The coronavirus has affected just about every aspect of daily life for Texas residents, Americans, and people all over the world. Individuals recently charged with crimes in Texas, and those who are incarcerated in Texas prisons, are wondering how the coronavirus will affect their ability to work through their criminal law matters towards freedom and justice. The defense attorneys who represent Texans who have been charged with crimes are also wondering how and when they will be able to pursue fair resolution of their clients’ cases. Attorneys who represent clients that are already incarcerated are concerned for the health of their clients as they remain behind bars because they are aware that disease can spread rapidly within prison walls, where health care resources may be stretched thin.

The Texas court system has put jury trials on hold and has delayed many other types of proceedings. Some hearings have been held remotely, but as court workers and judges have transitioned to working remotely, they have not been able to handle the same amount of hearings and other proceedings that they could in their regular work environment. The availability of remote or electronic court proceedings varies from place to place within the state. Defendants in some areas may be able to continue working through their criminal law matters more quickly than defendants whose cases are in districts where remote and online case management is proceeding more slowly.

Criminal defense attorneys in Texas have been able to advocate on behalf of some of their clients that justice would not be served by sending them to jail. The slowing of the state’s judicial machinery could keep people in jail indefinitely, and public health officials would like to see as few people in prison as possible during the coronavirus outbreak. Some attorneys have successfully obtained release on no-cost bonds for some of their clients who are charged with low-level offenses. Bail reduction motions and plea bargaining are other tools that defense attorneys plan to use as opportunities to use them remotely become available. These efforts are being met with varied attitudes on the part of prosecutors. Some prosecutors are willing to consider no-cost bonds and plea deals in light of pressing public health concerns. In contrast, others claim that they must continue to be tough on crime regardless of the coronavirus pandemic.

If you have been charged with any type of crime in Texas, your health and your freedom are at stake. Fortunately, you do not have to defend your health or your freedom on your own. You need someone who can help you and walk alongside you as you pursue resolution of your Texas criminal law matter. A Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you protect what is most important to you, even in these uncertain and challenging times. To learn more about how a Texas criminal defense attorney can help you, call Attorney Alex Tyra today. Call us today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a convenient online contact form on our website.

DNA evidence can provide valuable information about a crime, including information about who may have been involved in the crime. DNA evidence has the potential to help authorities identify potential suspects more accurately than they would be able to identify them by relying exclusively on other types of evidence. A Texas law passed last year aims to increase the amount of DNA evidence available to investigators by requiring individuals who are arrested for certain felonies to provide DNA samples.

The Krystal Jean Baker Act became law last June. The law is named for a young woman who was abducted, sexually assaulted, and killed in 1996. Although authorities collected DNA evidence around the time of Krystal’s death, they were not able to solve the case. In 2010, a man named Kevin Smith was arrested for a drug-related offense in Louisiana. At the time of his arrest, his DNA was sampled and entered into the national database. That sample linked Smith to the Baker case, and Kevin Smith pled guilty to the murder.

Some of the felony offenses that now require arrestees to provide a DNA sample under the Krystal Jean Baker Act are human trafficking, robbery, sexual assault, prostitution, capital murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. The law differs from some DNA sample regulations in that a defendant need only be arrested before they are required to provide a DNA sample via cheek swabs when they are booked into jail. No conviction is required.

When DNA samples are collected according to the Act, they are entered into a national database called CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System. Since the law was passed, it has enabled authorities to resolve cases that had gone cold. There are numerous reports of cases in Texas and elsewhere that have been resolved since the passage of the Krystal Jean Baker Act. For example, a recent arrest for sexual assault led to the offender’s DNA being linked to a 2019 sexual assault that had not yet been solved. A September 2019 arrest for theft led to the resolution of a homicide that happened in 2011. One arrest made in connection with a recent sexual assault led to the resolution of two other sexual assault cases.

Defendants who are facing charges for crimes they did not commit stand to benefit from the Krystal Jean Baker Act. Often, people focus on DNA evidence as a way to identify guilty parties. It is crucial that we also view DNA evidence as a way to avoid incriminating the wrong people. Many people who commit crimes are repeat offenders. As arrests for recent crimes garner additional DNA samples for the CODIS database, authorities have more opportunities to connect the correct person with each offense.

If you have been charged with a crime, your freedom is at stake. Fortunately, you do not have to defend your freedom on your own. A Texas criminal defense attorney is a powerful ally who can help you protect what is most important to you. To learn more about how a Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you, call Attorney Alex Tyra today. Call us today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a convenient online contact form on our website.

Texas crime labs recently partnered with Sam Houston University to develop a lab test to analyze the THC content of plant material or oil. The test is an important step forward following the legalization of hemp in Texas. The test enables authorities to determine whether a sample of oil or plant material is legal hemp, with a THC content of 0.3%, or illegal marijuana, with a THC content above 0.3%. However, the test has come too late for some defendants. Some individuals have already been penalized wrongfully for hemp use, sale, or possession after being arrested on suspicion of possessing, using, or selling marijuana. While the TCH test is helpful, it is not instantaneous, like the breathalyzer tests often used to screen drivers suspected of driving drunk. Defendants in hemp and marijuana cases face the possibility of detention while their substance sample is analyzed.

One man has already paid a steep price for possessing and transporting hemp. On December 6, as Aneudy Gonzalez was driving a rental truck full of hemp from California to New York, he was pulled over outside of Amarillo, Texas. The officer who made the traffic stop arrested Gonzalez and sent him to prison on federal drug charges. During the traffic stop, Gonzalez told the officer that he was a contract driver transporting hemp from California to New York. He also showed the officer a lab report that indicated that the THC content of his cargo was within the legal limit. The officer who arrested Gonzalez claims that he relied on his training and experience in determining that he believed the plant material in the truck was marijuana.

Gonzalez spent a month in jail, facing federal drug trafficking charges that could have kept him behind prison bars and away from his family for the rest of his life. During the month he was incarcerated, Aneudy Gonzalez missed out on celebrating Christmas with family, including his children. Fortunately, Gonzalez was released from jail earlier this month, after test results from the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) crime lab in Dallas confirmed that the 3,350 pounds of plant material he was hauling in the rental truck is legal hemp. Federal prosecutors have requested that the charges against Gonzalez be dismissed. The truck and its cargo of hemp are to be returned. Attorneys for Gonzalez plan to pursue a civil lawsuit in connection with his arrest and incarceration.

The state of Texas has legalized hemp. The state also claims that it does not want to interfere with the interstate commerce of hemp. Unfortunately, the officers who are responsible for enforcing criminal penalties for marijuana sale, use, and possession sometimes mistakenly arrest and charge individuals who are in possession of hemp. A Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you set the record straight in your hemp case. To learn more about how a Texas criminal defense attorney can help you, call Attorney Alex Tyra today. Call us today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a convenient online contact form on our website.

Criminal convictions stop people right in their tracks. Whatever they were doing in their life before they were charged with and convicted of a crime gets put on hold. For individuals who are wrongfully convicted, their convictions place their lives on hold as they wait for the day when the truth sets them free.

The criminal justice systems in Texas and elsewhere do not function perfectly. Sometimes, innocent people are not only charged with crimes, but they are also convicted of them. Five years ago, Greg Kelley was convicted of aggravated sexual assault on a child. He went to prison and spent three years behind bars. Recently, prosecutors took another look at his case after Kelley’s defense attorneys brought new evidence and alternate suspects to their attention. This November, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Greg Kelley’s conviction. At a subsequent hearing, District Court Judge Donna King approved the decision to overturn Kelley’s conviction and declared him “fully exonerated.”

Before Greg Kelley’s life path took a sudden and unexpected detour into prison, he was a star athlete with dreams of attending college and playing football. His performance as a defensive back for Leander High School had gotten the attention of multiple colleges, including the University of Texas-San Antonio, Rice, and Texas State. Six years after a wrongful accusation and conviction sidelined his hopes and dreams, Greg Kelley can move forward again. He is engaged and plans to marry his fiance in January. His hopes of attending college are also about to be fulfilled. Recently, he received word that he is accepted to the University of Texas at Austin. Greg Kelley may even get to play college football. He could walk-on for the Longhorns, pending a successful tryout before the start of the upcoming football season.

It’s possible that Greg Kelley will not only be able to move forward with the dreams he had to put on hold but that he will also receive compensation for the years that were taken from him during the time that he was wrongfully incarcerated. If a person who is convicted of a crime in Texas is later declared “actually innocent” in a Texas court order, they may pursue a claim of wrongful incarceration against the State of Texas. That order has been granted for Greg Kelley, and his defense attorney plans to pursue a claim for wrongful incarceration against the State of Texas on his behalf.  If the claim is successful, Greg Kelley will be able to attend college without incurring any student loan debt. Compensation under the Texas wrongful incarceration act includes free tuition at any Texas college and additional payments of approximately eighty thousand dollars per year that the individual spent in prison.

Greg Kelley’s story is a hope-filled example of how individuals who are exonerated can regain what they lost when they were convicted, and sometimes gain even more. If you have been convicted of a crime that you did not commit, do not give up on fighting for your freedom. Align yourself with a Texas criminal defense attorney and take a stand against your wrongful conviction. To learn more about how a Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you pursue exoneration, call Attorney Alex Tyra today. Call us today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a convenient online contact form on our website.

Some things are worth repeating. A DWI arrest is not one of them. It seems as though not much time passes in between news reports regarding repeat DWI offenders, so it’s time for us to repeat a message that we have discussed multiple times before. One DWI arrest can cost you many of the things that art important to you, and each subsequent DWI arrest and conviction will cost you even more of your freedom, your money, and your time, among other things.

Last month, a jury in Austin, Texas, convicted sixty-four-year-old Irby Allison of felony DWI. The charge was filed in connection with Allison’s DWI arrest in October of 2017. Irby Allison chose to have the jury decide on his punishment. After less than a half-hour of deliberating the issue of his penalty, they sentenced him to twelve years of imprisonment. Twelve years is a lengthy period of time for any person to spend in jail. At his current age of sixty-four, Irby Allison will likely spend most, if not all, of the remainder of his life behind bars.

A twelve-year sentence is not something that every DWI offender is likely to face. The evidence presented to the jury during the sentencing phase of Allison’s trial gave the jurors important information about him that weighed heavily on their decision. The prosecution showed the jurors evidence of Allison’s three previous standard DWI convictions. They also presented evidence regarding his 2007 conviction for intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter following a DWI wreck that killed one person and seriously injured another. Irby Allison’s arrest in October of 2017 was his fifth DWI offense, and that’s why the jury did not hesitate to issue a lengthy sentence for him.

Unfortunately, a fifth-offense DWI is not unheard of in Texas. A Texas man in his mid-thirties killed two women in a crash that resulted in his sixth DWI offense. Jonathan Moore’s five previous DWI convictions resulted in a total of only two months spent behind bars because almost all of his sentences had been reduced.

In Texas, first and second offense DWIs are misdemeanors. After that, each time that driver is arrested again for DWI, they face felony charges. While there are numerous reports of individuals like Jonathan Moore receiving probation after they have been convicted of DWI three or more times, some felony DWI offenders pay a far higher price. For example, a judge sentenced Donald Middleton to life in prison following his ninth DWI conviction. Middleton is not eligible for parole for thirty years.

One out of every twenty inmates in Texas prisons is a repeat DWI offender. Whether you are charged with your first DWI or a subsequent offense, a lot is at stake, including your freedom. DWI convictions carry severe consequences, especially for third and subsequent offenses. A Texas DWI defense attorney can help you protect your liberty, your family, your freedom, and other things that are important to you. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

It’s the holiday season, and with all of the celebrating going on, it can be easy to forget that law enforcement agencies increase their patrols at this time of year. Thanksgiving often produces more drunk driving arrests than other notorious party days like St. Patrick’s Day and even Super Bowl Sunday. As you know, not every driver who is arrested for and charged with DWI is guilty. If you are arrested for DWI this holiday season, remember that connecting with a Texas DWI attorney is the best way to protect the things that are most important to you. Your Texas DWI defense attorney knows how to examine the circumstances of your DWI arrest and develop a strong defense strategy for you.

One element of a strong DWI defense is knowing how to challenge the evidence that the State plans to present in your case. If your DWI defense attorney can show the court that one or more pieces of evidence that the State intends to present in your DWI case are inaccurate or otherwise not valid, the court may prohibit the use of that evidence in the State’s case against you. Evidentiary challenges have the potential to weaken the State’s case against a defendant, sometimes even to the extent that the State finds itself with so little evidence that it must dismiss its case.

Many drivers arrested for DWI submit to breath testing either during the traffic stop that leads to their arrest or after the arrest. If you are facing DWI charges and breath testing occurred at some point during your traffic stop or after your arrest, your defense attorney may be able to challenge the validity of the results of those tests. Even better, their challenge may be successful, and the test results might be thrown out. A recent article by the New York Times reports that tens of thousands of DWI cases across America have been tossed out of court because the test results were shown to be inaccurate.

For years, alcohol breath test results have been viewed as “truths” by juries in Texas and across America. Many DWI defendants were unaware that they could question the test results, but that is changing. Some DWI defendants, with the aid of their attorneys, challenged the validity of their breath test results. Some of those who challenged their test results prevailed. Their victories paved the way for an increased public demand for research into the accuracy of breath testing devices and the validity of the results produced by those devices. Study after study has shown how vulnerable the sensitive machines used for breath testing are to user error, calibration error, and other types of failures that are attributable to the users of the devices or the devices themselves.

Breath testing for blood alcohol content is a process that is prone to errors. If you were arrested for DWI and you submitted to breath testing during your traffic stop or after your arrest, it is critical that you contact a Texas DWI defense attorney right away. Your Texas DWI defense attorney can examine the circumstances of your traffic stop and DWI arrest and build a solid defense strategy on your behalf. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

Did you know that only four states in the United States allow seventeen-year-olds to be committed of crimes as adults? In many states, the age at which a person can be convicted of a crime as an adult is eighteen. However, four states, including Texas, allow seventeen-year-olds to be committed of crimes as adults.

There have been numerous efforts by criminal justice advocacy groups in Texas over the years to raise the age of criminal responsibility to eighteen. Their most recent efforts, including House Bill 344, did not make it through the full legislative process and must wait until the Legislature meets again in 2021.

Those who oppose raising the age claim that raising the age makes a state’s juvenile justice system more expensive. Those who support an increase in the age of criminal responsibility say that this is a matter that you cannot measure in dollars and cents. The teenage years are a period of critical importance for any child. The adolescent brain is still growing and developing. Because of this, the experiences that a teenager has during those formative years shape the path that they take into adulthood. If a seventeen-year-old is convicted as an adult, they are unable to access support and rehabilitation programs designed for minors, programs that have proven in many places to be effective in changing the paths of the lives of the youth that participate in them. In addition to missing out on support programs and rehabilitation opportunities, including seventeen-year-olds in the adult prison population exposes them to all of the dangers of life in an adult prison.

Raising the age of criminal responsibility can also make financial sense. Supporters of increasing the age of criminal responsibility feel that any increased expenditures on juvenile justice associated with raising the age will be balanced by corresponding savings in other areas, such as the amounts spent on the adult programs that provide services to the seventeen-year-olds who are convicted as adults and reduced rates of recidivism. Individuals who have participated in juvenile justice programs have proven less likely to re-offend than individuals that went directly into the adult criminal justice system.

Some opponents of raising the age claim that since the number of people who get convicted as adults at seventeen years of age is not that large, raising the age of criminal responsibility would not have that much of an impact. This argument does not acknowledge the amount of impact that participation in juvenile justice programs has on the people who are able to participate in them, and it also fails to acknowledge the harm suffered by  the individuals, no matter how few, who are convicted as adults at age seventeen and placed in the adult prison system.

Fortunately, the small number of people affected by raising the age of criminal responsibility has limited the impact of raising the age on the juvenile justice programs in states where the age has been raised. Those states report that their juvenile justice programs have not been overly stressed by the participation of additional youth, demonstrating that raising the age does not create a financial burden.

Whatever your age, if you’re accused of a crime in Texas, contact a Texas criminal defense attorney right away. Your attorney can help you resolve your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

If you have ever thought about what you might do if your life were threatened, you are not alone. Many people have thought about what they would do in various situations where they were at risk of being hurt or killed by another person. The possible scenarios are endless, from home invasions to getting mugged in a parking lot, to just about anything you could imagine and many odd situations that you couldn’t possibly think up until they happen.

Some people arm themselves to be prepared in the event of an event like those described above. Others keep firearms or other items they could use to defend themselves in their homes. Still others become skilled in martial arts and other forms of self-defense, which prepares them to protect themselves from harm whether they pursue those skills with that intention in mind or not. Whether a person is prepared to defend themselves or not, they may find themselves in a situation where they face a threat in the form of another person, and they must decide what to do. Sometimes, running or some other means of escape is available, sometimes not. Sometimes, a gun or other item that is or could be used as a weapon is available, sometimes not. The threat from the other person could be obvious, such as a knife held to your ribs or a gun pointed in your direction. Threats, threatening body language, and other more subtle observations you may make about a situation or a person can lead you to a realization that you are in danger.

If you face a situation in which you may need to defend yourself, you might not have much time to weigh your options. Sometimes, after the fact, things can come to light about the situation you were in that might make your actions at the time seem more reasonable or less reasonable. However, it is critical that Texans know that they are allowed to defend themselves. In Texas, self-defense is a legal defense to murder and assault charges. A recent situation in Garland is an example of a situation in which a defendant might choose to claim self-defense if police file charges against him.

The driver of a vehicle was shot and killed in a road rage incident in Garland, but it is possible that murder charges will not be filed against the shooter. Surveillance video of the street where the shooting occurred shows the driver of a vehicle throwing a bottle at a pickup truck. The bottle shattered the window of the truck, and then the driver of the pickup truck started shooting. After shooting, the driver of the pickup truck went to a police station to report what had happened and has been entirely cooperative with the law enforcement officials who are investigating the incident. It is reported that the driver of the pickup truck fired shots because he thought that a gunshot shattered his window.

If you are accused of a crime in Texas, your rights and your freedom are at stake. Contact a Texas criminal defense attorney immediately, and take the first step towards resolving your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

Most people understand how important it is to obtain legal counsel as soon as possible after they are arrested or notified that there are criminal charges against them. However, many people do not realize that they may have more than one type of defense counsel available to them. All criminal defendants are free to locate and pay for a criminal defense attorney of their choosing. Unfortunately, many criminal defendants lack the financial resources to pay for a defense attorney. Fortunately, a decision made by the United States Supreme Court in 1963 guarantees the provision of legal counsel for defendants who are charged with a specific type of crime and cannot afford to pay for an attorney. States differ in how they fulfill the obligation placed upon them by the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. States and counties are free to design their own methods of providing legal counsel to indigent defendants, so all defendants must understand how legal defense for the poor is provided in their county. With that information in hand, defendants can make an informed decision about what type of legal representation they wish to pursue.

For example, legal defense for impoverished defendants in Travis County is currently primarily provided by assigned counsel, private attorneys to whom the county pays a nominal fee to represent the defendants the county assigns to them. Juvenile defendants and some adult defendants who are mentally ill receive legal defense through a public defender’s office. Recently, a decision was made that will bring a public defender’s office to Travis County in the coming months. However, the new public defender’s office will only handle about a third of the county’s indigent defense cases. The rest will continue to be handled by assigned counsel. Many counties are like Travis County in that they provide criminal defense to impoverished defendants through some combination of public defenders and assigned counsel, so defendants must understand what each of those defense options looks like.

In our next article, we’ll take a closer look at the three types of legal representation that a Texas defendant might have available to them. The legal defense options that are available to you depend on the nature of the crime you are charged with as well as the financial resources you have available to you. For example, public defenders and assigned counsel are available to defendants who are accused of a felony or a misdemeanor that is punishable by imprisonment and who meet specific financial criteria. What this means is that even if you are charged with a felony or with a misdemeanor that is punishable by imprisonment, you may not qualify for the services of assigned counsel or a public defender even if you think that you cannot afford to pay private counsel.

If you are accused of a crime in Texas, it is critical that you make a wise choice about your legal representation. Time is of the essence, and not all legal defense options are created equal. Your rights and your freedom are at stake. Contact a Texas criminal defense attorney right away to begin pursuing resolution of your Texas criminal law matter. Learn more about criminal defense in Texas by calling Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.