijuana laws in…
COVID has wrecked what was a predictably oppressive criminal justice system in Kaufman County. In the days before COVID, we could pretty accurately predict how long it would take for your case to get filed and then how long it would take before you had to set it for trial…
The internet age has brought about new ways for humans to treat each other poorly. Anyone who has dared to post a comment online has probably been insulted, called terrible things, or otherwise tormented. Before the cell phone, you had to actually see a person or call their landline to…
We get asked a lot about attorney bonds in Kaufman County. First, let’s talk about- What is an attorney bond? You know how someone is stuck in jail and they have to post a bond to get out? Well, they have a few choices. Let’s say Bill is in the…
What happens if you are facing a criminal charge for assault family violence, while you are getting divorced? Our law firm handles both criminal defense, and family law matters. We have seen cases in which one party, let’s say the Husband, is charged with family violence against his Wife, and…
We talk to a lot of people who have a defense lawyer and are looking to switch. One of the most common reasons defendants want to change attorneys is a lack of communication. These defendants are frustrated that they hired an attorney but can not get an update, or a…
If you are facing a charge of drug possession in Texas and you are not a citizen of the United States, you should be aware of the laws regarding deportation for drug convictions. What is the law on deportation for drug convictions? Under federal law, an alien convicted of a…
Salto de fianza Salto de fianza es el nombre corto para un delito penal de Texas llamado “salto de fianza y falta de comparecencia”. Si no asistió a una cita en la corte, especialmente si el caso es un delito grave, es posible que se le acuse de fianza. Primero,…