Basic Criminal Punishments for Texas Crimes July 9, 2010
Posted by andrewlegal in Uncategorized.add a comment
Criminal Law in Texas encompasses the entire area of the law wherein if a person violates a criminal law or statute he may be subject to either a fine or jail or imprisonment or both fine and jail or fine and imprisonment. Criminal law includes any situitation wherein a person’s liberty is at stake of being lost completely, for example when a person is imprisoned for a serious crime, or one’s liberty is deprived to a lesser extent such as when a person receives probation as opposed to being sent to prison or jail. Thus even when a person is on probation, his liberty has been deprived to the extent that he may not leave the state of county without permission of the judge. Therefore, his liberty has been restricted in some way. Criminal law also encompasses a situitation where a person may receive some type of punishment even if it is only a fine of some sort for a criminal act. Fines generally are associated with traffic offenses.
Criminal law has a broad range and is generally categorized according to the punishment one may receive for the law that is violated. The crime can be as minor as a traffic offense wherein the person may be fined for the misconduct. Traffic offenses are criminal offenses under Texas law as there can be a punishment imposed for the infraction. Traffic offenses are punished by fine only. One cannot receive a jail sentence as punishment for a traffic violation. However, because there is some type of punishment, albeit a fine only, a traffic offense is still considered a criminal offense under Texas law. Most traffic violations are classified as class C misdemeanors.
The next more serious criminal offenses are known as class B misdemeanors for which a person may receive up to 180 days in the county jail or a fine of up o $2,000.00 or both fine and jail time. Class A misdemeanors are those for which a person may receive a $4,000.00 fine and up to one year in the county jail and are the most serious of misdemeanors offenses for which a person may be convicted. Class A misdemeanors include offenses for assault, theft of property of over $500.00 and many others.
A felony offense known as a state jail felony is the least serious of the felony offenses one might commit in Texas. It however, is much more serious than any of the misdemeanor offenses and carries a range of punishment of anywhere from 180 days in a state jail facility up to 2 years in a state jail and/or a $10,000.00 fine, or both. The more serious offenses are felony offenses wherein one may receive 2 to 10 years in prison which is a third degree felony, 2- 20 years in prison which is a second degree felony, and 5 to 99 years or life in prison for a first degree felony, each of which also carries a fine of $10,000.00. Finally, a person who is convicted of a capital felony may receive either the death penalty or automatic life in prison without the possibility of parole. The above is a basic overview of the ranges of punishment for the categories of criminal acts in Texas.
Should I talk to the cops April 16, 2010
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For anyone ever accused of something he/she did not do and whether to talk to the police abut it. This is especially important for those innocent people who think it is best to speak with the law enforcement about anything related to a criminal accusation. Watch this video.
Former Judge Pleads Guilty April 8, 2010
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This comes from the Houston Chronicle internet edition which I am sure all will see in tomorrow’s paper after they read about Tiger Woods’ return to golf. Even judge’s do crazy things. This man was a former criminal district court judge for many years and sat in judgment of many other people charged with much more serious crimes.
A former Harris County state district judge accused of keying his neighbor’s car last year pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge and was fined $1,500.
Woody Densen’s plea comes almost a year after his Rice Village-area neighbor caught him on camera scratching the rear of his 2006 Range Rover. At the time, Densen’s lawyer denied that his client had done anything wrong. In June, a Harris County grand jury indicted the former judge on a felony criminal mischief charge.
Densen also has paid restitution to the vehicle owner and his insurance company, said prosecutor Matthew Peneguy.
Densen presided over criminal cases as judge of the 248th State District Court from 1983 until he was defeated in a bid for re-election in 1994.
After that, he served as a visiting judge for many years, but stopped accepting courtroom assignments in 2007 when the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association filed a complaint against him with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. The state commission dismissed that complaint without taking any action.
Get rid of that past Criminal record forever March 30, 2010
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Just a short not to let those of you who have been searching for a job in these tough times. Most times those past criminal records that pop up to haunt you out of the past are not always permanent. Many times a person finds the perfect job only to be turned down because of a probation of some type from years ago that pops up on your record and the job goes to someone else. Many times these past records can be sealed or expunged completely so that even the police are unaware of the past criminal “situation.” Not all records are expungable but many times they can be sealed or prevented from view by the general public and potential employers. This is especially helpful for those people with certain types of probation that occurred many years ago and the person has had not any legal problems since. For example a possession of marijuana or a theft or shoplifting charge from when you were 18 years old. You are now 27 years old married with two kids and been to college and now can’t get that great job because of this record. I am telling you that many times under the right circumstances these records can be sealed or hidden from view of the public including many employers. And that great job is yours after all. You would be surprised how many times this will help you get a job. On many occasions the record can be sealed almost immediately after the person has finished the probation. And in today’s job market anything that helps is well worth the effort.
Parents Beware March 25, 2010
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Serving alcohol to minors and hosting minor parties where the parent or other adult is serving alcohol to minors, or permitting it or otherwise condoning this activity can result in criminal penalties. Not to mention the damage it can cause should one of these children get hold of his car keys and decide to drive into another vehicle and kill or seriously injure someone. At this point the police will be looking to see where the child got the alcohol and that is where the hell begins for the unsuspecting parent or other of age adult who has provided the alcohol to the minor. Just a warning for those who think it is better for the minor to drink at home under supervision. It is your child, do what you want. But beware of the other person’s child or the victim of a horrible accident should one of these teens be responsible for an accident after he was served alcohol at your home.
Traffic stop turned bad March 24, 2010
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Again I write to let people know that when stopped by police they do not need to allow the police to search their car. If they ask it is because they do not have what is known as probable cause to search and want you to give them permission to search the car. It police have probable cause to search they will without asking you. Example. Client just hired me for possession of controlled substance. He was stopped for speeding and allowed police to search his car on request because he thought nothing was there. He forgot however that his wife had gone to the dentist for a tooth extraction three months before. She was in such pain on leaving the dentist office that they went to the pharmacy and got pain meds. On taking them she spilled two or three on the floor of the car. They forgot to get them and never thought anymore about it until the other day. Client tried to explain to the officer what happened but to no avail. He now has a court date, had to pay several hundred dollars to get out of jail, has missed work and has hired an attorney to untangle the mess. If he had only said NO when the officer asked to search he would not be having this problem now. You never have to agree to allow a search of your vehicle. If the officer has to ask it is because he has no probable cause. If you give permission police can tear the car apart if they want. Remember just say NO to the search.
More on Tickets March 22, 2010
Posted by andrewlegal in Criminal law.add a comment
I you have read the weekend Chronicle the City state section you would have seen the article regarding the numberous ways DPS can adds fees and surcharges to your license for alomst anything that DPS has a mind to come up with. Remember that getting tickets and ignoring them and not goind to court is a sure wqy to get both a warrant and additional syrchrges added to your driver’s license. Likewise just paying the ticket via mail or the internet is a sure way to get a conviction for a moving violation, more charges and a possible suspension of your driver’s license or worse a possible trip to jail if you are caught driving while your license is suspended for certain reasons. So be careful out there and at the very least contact an attorney for some free legal advice even if it is only for a ticket. The legal advice you get could save you a lot of headaches and a possible trip to jail in some cases.
Traffic Tickets March 19, 2010
Posted by andrewlegal in Criminal law.add a comment
I just got a call earlier today from a person whose son got a traffic ticket a few weeks ago and then negleted to take care 0f it. Of course it then turned into a warrant and he was stopped again. Fortunately he had an understanding police officer who did not arrest him or impound the car. His parents were called and they drove him home as his license was not valid and he did not have insurance. She wanted to know if she should just pay the warrants and the tickets and be done with it. I told her to pay the warrant fee to have the warrant lifted and her son could get his case back ont the court’s docket to be resolved, but not to simply pay the tickets. She was unaware that some tickets carry additional penalities for example a no insurance ticket conviction will have consequences like DPS surcharges on your driver’s license that will be much more expensive than just the ticket fee itself. Likewise possession of drugs calls for a license suspension upon a conviction for certain offenses such as possession of pot, or minor in possession of alcohol whether there is a car involved in the incident or not. For example if you are under 21 y/o and get a conviction for possession of alcohol your license to drive can be suspended even if you were not in a car when you got the ticket. There are many other instances where a person can get his license to drive suspended. Likewise not showing up for court get result in a warrant for your arrest not to mention possible problems later on when you try to get your registration or license renewed. Too many moving violations car get you tagged by DPS as a habitual violator and again a license suspension can result. Thus the moral of the story is to get the tickets taken care as soon as possible. Better to get a lwayer and pay a little money now than to ignore it or handle it yourself and pay a lot of unexpected fees later.
Judge Standley’s remarks March 16, 2010
Posted by andrewlegal in Criminal law.add a comment
As a thought most people who caught part of the news the other day regarding Judge Standley’s position on drugs and alcohol likely took his remarks out of context. Judge Standley has been a respected judge on the bench of a long time and is not surprised to find out the number of kids who do drugs and drink alcohol without their parents ever suspecting it or finding out about it. Just go to his court and watch the number of times kids are there with their shocked parents while the judge makes the kids apologize to the parents for their mistakes. Judge Standley is no fool and if you parents think your kid is not doing drugs or drinking alcohol at some point in his teen years you are out of touch with reality. That is not to say all kids do drugs or drink but enough do to make it a national epidemic. I practice criminal defense and make a good part of my living helping kids deal with getting caught with drugs or alcohol in school or otherwise and their unaware parents show up for the consult and just can’t get over the fact that their child did drugs of drank alcohol. Its out there and its a problem. Parents beware!!!
Drive carefully in Kingwood March 12, 2010
Posted by andrewlegal in Criminal law.add a comment
Police officers often find the most insignificant or benign traffic viloation to stop a person who they think may be driving while intoxicated. Sometimes they may not even have a reason other than seeing a group of teens in a car or they may rely on racial profiling to stop a car late at night. Reasonable suspicion to stop a vehilce requires that the officer has some clue or fact that he can articulate which connects the vehilce with some type of criminal activitiy, i.e. speeding, failure to maintain a single lane. Which are legitimate reasons to stop a vehicle. Other reasons are not. Such as mere suspicion of something out of place or not quite right. There must be criminal activitiy afoot for the stop to be valid and legal. Police will often stake out late night hang outs, bars, ice houses, etc and then follow the person until a traffic violation happens and then stops the carwhich on many occassions turns into an arrest for DWI.
