Unless you have been a defendant in a criminal case, you have probably never thought much about what it means to have a criminal record. It means that if you have ever been arrested, even if you were found not guilty, the record of the arrest shows up on criminal background checks, where it can…
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…
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…
The difference between simple sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault is that the latter causes serious bodily injury to the victim. The 2013 attack for which Pfc. Levi Austin Goss is accused is one of the more horrific sexual assaults to make headlines in recent memory. Goss is currently awaiting extradition to Texas from North…
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…
Lawyers who work with sexual assault cases know that there is a lot more variation in sexual assault cases than just the stereotypical view that you often see on TV. Thanks to awareness campaigns, most people now know that not all sexual assaults take place when a woman is walking outside alone at night and…
Health care fraud is any act in which someone commits a deceptive act involving health care for his or her own financial gain. It most often involves doctors or patients providing false information to health insurance companies, but physicians accepting financial incentives from pharmaceutical companies in order to prescribe their drugs also counts as health…
Hollywood makes financial crimes look glamorous, but most felonies would not make very interesting movies at all. If any state can be the site of crimes interesting enough to inspire exciting popcorn flicks, though, it is Texas. In the early 1990s, Peggy Jo Tallas perpetrated a series of bank robberies that will form the plot…
Texas is known for its wide-open spaces; almost anywhere in the state is a great place to take a late-night drive or a summer-long road trip. Of course, it is all fun and games until you are on the road with some who is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Here are some…
If you have ever watched a TV show about crime, then you know that there comes a point in every criminal law case when a judge asks the defendant to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Of course, there is more to entering a plea than simply admitting guilt or maintaining innocence. Entering…
Free Initial Consultation