Probation, or community supervision, is usually a good alternative to incarceration. However, it is certainly not a perfect alternative. Direct costs, such as probation fees, add up over time. Additionally, it is difficult to continually adhere to restrictive conditions, like re...
Month: November 2019
Five Tarrant County Search Warrant Exceptions
The right to privacy runs deep in the Constitution. Specifically, the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. In Tarrant County criminal court, “unreasonable” is not a subjective term. In fact, unless officers had a warrant based on probable cause or t...
Obtaining Compensation for Dog Bite Injuries
In 2018, homeowners’ insurance companies paid some $675 million to resolve dog bite claims. That amount has increased steadily over the past several years, as have the number of claims and the per-claim average dollar amount. Typically, dog bites cause very serious injuries. A...
Deadly Fireball Collision on SE Loop 820
A fatal accident on westbound Interstate 20 illustrates two commonly-used insurance company defenses in car wreck claims. The wreck occurred near the Campus Drive exit. According to police, a blue car was stalled in a traffic lane. The car did not have its lights on. As officers...
Top Five Prescription Drug Crimes in Parker County
Since 1999, drug overdoses have killed about 800,000 Americans. That fatality rate makes poisoning one of the leading causes of injury-related death in the United States. Many of these fatalities are directly related to prescription drugs, mostly painkillers. Other fatalities are...
Some Jail Release Basics in Tarrant County
Prompt jail release is an often-overlooked component of a successful criminal defense. Without jail release, the presumption of innocence basically becomes a presumption of guilt. Incarcerated defendants cannot meaningfully participate in their own defenses, and they may accept u...
Proving Distracted Driving Accident Claims in Court
Most people agree that using a smartphone or other device while driving is dangerous. Yet many people admit they routinely engage in such behavior. In response to this environment, Texas lawmakers approved a limited cell phone ban in 2017. But as outlined below, this law only go...
The Three Categories of DWI Field Sobriety Tests in Parker County
About twenty years ago, Texas lawmakers approved a per se DWI law. Before the legal change, a BAC level above the legal limit was a presumption of intoxication. Now, people with a BAC over the limit may be intoxicated as a matter of law. Not surprisingly, the DWI conviction rate ...
FTW Street Racing Crash Kills One, Injures Three
In a case with both civil and criminal law implications, a street racer lost control of his car and slammed into another vehicle. The wreck occurred in the 1400 block of Northeast 28th Street. According to police and witnesses, two vehicles were racing each other when one driver...
Expungement and Sealing in Texas: Some Nuts and Bolts
Contrary to popular myth, criminal convictions do not fall off one’s record after seven or ten years. Employment and other background checks may only go back that far, but the records are still there. Expungement and sealing are the only ways to erase conviction records, or at ...
