Law Blog

Pre-Trial & Trial In Dallas/Fort Worth

January 6, 2019

What is plea bargaining?
The majority of criminal cases are settled through plea bargaining. If you have ever had a case in Dallas County, Johnson, Ellis, Denton or Tarrant County, you will know that well over 90% of all criminal cases are settled through a plea-bargain. If accused of a crime you may plead guilty or no contest to reduced charges, a reduced sentence or dismissal of charges. Think “let’s make a deal.” They offer you something, then you refuse and counter. It all depends on the evidence and for what you are being charged.

What is a pre-sentence investigation?
After you negotiate a plea or are found guilty the court will usually order a pre-sentence investigation to be done in order to assist the court in determining what sentence they will impose on you. Extenuating circumstances may help reduce the length of the sentence but a history of crime in your record may increase the length of the sentence. The court will then review the pre-sentence report along with any additional information the defense would like the court to take into consideration before the sentencing hearing.
The sentencing hearing will consist of both sides having the opportunity to have witnesses make statements to support their position. The defendant will also have an opportunity to address the court but is not required to do so.

The state has the burden of proving to the jury that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If found guilty you may be sentenced to imprisonment, probation, fines, restitution, and community service.

Search and Seizure in Arlington, Texas

January 2, 2019

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| Criminal Defense, General

Search and seizure is a complicated topic in criminal law. Search and seizure often comes into play when a police officer is performing the search and seizure of the person, the home, or an automobile. There are certain rules that an officer and the government must follow when conducting a search and seizure. If these rules are not followed, this can impact a criminal defendant’s case in a good way. When analyzing if a search and seizure is valid, every detail matters. While we have tried to summarize some of the most common questions about search and seizure, every case is fact-specific and different; one page cannot fully explain all that must be known about search and seizure law.

Do I have to let a police officer in if they want to search my home in Arlington, Texas?
Police are not allowed to enter your home unless they have a search or arrest warrant. Police require only an arrest warrant to enter the home of the person named on the arrest warrant. An arrest warrant and a search warrant is required if you are at persons home other than your own. Without a warrant the only way law enforcement may enter is with your consent or if a warrant exception applies. They will not likely be asking you for permission if a warrant exception applies since the exceptions only apply to exigent circumstances. If they are asking you for permission to enter your home you may respectfully decline at which time they will be forced to obtain a warrant.

What kind of proof or evidence does a cop need to arrest or search me? Is it different in Dallas County or Tarrant County?
Arrest: A cop may arrest you if he has probable cause to believe that an individual has committed any criminal offense in his presence, regardless of the seriousness of the offense or the punishment. Probable cause is determined by whether the facts and circumstances would justify a reasonable officer to believe that there is a fair probability of criminal activity. Fair probability is more than bare suspicion but less than evidence which would result in a conviction.

Search: A cop must have reasonable suspicion in order to stop you. Reasonable suspicion is a reasonable belief that criminal activity is in progress. Determining whether there is reasonable suspicion requires that we ask ourselves whether the facts and circumstances would justify a reasonable officer to believe that there is criminal activity in progress. The officer may stop you only for the duration required to determine if his reasonable suspicion was accurate or not. If it was accurate he may arrest you since that will provide him with the probable cause that is required to make a lawful arrest but if it was inaccurate you are free to go. Once a cop has stopped you he may only search you if he has reasonable suspicion that you are armed and dangerous. This search is limited to a pat down search of the outside of your clothing only for weapons. Although the police officer is only searching for weapons which may be a threat to him or others,he may seize drugs and contraband if he feels them as long as it was immediately apparent what the items were underneath the clothing. It must be immediately apparent to the police officer without manipulation that the item in your pocket is drugs or contraband.

Search Incident To Arrest: A police officer may also search you after you have been arrested for any offense so long as it is a lawful arrest. A lawful arrest requires that the officer have probable cause or an arrest warrant. The officer must perform the search contemporaneously with the arrest. It doesn’t matter if the police are in Arlington, Mansfield, Dallas, Fort Worth, Keller, Southlake, Grapevine, Irving, Las Colinas or Lewisville. These rules apply to all of Texas and all police officers, regardless of where the police officer is located or where you live; these rules must be followed.

Please contact the Arlington-based criminal defense attorney at Our Law Firm to discuss what options are available for you or the accused person.

Family Law Attorney

December 24, 2018

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| Family Law, General

Family law issues can be some of the most challenging and important issues you will ever face.

What is family law?
Family law encompasses a broad range of family-related matters and domestic relations, including marriage, divorce, annulment, spousal support, alimony, division of property, child custody, child support, child abuse, adoption, termination of parental rights, pre-marital agreements and post-marital agreements.

Some of the services that we offer relating to family law include:

Child custody and support issues
CPS investigations
Divorce
Modification agreements
Parentage

Having an experienced attorney on your side can make all the difference. At Our Law Firm in Arlington, Texas we believe in finding solutions, not perpetuating problems. We will help you and your family cope with the uncertainty that is the family law system in Texas. Call the Arlington-based attorneys at our firm.

Child Custody & Support

December 22, 2018

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| Family Law, General

Child custody in Texas
Texas law presumes that the parents of the child be “joint managing conservators.” As joint managing conservators, both parents will be able to jointly make decisions regarding the child including education and medical decisions. The court may also grant sole custody or “sole managing conservator” to one parent. To determine whether there will be a sole conservator or joint conservators the court will look at what is the best interest of the child. If a parent does not agree with the court’s decision, he or she will need to file a custody case. A court can consider the preference of whom the child wishes to live with at age 12.

Child support in Texas
Child support may be paid by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent until the child reaches the age of 18 or the court otherwise determines. In Texas, a parent is a child’s birth mother, a man presumed to be the child’s biological father, signed an Acknowledgement of Paternity or an adoptive mother or father. The court has discretion over how much child support the noncustodial parent must pay. However, there are guidelines that may be used to estimate how much child support must be paid each month. The amount paid is a percentage of the noncustodial parent’s average monthly gross income.

Parents may also make agreements for child support payments and the court will sign the agreement into order if it finds that the agreement is in the best interest of the child. An agreement or court determined amount may only be changed by the court if the party moving for the change can show that the circumstances of the child or parents have substantially changed since the order was made. If three years has passed since the order, the person moving for the change must show that the amount would differ by 20% or $100 from the original amount.
Even if the noncustodial parent is denied access to their child, he or she must still pay child support. If the noncustodial parent fails to pay child support the court may garnish their wages, intercept their federal income tax refunds, suspend or revoke his or hers driver’s licenses, passport or other licenses or may even hold him or her in contempt of court.

Child Visitation Rights In Texas
If the divorce decree does not otherwise provide information regarding child visitation, the Texas Family Code provides a standard possession order (visitation rights) for the noncustodial parent. Absent otherwise specified terms, if the noncustodial parent resides less than 100 miles away from the primary resident of the child, the noncustodial parent will have visitation rights on the first, third, and fifth weekend of each month. If the primary resident of the child is more than 100 miles away from the noncustodial parent, the noncustodial parent will have visitation rights on either the first, third, or fifth weekend or any one weekend during the month if he or she provides adequate notice. The Texas Family Code also provides a standard possession order for the holidays including Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother and Father’s Day, the child’s birthday and also summer and spring break.

(a) The public policy of this state is to:

(1) assure that children will have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the child;

(2) provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment for the child; and

(3) encourage parents to share in the rights and duties of raising their child after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage.

(b) A court may not render an order that conditions the right of a conservator to possession of or access to a child on the payment of child support.

The best interest of the child shall always be the primary consideration of the court in determining the issues of conservatorship and possession of and access to the child.