Criminal Defense

Theft is one of the broadest crimes in the Penal Code. Certain Section 31.01 offenses trigger no consequences at all. Iny many places, police do not respond to shoplifting calls if the value was less than $50. At the other end of the spectrum, some thieves spend more time in pri...

The Bill of Rights was one of the most earth-shaking and controversial documents in the history of mankind. Never before had a government placed such drastic limits on its own authority. Today, over two hundred years later, lawyers and judges still struggle with concepts like fre...

As the weather heats up outside, the number of assaults usually goes up as well. Generally, hot temperatures increase violent crimes. Curiously, hot weather has almost no effect on theft and other property crimes. Under Texas law, assault covers the common-law crimes of both ass...

To erase a criminal conviction, as well as any arrest or other records related to that conviction, defendants must meet certain minimum requirements. Only certain types of offenses, and certain dispositions, qualify for expungement. Even if the defendant meets the minimum requir...

Most Tarrant County drug crimes are simple possession cases. That's true for 85 percent of drug cases overall, and over 90 percent of marijuana prosecutions. These statistics are so high because possession arrests are easy to make. Officers pull over a driver for a busted tailli...

In the 2018-19 session, Texas lawmakers expanded the medical marijuana rules and legitimized CBD oil. However, a bill to decriminalize low-level possession failed. The original Compassionate Use Act only made medical marijuana available to people with severe seizure disorders. H...

By a 7-2 vote, the highest court in the land once again reaffirmed the federal government's power to retry an individual for the same offense. Writing for the majority in Gamble v. United States, Justice Samuel Alito argued these situations do not fall within the Fifth Amendment...

Pretrial release is obviously important from a personal perspective. It's also important from a legal perspective. The presumption of innocence is one of the bedrock principles of the American justice system. If the defendant remains in jail, that presumption of innocence essenti...

Drug possession cases, mostly marijuana cases, make up about 85 percent of the drug arrests in Parker County. Depending on the type and amount of substance, these offenses are usually felonies. If the defendant has no criminal record, pretrial diversion or deferred adjudication m...

Living life in Parker County is already a challenge. If you have a criminal conviction on your record, life becomes even more difficult. Even a small black smudge on your record makes it difficult to get a good job, find a nice place to live, or pursue certain professional opport...