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In 2021, the State legislature decided to fight crime by amending Texas Penal Code §43.02, and adding §43.021, turning solicitation of prostitution into a State Jail felony. Previously, the crime had been a Class B misdemeanor. So why did the legislature upgrade solicitation? The attorney’s general report claims an economic reason for the change. According to the […]

Can Intoxication Be A Defense To Murder? I don’t remember the last Murder case I’ve had that didn’t involve alcohol or drugs. In some cases, my clients were so severely intoxicated, he or she could not remember the events that resulted in the homicide. In some of my other cases, the victim and everybody else […]

Somewhere out there in the abyss that is the Texas Legislature, a group of individuals are discussing a way to make all open possession of handguns legal. Their argument is that we are all safer if everybody carries a weapon. In actuality, there appears to be a romanticizing of the Texas west that all these […]

In a previous post I discussed the changes in Murder prosecutions. It is becoming harder to defend Murder charges with the changes in technology, but as I intimated, it is not impossible. What defenses are available for an individual charged with Murder? The death of a human being at the hands of another is always […]

Texas Penal Code, Sec. 8.01 provides the framework for the defense of insanity in Texas Criminal courts. It states that “it is an affirmative defense to prosecution that, at the time of the conduct charged, the actor, as a result of severe mental disease or defect, did not know that his conduct was wrong.” It should […]

What Is Murder In The State Of Texas? Believe it or not, Murder is defined differently in different States. All Murders are homicides, i.e. a person died due to the actions of another human being. However, not all homocides are Murders. In Texas, Murder is defined under Penal Code §19.02, which states that a person commits the offense of Murder […]

Like most of the country, I watched in horror the events that transpired in Highland Park, Illinois. Investigators claim that Robert Crimo III took aim and fired 83 rounds at spectators from a rooftop, stopping only to reload his rifle. Seven people were shot dead. I saw the photo of Crimo. He looks young and […]

Can My Spouse Drop Charges In My Assault Case? It’s often thought that fights between couples are family matters, and family ought to be able to resolve it. Unfortunately, in Texas, if you are arrested and charged with Assault of a Family Member because of an altercation with your wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, sibling or other […]

Zoom Lawyering Covid has served to disrupt the Harris County Criminal Courts. In addition to face mask requirements, the system itself has changed considerably in an effort to provide a safe and suitable court and work environment. For the last four months, many court settings have been rolled to new dates, sometimes without notice. The […]

Every now and again I check the stats on my website to see what search terms people are using to get to my website. I’m interested in finding out what the normal citizen is looking for in a lawyer. As I have said frequently on this blog, I endeavor to put as much legal information […]