Posted on October 26, 2022 in Criminal Defense

When criminals or criminal organizations are taking in large amounts of money because of their criminal activities and need to make that money look like it came from a legitimate source, they will often engage in a process known as “money laundering.” This is the process of taking “dirty” criminal money and “cleaning,” or laundering it, through sources that appear to be legal. Money laundering is a serious crime that is often prosecuted at the federal level. Banks, companies, and even international organizations are constantly renewing their efforts to catch and prevent money laundering, but criminals are nothing if not creative, and new ways to launder money are constantly being created. 

Sometimes, people get involved in money laundering schemes without realizing that was what they were doing - or at least, not to the full extent of the charges they may be facing. Whether you realized it or not, you may have been committing a serious crime, even if you were accidentally helping someone launder money, and you need help from a Texas criminal defense lawyer. 

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 Posted on October 19, 2022 in Criminal Defense

Many people are familiar with the term “breaking and entering,” but may not know exactly what it means. It is often loosely used on television shows and in crime novels to describe property crimes, but without specifically providing a definition for the particular crime. In Texas, breaking and entering is not actually the technical term for the crime of wrongly entering someone’s property and stealing something; instead, Texas uses the terms “burglary” and “criminal trespass.” However, in Texas, you may also hear people use the term “breaking and entering” and you can generally understand it to mean the same thing as burglary and criminal trespass. 

Understanding Burglary and Criminal Trespass

Burglary and criminal trespass are crimes of entering a home, building, or vehicle without the permission of the owner with the intent to commit a crime such as theft or assault. Specifically, criminal trespass is entering or remaining on property without the consent of the owner, while burglary is going onto that property with the intent to commit a crime. 

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 Posted on October 11, 2022 in Criminal Defense

While everyone agrees that children who are being sexually abused deserve to be protected and their allegations taken seriously, finding out that someone is accusing your child of sexual abuse can be a completely different situation. Whether your child is an adult or a minor, you may feel panicked and naturally want to do everything you can to protect them from the allegations being made against them. 

Allegations of sexual misconduct are becoming increasingly common, and while this has enabled many true victims to come forward and seek justice, there has also been an increase in false sexual assault allegations. Even if an investigation shows the accused is not guilty, simple accusations can ruin a young person’s life. Here are some steps to take if your child is being accused of sexually abusing another child in Texas. 

Take the Allegations Seriously

As with any accusation of sexual assault, you need to take the allegations against your child seriously, even if they seem impossible or obviously fake. With the help of a lawyer, find out as many details as you can about the allegations, including where and when they happened, to whom they happened, and whether there are any witnesses who can offer corroborating evidence in support of the victim or your child. 

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 Posted on October 04, 2022 in Criminal Defense

The state of Texas takes crimes against children very seriously, especially those that are sexual in nature. Even the accusation of being accused of a sex crime against a child can have severe repercussions on someone’s professional and personal life. If you are facing accusations or charges for sex crimes against children, it is important to understand the charges against you, as well as their potential consequences. In this blog, we discuss indecency with a child; read on to learn more about this charge, and then contact a criminal defense attorney with specific experience in sex crimes defense. 

What Is Indecency With a Child? 

Indecency with a child occurs when someone engages in any of the following behaviors with a child under age 17:

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 Posted on September 29, 2022 in Criminal Defense

Certain cases of high-profile sexual assault allegations in recent years have brought the issue of sexual assault into the public sphere again and again. While some of the men accused of sexual assault were clearly guilty and convicted of at least some of the allegations against them, others faced long, humiliating public harassment over allegations of incidents that occurred many years or even decades ago for which evidence was scant or non-existent. 

The idea that someone - usually a woman - would make false allegations of sexual assault is often brushed off as laughable or even offensive. One particular study is frequently cited as “proving” that sexual assault allegations are only false an estimated 2-10 percent of the time. Yet the study only examined 136 cases and fails to acknowledge one of the most obvious facts about false sexual assault allegations: They are easy to make, hard to disprove, and rarely result in any meaningful cost to the person making them. If you have been falsely accused of sexual assault, an experienced, assertive Texas sexual assault defense attorney can help you fight these allegations, even before they are brought to court. 

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 Posted on September 23, 2022 in Criminal Defense

While we may not be inclined to admit it, most of us have gotten into a car and driven ourselves home after having too much to drink. Most of the time, taking such a foolish risk results in little or no consequence; other times, however, making the mistake of drinking and driving can change lives forever. If you are facing charges for getting into a car accident while drunk and accidentally killing someone, you need to know the penalties you may be facing. 

Intoxication Manslaughter

Under Texas law, the term for causing a fatal car, truck, or other vehicle accident while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is “intoxication manslaughter.” Manslaughter is a legal term that recognizes that, as opposed to murder, in which the act was premeditated, the crime of killing someone can happen without malice or forethought. Instead, manslaughter charges are brought when someone’s actions amount to an extreme, reckless disregard for life in the form of criminal negligence. 

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 Posted on September 16, 2022 in Federal Crimes

Imagine a fairly common scenario: A group of college buddies from Texas goes on a road trip to California, where marijuana is legal. Visiting several dispensaries, the group stocks up on flower, vape pens, and dabs, and then gets ready to head back home. The group figures they might share some of the product with friends, sell a little of it, or maybe keep it all for themselves. No big deal, right? 

But when the group is driving back through Texas, they get pulled over by a highway patrol officer for driving nine miles over the speed limit. The officer claims he smells marijuana on the group, orders them out of their car, and then searches the car. He finds the friends’ stash, arrests them all, and suddenly an entire group of friends without a criminal history is facing federal drug charges. 

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 Posted on September 09, 2022 in Criminal Defense

Opioid abuse is a major problem in Texas. About 5,000 people are known to have died of an overdose in Texas in 2021 alone, and officials fear that number underestimates the true number of opioid deaths because postmortem toxicology tests can be expensive. Nearly 10,000 people visited emergency rooms for opioid-related problems in previous years and Texas’s program to provide medicine that can save someone from an overdose ran out of funding in January. 

Federal law allows a drug dealer who sells opioids to someone who later dies of an overdose to be held responsible for that person’s death, but Texas state laws are not yet in line with other states that have implemented harsh drug homicide laws that match federal penalties. For now, despite charges for drug-related homicide being somewhat difficult to prove, prosecutors are still eager to punish alleged drug dealers to the fullest extent of the law. Defending against these charges requires the help of an experienced drug crimes defense attorney. 

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 Posted on August 29, 2022 in Criminal Defense

You may have heard horror stories in the news - friends being careless while driving, tragic accidents between family members out hunting, or a night of partying gone wrong - but never thought such a thing would happen to you. Yet accidental killings do sometimes happen, and when they do, they change lives forever. While the victim’s family and friends suffer the greatest loss, the person responsible for an accidental death will also have to deal with terrible consequences, whether or not criminal charges are filed. When criminal charges are filed, an excellent criminal defense attorney is essential for preventing even more suffering. 

Criminal Charges for Accidental Killings in Texas

Killing someone in Texas can be prosecuted as murder, capital murder, involuntary manslaughter or voluntary manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide. Involuntary manslaughter charges can be brought after an act of recklessness that kills someone, but which was not committed with the intent to cause serious harm or death. Driving drunk and crashing and killing someone is a classic example of involuntary manslaughter. But what about when a death is truly an accident? In these cases, charges of criminally negligent homicide may still be brought. 

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 Posted on August 23, 2022 in Criminal Defense

Most people know that using the internet to look for sex with minors in Texas is a crime. Likewise, many people know that police conduct “sting” operations to find people looking to engage in criminal behavior. But sometimes, police conduct crosses a line and people get caught in sting operations and charged with crimes of which they are innocent. 

If you were caught in an internet sting operation, you may feel shame and fear and wonder what will happen to you. With a great criminal defense attorney, you can fight these unfair charges and have hope for a better future. 

What Counts as Online Solicitation of a Minor? 

When someone 17 years of age or older tries to use any form of electronic communication to get a minor to engage in sexual activity, including just sexual conversation, this is considered online solicitation of a minor whether the sexual activity occurs online or in person. Sending explicit photos and “sexting” with explicit language - two very common activities among young adults - are included in this crime. 

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