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Recent Blog Posts
Will I Go to Jail if I Am Caught in a Sex Sting?
Texas treats prostitution as a serious criminal offense and invests a lot of resources in arresting sex workers and clients. Police regularly investigate and arrest prostitution suspects using sting operations. If you are arrested during a sting operation on suspicion of committing sex crimes, it is crucial to speak with a Texas criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible for guidance on how best to proceed.
How Do Sting Operations Work?
Police sometimes work undercover to catch people committing a crime. Prostitution sting operations can target suspected sex workers or their clients, with an officer posing as a prostitute or as a client to try to nab someone in the act of agreeing to an exchange of sex for money.
How Long Will My Personal Injury Claim Take?
It can be a hard decision to pursue a personal injury case; you might be focused on recovering from your injuries, stressing about income you lost as a result, and concerned about any repairs you need to make. The idea of beginning a legal proceeding can seem overwhelming. Despite all that, you probably understand that the damages you can recover can make the process worthwhile.
Once you have made the decision and are ready to begin, you are probably wondering how long it will take until that money is in your pocket. While all personal injury cases are unique and can be settled differently, several factors can affect how long yours will take. An experienced Texas personal injury lawyer who has helped many clients recover damages can review your case and give you reasonable expectations for how long it might take.
When Can You Claim You Were Acting in Self-Defense?
When someone attacks you, it is natural to protect yourself. Sometimes, in the act of defending yourself, you end up hurting the person who was trying to hurt you in the first place. When someone is injured in an altercation like that, it can be hard to prove who started assaulting who, and who was responding in self-defense. If you are facing criminal charges because your attacker got hurt when you acted to protect yourself, speak with a skilled Texas criminal defense lawyer to understand your options.
What Is Considered Self-Defense?
Self-defense is when you use force to protect yourself or others from harm. Texas law allows you to defend yourself, even with deadly force, if you believe that you or someone else is in danger of being hurt and you need to take action to prevent that. However, it is only legally considered self-defense and not assault if the force you use is necessary to stop the threat. If you keep fighting with an attacker once they no longer present a threat, it might not be considered self-defense anymore.
How Can Mental Health Issues Impact My Texas Criminal Case?
Mental health can play a significant role in criminal defense cases in Texas. Mental health challenges can influence every aspect of the process, from criminal intent to arrest and trial. If you are facing criminal charges and suffer from mental health issues, an experienced Texas criminal defense attorney can help you navigate the challenges and ensure that your rights are protected.
What Role Does Mental Health Play in Criminal Cases?
Mental health conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, and anxiety can affect behavior. In some cases, these types of conditions can contribute to actions that lead to criminal charges. For example, someone experiencing a psychotic episode could act in ways they otherwise would not if they were not suffering or receiving proper treatment for their condition.
4 Mistakes to Avoid When Facing Criminal Charges in Texas
If you are facing criminal charges, you might feel stressed and overwhelmed. This can be particularly true if this is your first time having this experience. Your actions at this critical time can impact your case, so it is important to know about common mistakes to avoid. To learn more, speak with an experienced Austin, TX criminal defense attorney.
Mistake 1: Not Remaining Silent
A common mistake people can make when they are under investigation or arrested is speaking with the police without a lawyer. Anything you say can be used against you later on in court. People mistakenly think if they answer questions and are cooperative, this can help prove their innocence, and if they demand a lawyer, it can make them seem guilty.
The truth is with the stakes of criminal charges so high, you can never be too careful and answering questions without legal guidance can end up hurting you. You should always exercise your right to remain silent and have an attorney present before you answer any questions.
How Can Tort Reform Impact My Texas Personal Injury Case?
If someone else’s mistake or negligence caused you to get injured, you might file a personal injury claim to receive compensation for the costs related to the injury such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. However, in Texas, tort reform laws may affect how personal injury claims work. These laws are designed to limit how much money a person can receive in certain cases, making it more difficult to win large settlements or jury awards. To learn more about tort reform and how it might impact your personal injury case, speak with a qualified Austin, TX personal injury lawyer.
What is Tort Reform?
Tort reform describes changes to Texas law that limit how much compensation you can receive in a lawsuit, including personal injury claims. Tort reform aims to reduce the number of lawsuits that are filed, the cost of litigation, and the amount of money awarded in cases. The rationale behind it is that if these cases are less profitable, it will discourage people from bringing frivolous lawsuits. However, it has also succeeded in discouraging real victims and can prevent them from getting justice.
Can a Criminal Conviction Impact My Immigration Status?
Facing criminal charges can always be stressful. For green card holders, visa holders, or those hoping to become a U.S. citizen, the stakes are even higher. Depending on the specifics of your case, criminal convictions might impact your immigration status. If you are facing charges and unsure how it might affect your status, seek advice from a skilled Midland, TX criminal defense lawyer.
What Happens When a Non-Citizen Is Convicted of a Crime?
When an immigration applicant is convicted of a crime, immigration officials can review the details of the case to decide whether that person should still be allowed to stay in the country and apply for permanent status.
Certain convictions can get a non-citizen deported, for example, aggravated assault, domestic violence, and drug trafficking. When a non-citizen has applied for a green card or visa, some convictions can make them inadmissible to the country, meaning they will not be allowed to enter or remain here.
How Can Texas’s Junk Science Laws Impact a Criminal Case?
As technology develops, it has improved many aspects of our daily routine. Like all areas of life, the criminal justice field has been significantly impacted by technological advances. Improved crime scene investigation techniques and DNA testing and matching methods have been revolutionary in convicting previously unsolved cases and exonerating innocent people who were wrongly convicted.
However, better technology now means that some methods used in the past are lacking or flawed, and resulting convictions can be challenged. A current case that has garnered substantial national attention has highlighted the issues with what is dubbed "junk science." To learn more about how current science might help get a conviction overturned, speak with a knowledgeable Austin, TX criminal defense attorney.
Changing Seasons and Personal Injury Cases in Texas
When most people think of Texas, they generally think of heat. However, parts of Texas can have severe winter conditions. As autumn changes into winter, the weather can cause various hazards that must be addressed so no one gets hurt. Property owners have a particular responsibility to maintain safe conditions in the areas they are responsible for. Otherwise, if you end up with an injury because they failed to keep their property safe, you could sue for damages in a premises liability case. To learn more, speak with a knowledgeable Georgetown, TX personal injury attorney.
Common Winter-Related Accidents
Austin rarely sees snow, but temperatures can drop to freezing in the winter. When that happens, puddles gathered from rain can turn into dangerous, icy hazards. Slip-and-falls are the most common accident caused by wintery conditions. If an accumulation of ice is considered "natural" - for example, if it rained for two days straight and then freezing temperatures caused ice to form on a ramp somewhere - that is not something a property owner would be typically liable for.
Defending Against Charges of Diesel Theft in Texas
Texas has a set of laws dedicated to what happens when diesel fuel is stolen. A recent case where a Texas man was arrested on charges of diesel theft, convicted, and sentenced to 50 years in prison highlights not only that this crime is more common than you might think but also how seriously it is treated. If you are facing charges of diesel theft, speak with a trustworthy Austin, TX criminal defense attorney to understand your options.
What Are the Charges for Diesel Theft?
According to Texas Penal Code Title 7 Chapter 31 Section 19, diesel theft is when someone illegally and intentionally takes "petroleum product" - crude oil, natural gas, or condensate, from its owner or directly from a pipeline or storage tank without paying for it. It is generally considered a category of property theft. The charges for diesel theft vary depending on how much was taken. The law specifies which amounts of stolen diesel would be penalized with which charges, ranging from a Class C Misdemeanor for stealing an amount worth less than $100 to a first-degree felony for a stolen amount worth over $300,000. Depending on the charges, you might be given no jail time and a fine of up to $500 or you could face a life sentence.
