If the football team wins on Sunday, the players often get an extra day off. The same thing is true regarding probation. If you do well, you are entitled to additional time off. But a motion for early release for probation means much more than a temporary respite or a...
Month: October 2018
Four Important Tarrant and Parker County Probation Conditions
In most cases, probation is an excellent sentencing option. As long as your job offers some flexibility in terms of lunch hours and whatever, your boss may not ever know that you are on probation. However, probation is not for everyone. As outlined below, there are a...
Some Key Lessons from Beto’s DWI
Pretty much every voter in the Lone Star State knows that Robert "Beto" O'Rourke was arrested for DWI in El Paso in 1998. His arrest, and the subsequent disposition, show how much DWI laws have changed in Texas over the last twenty years. According to the police...
Texas Inches Closer to Marijuana Legalization
Gov. Greg Abbot recently announced that he would sign a bill which reduced possession of a small amount of marijuana from a Class B to a Class C misdemeanor. Over the past several sessions, numerous House lawmakers have introduced various legalization bills. But none...
The Difference Between Blood Tests and Breath Tests
Breathalyzers make up the vast majority of DWI chemical tests in Texas. Since the Supreme Court ruled that blood tests require search warrants, that will probably remain true for quite some time. Occasionally, Texas law enforcement agencies hold "no-refusal weekends."...
What Rights Do I Have If I’m Arrested?
Counting the so-so 2018 remake, there have now been six Death Wish films. The first one appeared in 1974, when the vigilante crimefighter genre (Death Wish, Walking Tall, Dirty Harry, etc.) was very popular. Angst over a string of 1960s Supreme Court decisions gave...
Another Houston Police Department Officer Arrested for DWI
Prosecutors claim that Officer Artie Weathers was intoxicated when he went to pick up his child at Ault Elementary School. He was the sixth Harris County law enforcement officer arrested for DWI between August and September 2017. According to the arrest report,...
Trial Date Set in UT Athlete’s DWI Case
The leading scorer on the Longhorn volleyball team will stand trial for DWI shortly after the current season ends in January 2019. According to court documents, Micaya White was driving without her headlights on and following another car too closely when campus police...
Top 4 reasons to expunge a past criminal conviction
Like most Texans, you work hard to get what you want. You go to work every day and take care of your family. Unlike some citizens of the Lonestar State, though, you have a criminal conviction in your past. Even though you have paid your fine, served your sentence or...
What Type of Trial is Best?
In Tarrant County, defendants may choose between bench trials and jury trials. Theoretically, the prosecutor must also waive a jury trial. But I have never personally seen a case where the prosecutor would not waive a jury trial. In bench trials, the judge weighs all...