What Happens When Underage Drinkers Get a DWI in Texas?
Texas has a reputation as a “law and order” state, both because of movies like No Country for Old Men, where the storylines focus on law enforcement’s pursuit of a criminal, and because, in reality, Texas has some fairly draconian laws, especially in comparison to other states. For example, whereas in California, you can order […]
What Does Texas Law Say About Reporting Suspected Sexual Abuse of Children?
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sexual abuse of minors causes emotional trauma that lasts for many years. One aspect of the emotional trauma of sexual abuse is that, even when the abuse continues for a long time, the adults in the victim’s life do not always try to intervene to stop the abuse, either because they do not know with […]
A Texas Teen Manipulated by an Online Predator
In Texas, sexual relationships between an adult and a teenager are illegal; the only exceptions are “Romeo and Juliet” relationships, where the older partner is a very young adult and the younger partner is nearing the age of majority, such as a relationship between an 18-year-old college freshman and an 16-year-old college junior. The idea […]
Derek Alldred: A Cautionary Tale
A saying almost as old as the World Wide Web goes that you can pretend to be anyone online. An even older saying goes that, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. One would think that in this era, in which no sooner is anything posted online than someone calls B.S. […]
Yes, There is Such a Thing as Misdemeanor Sexual Assault in Texas
In Texas, as elsewhere, the sex-related offenses that have the most severe punishments are the ones that cause physical injury or involve bodily penetration, and the younger the victim is, the harsher the punishment for the crime. With regard to offenses that do not cause bodily injury or involve penetration, however, the victim’s age makes […]
Life Sentences for DWI in Texas More Common Than You Think
Provided that it does not cause an accident, it would seem that drunk driving is a fairly minor crime. In fact, a first DWI charge in Texas is a misdemeanor, and some people who get arrested for DWI for the first time may even qualify for a pre-trial diversion program instead of the typical process […]
Texas Embezzlement News Roundup
The financial crime that seems to get all the press these days is identity theft, in which the perpetrator steals from the victim by impersonating him or her, but it is certainly not the only illegal way to misappropriate money. Embezzlement, in which a person who is given access to money in an official context […]
Do Texas DWI Laws Discriminate Against Alcoholics?
Texas law regards driving while intoxicated (DWI) as a serious matter. A third DWI offense is a felony in Texas, and once you hit four DWIs or more, the punishments become even more serious. There are people in Texas who have gotten nine or more DWIs; there are also people in Texas serving life sentences […]
Governor Abbott Commutes Sentence of Death Row Inmate Bart Whitaker
Although 31 states currently allow capital punishment for the most serious crimes, only about a fifth of people sentenced to death since Gregg v. Georgia, the 1976 Supreme Court decision that reinstated the death penalty, have actually been executed. Many death row inmates have died of natural causes, effectively serving a life sentence after being […]
If You are Going to Get a DWI in Texas, do it Only Once
Yes, it is true that everyone makes mistakes, but try telling that to your parents, your spouse, or a police officer after you get pulled over for DWI in Texas. Of course, learning from your mistakes is a real phenomenon, and driving one time after having enough drinks to raise your blood alcohol content (BAC) […]