Blog

Yes. It may depend on the jurisdiction. Many jurisdictions, Tarrant County particularly have diversion programs, the person may be put in some type of program that diverts them from court, it is called Diversion because it is not through the court. It does not result in any type of record and it puts them in the position later if they complete it, to be able to expunge it from their record. There are also some programs called Deferred Prosecution. In some jurisdictions, that can be run by the district attorney’s office, the person is placed on an informal probation outside [...]

Surprisingly, yes! Police can lie to you, and they frequently do. They frequently will lie to people and lead them to believe that maybe they already have some evidence or that someone else has given evidence against them. Police are allowed to lie to people in order to investigate crimes and that does not mean that evidence cannot be used against them. Are People Allowed To Lie To The Police In Return? The best thing to do is exercise your right to remain silent and not answer any questions. Do not put yourself in the position of telling the truth [...]

How long do you go to jail for assault in Texas? The punishment for assault in Texas depends on the level of the offense, often determined by the harm the other party suffered. Common Defense Strategies In Fort Worth Assault Cases Threatening to cause injury under normal circumstances as compared to someone in a domestic situation is a class C misdemeanor. Offensive and provocative contact under normal conditions is a class C misdemeanor. Examples of this include grabbing the victim's genitals without permission and reaching to grab them while they try to evade it. The most common penalty is a [...]

Common Errors To Avoid In Fort Worth Assault Cases The first and biggest mistake is always to talk to the police or the detectives and answer any questions, even if the person is innocent, even if the person was entitled to self-defense. It is almost always a mistake to answer questions because the detectives or the law enforcement agency may take it out of context or use it to corroborate other evidence so they can make the case stronger against the person accused. That is the first mistake people make. The second mistake would be to not hire an expert [...]

Circumstances Leading To Protective Orders After An Assault It can be requested. It is sometimes done automatically, especially in family member cases. The court will often enter a protective order. Often as a condition of bond, the court will order that the person not have any contact with the alleged injured party or complaining witness or at the very least order that they not have any harmful or injurious contact with the injured party or complaining witness.

Anger Management Programs For Assault Defendants Yes, it is often the case. Clients may be advised by their attorney to seek counseling or anger management before they are ordered to do so by the court in an attempt to help their case. In fact, that is often a good strategy to consider helping with the case. First, if the person is in need of it, then just on a personal level, it may be helpful for them to get started on some type of counseling. Secondly, from a defense strategy, it can be very helpful to get enrolled in some [...]

What Are The Long-Term Consequences Of An Assault Conviction In Texas? Even in a misdemeanor Class A assault on a family member, if they are convicted or even placed on deferred adjudication, then that affects their right to own or possess a firearm because it is a federal offense to then own or possess a firearm. If they are convicted of even Class A assault, then that is going to prevent them from being able to get a handgun license in the future even if it is not on a family member. If they are convicted of any felony level [...]

Expungement Of Assault Charges In Texas The only way you can get an assault charge expunged is if you have been found not guilty or the case has been dismissed. If you are found not guilty, then you can immediately get the record of arrest and the records of the charge expunged from your criminal record. That means that the records will be destroyed, deleted and erased and it would not show up on a background check and you could legally say that it never happened. If you get deferred adjudication for assault, not on a family member, that can [...]

What Is Assault? In Texas, assault is any intentional act that makes others think you are about to cause harm. It doesn't matter if you actually cause physical harm. Simply threatening harm or acting in a way that makes others think they are at risk is enough to trigger assault charges. For example, throwing a punch but missing or pretending to throw a punch and causing others to think that you're trying to hurt them can both lead to assault charges. Texas law says that intentionally or knowingly causing physical contact with someone that others would reasonably know will be [...]

Challenges In The Accuracy Of Blood Tests For Drug DWI Cases Blood tests for drugs, or controlled substances, like blood tests for alcohol, are subject to mistakes, and misinterpretation of the chromatograph used to define the levels of the substance they are looking for, that may cause the intoxication. Sometimes, the vials are mixed up. Blood tests are conducted in mass quantity with possibly fifty different vials going at once, because they are run at the same time. A simple mistake in the loading or in the labeling can cause an invalid test for somebody else. The blood tests are [...]