In 2001, Texas enacted the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act in honor of a black man who was killed by white supremacists in 1998. This law lets prosecutors pursue sentencing enhancement when they prosecute cases that allege that the perpetrator of a crime committed that crime intentionally and out of a bias towards the victim’s perceived gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, disability, or religion. The law is intended to discourage hate crimes, but some say that the passage of the law has not resulted in many hate crime convictions despite the fact that many cases get reported as possible hate crimes.

Between 2010 and 2015, nine hundred and eighty-one cases were reported to police throughout the state of Texas as potential hate crimes. Only eight of those cases were successfully prosecuted as hate crimes. There are a few possible explanations for why the number of hate crime prosecutions is so low in comparison to the number of incidents that get reported as possible hate crimes. There are cases in which a crime is alleged, but there is insufficient evidence for any conviction, let alone an enhanced sentence based on the perpetrator’s intent. There are also cases in which the underlying crime is successfully prosecuted, but the sentencing enhancement is not successful because of a lack of evidence regarding the perpetrator’s intent. Sometimes, an incident gets reported as a possible hate crime and prosecutors choose not to allege a hate crime and thereby forego pursuing the sentencing enhancement. Sometimes, the problem is that an incident gets reported, such as vandalism, and no suspect is ever apprehended.

All of the reasons why many more possible hate crimes get reported than are successfully prosecuted reveals that the hate crime legislation may not be accomplishing its intended purpose of deterring hate crimes. The process for pursuing sentencing enhancement for possible hate crimes is simple and straightforward. When police officers file a crime report, they can check a box to indicate whether it is possible that the crime was motivated by bias. When the case gets referred to prosecutors, the prosecutors must first decide if a crime occurred. If a crime did occur, the prosecutors must then determine whether to attach a hate crime enhancement.

Unfortunately, the simplicity of the process for pursuing sentencing enhancement does not make obtaining sentencing enhancement any easier. Motivation is very tough to prove. Most crimes require only proof that the defendant was acting knowingly, recklessly, intentionally, or in a criminally negligent manner. Proving that the crime was motivated by hate requires evidence of motivation, which can be difficult to obtain. In the cases where hate crimes have been prosecuted successfully, circumstantial evidence often provides the necessary support for a conclusion that the crime was motivated by hate.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Defending the Accused in Texas

If you are charged with a crime, a Texas criminal defense attorney can help you know what your options are and decide what to do next. If you got arrested in Texas and you have a criminal law question, call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499. You can also connect with us through our convenient online contact form.

Cyberbullying is not that new of a concept, but more and more states are taking steps to address it more aggressively. Soon, Texas’s cyberbullying rules may also get an update, thanks to House Bill 306, which is likely to have a hearing in March. House Bill 306 would improve upon current cyberbullying rules by providing clearer definitions of what bullying and cyberbullying are and setting up a clear set of directions for how school systems and the courts can address them.

Many states have been strengthening their cyberbullying rules because the rules that they had in place were not addressing the problem as well as they had hoped that they would. Cyberbullying is still a major issue, and it is a dangerous problem because some of the people who are targets of cyberbullying commit suicide. The states are hoping to reduce the number of suicides related to cyberbullying by getting schools more involved in detecting and addressing cyberbullying regardless of when and where it occurs. For example, in Texas, the current laws do not allow schools to address bullying incidents that happen outside of school hours. The proposed legislation would allow schools to get involved in dealing with any bullying or cyberbullying that they become aware of, regardless of when and where it occurs.

The proposed legislation would also allow all types of schools to design policies to address bullying and cyberbullying. That would encourage each school to educate its students about cyberbullying and also assess the extent to which it is occurring within that school. In addition to whatever consequences the schools might choose to set for bullying or cyberbullying, the proposed legislation would make bullying anyone under the age of eighteen a Class A Misdemeanor. The legislation also contains a provision that would enable the family of a victim of bullying to pursue a civil action against the parents of the bully if the parents are aware of the behavior and are refusing to put a stop to it.

The proposed legislation also contains practical strategies for stopping bullying as soon as possible after it begins. For example, attorneys and investigators would have more authority to interact with the administrators of social media sites to determine the identities of bullies who attempt to avoid detection by using anonymous accounts and social media profiles. It is important that authorities be able to act quickly because critical evidence could get deleted if they do not get to it in time.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Preserving the Rights of Texas Defendants

Criminal law is in a state of constant change. Definitions of offenses are continually getting updated, and new offense categories are being added. Penalties also vary from time to time, so if you were charged with an offense in the past and you are charged with that same type of offense again, you may not be able to predict what the outcome will be based upon your experience. A seasoned Texas criminal defense attorney continually educates themselves about the changing landscape of Texas criminal law so that they are always ready to present the best defense on behalf of their clients. If you have a Texas criminal law question, please call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or connect with us through our convenient online contact form.

Did you know that only seven states prosecute seventeen-year-olds as adults? Did you know that Texas is one of those states? It’s true. In Texas, a seventeen-year-old who gets charged with a crime can be prosecuted as an adult and sent to serve their sentence along with the adult population in the county jail. That could change soon, though, if two recently introduced bills pass. The bills would change the age of adulthood in Texas to eighteen, which is also the federally recognized age of adulthood, as set by a series of decisions by the United States Supreme Court.

Changing the age of adulthood to eighteen could impact a lot of lives. For example, over twenty thousand individuals who would have been considered juveniles got prosecuted as adults in Texas in 2015. Raising the age of adulthood would result in an increase in juvenile arrests that matches the decrease in adult arrests, which would in turn place a greater demand on the juvenile justice system while reducing the number of individuals in the adult prison system. Proponents of the bills say that the overall effect over time could be a reduction in the demand on both the juvenile justice system and the adult prison system due to the participation of juvenile offenders in rehabilitation programs which would reduce the likelihood that the will commit additional offenses as juveniles and as adults. If the bills pass, there would also be an immediate effect of relief on county jails throughout the state, because under current law seventeen-year-old inmates are not permitted to be housed with the general inmate population. The current situation puts a strain on available space, human resources, and financial resources, where changing the age of adulthood would provide those resources for seventeen-year-old offenders through the state’s juvenile facilities.

The types of offenses that most seventeen-year-olds get arrested for in Texas are nonviolent crimes like possession of marijuana and misdemeanor theft. When juveniles who commit these offenses engage in rehabilitation programs that are made available to them through the juvenile justice system, they often become healthier and more successful overall, and more likely to avoid future offenses

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Working Hard to Protect the Rights of Texas Defendants

A change in the age of adulthood could result in a change in the way that your case gets handled if you are seventeen years old when you get arrested. Whatever your age, know that you do not have to navigate the juvenile justice system or the adult criminal justice system alone. If you have been arrested, it is likely that you have many questions and concerns. An experienced Texas criminal defense attorney can help you protect your rights and understand the processes and procedures that apply to your case. To learn more, please call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499. Alternatively, you may contact us online through our convenient online contact form.

Two of the dozen or more individuals who are allegedly involved in an organized crime ring recently entered guilty pleas. One man received a fifteen-year prison sentence, and the other was sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison for his role in stealing approximately eighty thousand dollars’ worth of ATVs.  A third individual is alleged to have participated directly in the theft, and about ten other people were allegedly involved in indirect ways before, during, and after the theft took place.

The two men, along with a couple of accomplices, participated in a similar ATV theft one week after the first theft, this time in Louisiana. After an anonymous tip set into motion a chain of events that included gathering evidence and arresting accomplices, authorities were able to unravel the details of the ATV thefts and make connections between those crimes and other ATV thefts and rooftop burglaries which had occurred throughout several states.

The two men were apprehended earlier this year, and at the time of their arrest, authorities seized cell phones which provided multiple types of evidence that implicated them in the organized crime activities for which they recently entered guilty pleas.

Some crimes are isolated incidents, but other crimes are part of something more complicated. When people work together to plan and carry out a series of crimes, they are subject to organized crime charges in addition to charges for whatever criminal activities they have allegedly participated in. Chapter 71 of the Texas Penal Code describes organized crime and sets out the penalty scheme for various activities that fall into the category of organized crime. Basically, a defendant who is accused of any crime or any combination of crimes can also be accused of being a part of organized criminal activity if it can be shown that they committed the crime or combination of crimes “with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang”. (Texas Penal Code Section 71.02)

It is important that people understand that actual participation in the crimes is not a prerequisite for organized crime charges. In addition to direct involvement or indirect involvement, an individual may be charged with conspiring to commit organized crime.

Sometimes, one or more of the people who are participating in an organized crime scheme withdraw fully from it before it is completed. Some of these people may even go so far as to renounce their involvement in it, and they might even inform authorities of the plans that had been made. Renunciation is a defense to organized crime charges, but just like any other defense to any crime, its effectiveness is directly tied to the facts of the situation.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Defending Texans against Criminal Charges

If you have been charged with organized crime, you need someone in your corner who can safeguard your rights and build the best possible case on your behalf. If you have been charged with organized crime and you have questions, please call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499. Alternatively, you may contact us online.

If you like wild animals like exotic cats, bears, or primates, you may have wondered whether you can keep one as a pet. In Texas, people may keep some dangerous wild animals like tigers, jaguars, lynx, coyotes, monkeys, and other similar animals as pets provided that the individual who is keeping the animal applies for a permit to do so and renews that permit annually.

A woman was recently arrested and charged with theft and child endangerment after it was discovered that she was keeping dangerous animals in her home. She had sold one of the animals, a Savannah kitten, to a man in California, but he never received the kitten because she claimed that it was sick. The woman fled to Nevada with her daughter and the animals, presumably because she feared that she would be found out. She was located in Nevada; the animals were confiscated, and authorities took her into custody.

Since it is illegal to keep dangerous wild animals as pets without registering them, it is important for would-be exotic pet owners to know about the requirements for registration. The rules appear in the Texas Health and Safety Code, and the registration requirement appears in § 822.103, which specifies, among other things that a person may not keep a dangerous wild animal unless they obtain a certificate of registration from the applicable animal registration agency. Registration certificates are not transferable, applicants may have to pay a fee, and certificates must be renewed annually.

When someone wants to apply for permission to keep a dangerous wild animal, they must provide information about themselves, information about the animal that they wish to own, information about where the animal will live and its enclosure, and give permission for the agency that would issue the application to inspect the animal and its home to ensure that it is being kept safe and taken care of. If the person gets permission to keep the animal and the animal attacks someone, the owner must notify the agency that issued the registration certificate right away.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Defending Texans against Criminal Charges

Texas has more permissive rules for keeping dangerous wild animals as pets than many other states do. However, there are laws that govern the keeping of these animals, and they must be followed to protect the health and safety of the animals and other humans. Failing to register your exotic pet could not only cost you your pet, but it could also carry financial and other penalties that you can avoid by following the registration and renewal requirements. If you make a mistake and fail to register your animal or to renew your registration, speak with an attorney right away. Your Texas criminal defense attorney has a working understanding of the law, and they will use that knowledge to build a strong case on your behalf. If you have been charged with keeping a dangerous wild animal in violation of the law or with some other crime related to animals and you have questions, please call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499. Alternatively, you may contact us online.