Posted on August 10, 2021 in DWI / DUI

When a police officer makes personal contact during a drunk driving investigation, they will ask you questions like: Where are you coming from? What were you doing there? Where are you headed? This line of questioning is often used by police if they suspect that you were driving while intoxicated.

Over time, many police notice patterns with bars where patrons like to get drunk, their hours of operation, and an area nearby where you might violate a traffic law. Many wonder whether this type of strategic planning is considered “entrapment.”

Armchair experts who have watched a few police procedurals and legal dramas might say that this type of behavior is entrapment, but realistically, this is just targeted enforcement. Police identify an area rife with illegal activity and respond to it accordingly. So, what is entrapment then?

Entrapment According to Texas Law

Under the Texas Penal Code, entrapment is a legal defense you can use to defend yourself in court. Entrapment is when a police officer persuades or influences you to break the law. The above scenario does not qualify because the officer is monitoring an area where he or she will likely see a traffic violation. In other words, they did not make you drink until you were over the legal limit and drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

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 Posted on July 27, 2021 in DWI / DUI

When a police officer conducts a driving while intoxicated (DWI) investigation, they rarely rely on a single clue to determine whether or not you have been drinking, but rather they consider the totality of the circumstances. Officers are looking for signs of drunk driving from the moment they initiate the traffic stop until the moment you are released from their custody. Understanding the evidence police may use to justify a DWI arrest can help you build a strong defense against DWI charges.

Clues Officers Look for During a DWI Investigation

This particular stage of a DWI investigation is called “personal contact,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At this point, an officer opens up all his or her senses and takes mental notes on what he or she sees, hears, and smells.

The officer will likely first scrutinize your appearance by looking at your eyes to if they are bloodshot, listen to your voice for slurred speech, and leaning in to smell your breath. The officer will also note your physical and verbal actions. He or she will watch for a loss or lack of coordination like shaky hands or furtive movements, and listen for abusive language or unusual statements.

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 Posted on July 15, 2021 in Criminal Law

DWI arrests are considered high priority by state and local jurisdictions in not just Texas, but all across the country. And because of that, the federal government tasked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with creating standards and instructions for training officers on how to investigate DWI cases.

According to NHTSA guidelines, a DWI investigation involves three steps: vehicle in motion, personal contact, and pre-arrest screening, i.e., field sobriety tests. The vehicle in motion stage is like making a reservation at a restaurant, the personal contact stage is like ordering from the menu, and the pre-arrest screening is like dinner rolls at the table. The most substantive part of the interaction is usually the pre-arrest screening. It begs, why are field sobriety tests so important in a DWI case?

Field Sobriety Tests

Contrary to what many believe, you cannot fail a field sobriety test. Instead, police rely on them to uncover indicators of impairment. The three primary tests include the Nystagmus Test, the Walk and Turn, and the One Leg Stand. In the first one, you either show nystagmus or you do not, and then the other two require you to follow specific instructions and demonstrate balance and coordination.

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 Posted on June 22, 2021 in Expunctions

Being arrested and charged with a crime that you did not commit can be damaging in many ways. You may have trouble obtaining employment and finding a place to live as many employers and landlords perform background checks. Fortunately, Texas law allows for some arrests and charges to be removed from a person’s criminal record through the process of expunction. If you are unsure whether you qualify for an expunction, you should speak with a skilled Texas expunction lawyer to discuss your situation.

Qualifying for an Expunction

In many ways, Texas’ expunction statute is not very expansive. In fact, it is actually rather limited. You cannot file a petition for expunction if your arrest and/or charge ended in a conviction or if you received community supervision for any offense other than a Class C misdemeanor. A criminal record is also ineligible for expunction if the record is related to a probation violation warrant or if you attempted to leave the jurisdiction after you were released on bond.

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 Posted on June 08, 2021 in Criminal Law

When you think of a person being convicted of a crime, you also likely think of them being sentenced to prison to serve out their punishment. In reality, many people who have been charged with low-level and non-violent crimes are found to benefit more and show greater rehabilitation when they are in their communities, rather than in prison. Because of this, many judges prefer to sentence these offenders to probation, which is officially known as community supervision in Texas.

What is Community Supervision?

Rather than serving out a sentence in prison, a judge may decide that a person’s sentence would be better spent while they were living in and contributing to their own community. If this is the case, a judge may sentence a person to community supervision. If a person is sentenced to community supervision, they will regularly keep in touch with their probation officers, who will help keep them on the right track. Community supervision often comes with requirements that you must abide by and things that you must not do during your supervision period to complete the sentence successfully.

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 Posted on May 25, 2021 in DWI / DUI

Being pulled over by the police can be a scary occurrence. It can become even more uncomfortable if the police have a suspicion that you have been driving while intoxicated (DWI). If the police do think you may have been drinking, they will likely ask you to perform a series of tests to determine if you are impaired or not. These tests are not always precise and only work correctly to determine impairment most of the time, rather than all of the time. If you have been arrested for DWI, you do not have to panic, but you should know what to expect from the next steps in the process.

Administrative License Revocation (ALR)

The first thing you should know is that you might lose your license through an administrative process, separate from any criminal penalties you may also face. The Administrative License Revocation (ALR) process goes into effect if you refuse to submit to a chemical test to determine your blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) or fail the chemical test by having a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher. A first offense of failing a chemical test results in a 90-day driver’s license suspension, while a first offense of refusing a chemical test results in a 180-day driver’s license suspension.

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 Posted on May 10, 2021 in Sex Crimes

In 2017, the #MeToo movement exploded on social media, encouraging those who have experienced sexual assault to share their stories. In the years since, the #MeToo movement has sparked a wave of change in many states as to how they define, charge and prosecute sexual assault offenses. In many cases, consent has been a hotly debated issue in sexual assault cases. Most states -- Texas included -- have various laws and stipulations pertaining to what consent means, who can give it, and whether or not it is a defense against sexual assault charges.

What is Consent in Texas?

According to Texas law, sexual assault occurs when a person intentionally and/or knowingly performs a sex act or causes another person to perform a sex act on a person who does not give their consent. Because consent is such a crucial part of sexual assault cases, it is important to understand what consent means. Texas law states that consent is not given if:

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 Posted on April 28, 2021 in Boating While Intoxicated

Now that we are easing into the springtime and soon into summer, more people will be out enjoying the warm weather. Many Texans enjoy spending time out on the water on their boats or other watercraft when the weather is nice, but what starts as a good time can turn into a serious problem if you are drinking while you are operating your boat. Just like driving while intoxicated (DWI), boating while intoxicated, also referred to as a BWI, can carry serious implications. Anyone facing a BWI charge in Texas should consult with a knowledgeable lawyer to discuss their options.

What Constitutes a BWI Charge?

Everyone has heard at some point that the legal limit for the amount of alcohol in your blood is 0.08 percent. If you have a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) above this limit, you are considered to be intoxicated. The same limit also applies to those who are operating a boat. You will be considered to be boating under the influence if you have a BAC of 0.08 percent or higher, or if you have lost your normal mental and/or physical capabilities because of an intoxicating substance.

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 Posted on April 21, 2021 in DWI / DUI

In recent years, more focus has been placed on catching those who choose to drive while intoxicated (DWI) and preventing it from happening in the first place. In Texas, one of the programs that has been implemented as a deterrent for people to avoid drinking and driving is the Administrative License Revocation (ALR) program. Like in most other states, you can lose your driver’s license in Texas through an administrative process if you are arrested for DWI under certain circumstances. If you are facing administrative penalties relating to a DWI, sometimes known in other jurisdictions as a DUI, a DWI defense attorney can help you understand your options.

The ALR Process and Implied Consent

If a police officer suspects that you have been drinking and driving, he or she will likely pull you over and request that you perform a series of field sobriety tests. If one of these tests involves a preliminary chemical breath test, you have the right to refuse the test without facing consequences. However, once you have been arrested, you are subject to implied consent. This means you must submit to chemical testing or face the consequences set forth by the state of Texas, which is a driver’s license suspension. Since you have not yet been convicted of DWI, this is not a criminal charge, but rather an administrative process that is separate from the criminal element of your case.

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 Posted on March 19, 2021 in Criminal Law

Whereas they were once settled in civil courts, these days white-collar crimes have become increasingly more common as many law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, as well as the general public, seek justice for higher-brow financial crimes in which the accused might be bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars or more from their clients or other victims. In the case of mortgage fraud, both white-collar criminals and the average person might be accused of it.

Mortgage Fraud Defined

Mortgage fraud, a type of financial institution fraud (FIF), is defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as: “Some type of material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission in relation to a mortgage loan that is then relied upon by a lender.” This deceptive practice of mortgage fraud then causes the bank to make a decision about the loan that could be in the favor of the offender even though he/she used deceptive means to influence such a decision.

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