News - Alex Tyra Law Office

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Discusses Crimes Committed With Imitation Weapons

May 31, 2016/in Criminal Defense/by LS_admin

There is an interesting bit of misinformation that has been making the rounds, and it has resulted in an unusual crime trend. The Texas police report that the number of offenses committed by people carrying imitation weapons is on the rise. One possible reason for the trend makes perfect sense – imitation weapons like bb guns are inexpensive, easy to obtain without any background check, and effective because they are realistic looking enough to intimidate people. There is also another reason that people choose to use imitation weapons to commit crimes. Some people believe that if a weapon used in the commission of a crime is not real, the person who used the weapon during the crime will not be punished as harshly as they would had they been holding or using an actual gun. That is simply not true, and, as you might imagine, some unsuspecting folks have gotten some rather unpleasant surprises after they committed crimes using imitation weapons.

In Texas, if a person uses an imitation gun while committing a crime and the victim of the crime believes it to be real, the individual who committed the crime can be charged with a first-degree felony. The maximum sentence that could follow a conviction on a charge like that is incarceration for life. Many different types of crimes have been committed by individuals armed with fake guns. From armed robbers to gang members disturbing the peace, the use of imitation weapons appears to have broad appeal.

The severity of the charges that can follow a crime committed with an imitation weapon are just one type of unpleasant surprise that a criminal can encounter when using a fake gun. Many Texans are licensed to carry firearms, and if someone who has a real gun by their side believes that they are about to be shot, or someone else is in danger of being shot, you can pretty much guess what happens next. The same goes for police officers – if an individual is brandishing a gun, an officer does not have any meaningful opportunity to examine it to determine whether it is real before they act to protect their life and the lives of others around them. Many imitation weapons are nearly impossible to distinguish from their authentic counterparts at any distance, and it is even harder to see what a gun looks like when the person holding it is concealed, in a dark area, moving, or waving the gun around.

Some states have banned the sale of realistic imitation weapons, and while Texas may eventually join in the effort, there is no such law here right now In the areas that do have those restrictions, imitation guns must have distinguishing characteristics, such as brightly colored stripes down the barrel.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Protecting the Rights of all Texans

Whether the gun crime that you are facing charges for involved a real or an imitation weapon, a conviction could have many effects on your life. An experienced Texas criminal defense attorney can help you understand the possible consequences of a conviction, as well as possible strategies for avoiding conviction. If you would like to learn more about how Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra could help you, call our office today, at (903) 753-7499.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Offers Holiday Weekend Tips for Avoiding DWI and BWI

May 15, 2016/in Texas DUI/by LS_admin

Summer is almost officially here, and if you are like many Texans, you are looking forward to enjoying some fun times with friends and family this Memorial Day Weekend. No matter what type of excitement you have planned, you can take some steps to ensure that you and the people that you will be spending time with this weekend stay safe and avoid DWI and BWI charges.

One important thing that all people would be wise to remember is that Memorial Day weekend is a no-refusal weekend in many parts of the state. This weekend, law enforcement officers will take to the streets in large numbers in search of impaired drivers from approximately six in the evening on Friday until early Tuesday morning. If you are driving a vehicle and you get stopped by an officer who suspects that you are driving while intoxicated, you may choose whether to submit to roadside breath testing. If you refuse to participate in the breath test, the officer can then get a search warrant that enables them to take a blood sample over your objection.

The roads are not the only place where no refusal weekends are in effect. The Texas Department of Public Safety is well aware that many accidents that cause injuries and death occur on or near motorized watercraft during the summer months. It is also common knowledge that many of those injuries and deaths involve boaters who are intoxicated. For these reasons, patrols will be located on and near some of the popular spots for water recreation throughout the state this weekend. Game wardens also use holiday weekends to look for boating safety issues, so be sure to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to your watercraft by operating it in a safe and responsible manner.

Planning ahead for a safe ride home after a party or another event is a great way to avoid getting a DWI during the upcoming holiday weekend. If the party is at your place, there are additional things that you can do to help your guests make responsible choices and avoid drinking and driving. Encouraging guests to select a designated driver is a tried and true strategy for making sure that everyone gets home safely. Some people don’t drink alcohol, but they still enjoy going to parties, so finding a designated driver is not always as hard as one might think it would be. Paying for taxi fares is another alternative. Having plenty of delicious food, nonalcoholic beverages, and fresh, cold water available can help your guests balance out their alcohol intake. The aforementioned tried and true strategies for preventing drunk driving work, and there are some suggestions are even more fun and creative, such as offering tents, bedding, and other amenities to guests who are interested in camping overnight instead of driving home after the party. Checking in with guests as they are leaving and helping them to find an alternative way home if they seem intoxicated is a thoughtful gesture that will help your guests stay safe and avoid the financial and other life altering impacts of a DWI conviction.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Experienced Support for DWI Defendants

If you are facing DWI charges, experienced Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra may be able to help you resolve your DWI case. To learn more, call (903) 753-7499.

Texas Family Law Attorney Discusses the Role of Financial Professionals in Divorce Cases

May 11, 2016/in Texas Divorce Cases/by LS_admin

Have you ever thought about just how complicated personal finances can be? Since personal finances can be complicated, it makes sense that when two people marry, their financial picture becomes even more complex. Each spouse still has his or her personal finances and personal financial history, and then there are the couple’s joint or household finances. When one or both spouses own businesses and other diverse types of assets, either together separately, there is a chance that the couple’s financial situation is highly complex.

When a couple has a complicated financial situation, both spouses stand to benefit from bringing a financial planner and an accountant into the mix of people that they consult with during their divorce case. In the past, few couples used the services of financial professionals during their divorce cases because many of their financial situations involved relatively simple questions of how to divide income, debts, and tangible assets like the family home and the spouses’ cars. In today’s society, things are more complicated. More families have two working spouses, and many more people own businesses. The rising cost of college has made college savings plans a popular class of assets, and there are more ways for people to invest money than ever before. These are just some of the reasons why more and more couples are consulting with financial professionals in addition to consulting with attorneys during their Texas divorce cases.

Since financial professionals understand how the various assets that a couple has work, they can help the spouses come up with ideas about how they could divide them equitably. They also know how to accurately assess the values of various types of assets, which is essential to being able to distribute them equitably. Sometimes it makes sense to split an asset in two. At other times, it is best for one spouse to take an asset and the other to take another asset of comparable value. Some assets require specific procedures to be followed to successfully split or transfer them. Financial professionals know all of the ins and outs of transferring, splitting, and otherwise dealing with financial assets, and they can advise spouses on what their bigger financial picture would look like, such as tax consequences, if they divide their assets in certain ways. All of this information can help spouses work through the question of how to divide their assets equitably.

Financial professionals can also help divorcing spouses make the transition from their joint financial lives to their single financial lives. They do this by helping them develop budgets to address their current day to day financial needs and financial plans that meet their future financial needs.

In some cases, financial experts may be able to offer valuable assistance if it appears as though one spouse has been hiding money. They can often review personal and business books and records and find out where the money is.

Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra – A Strong Advocate in Your Texas Divorce

If you are divorcing in Texas, you could benefit from the assistance of an experienced family law attorney. You may even benefit from enlisting the aid of one or more financial professionals. To learn more about your Texas divorce, call Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Explains Why You Need an Attorney for Misdemeanor Charges

April 20, 2016/in Criminal Defense/by LS_admin

The range of conduct that can result in Texas misdemeanor charges is extensive. For example, public officials who fail to disclose their business interests could face misdemeanor charges, as could fishing in the Donna Reservoir. Many people are probably unaware that they could be charged with misdemeanors for the things that they are doing, and even if they are aware that their conduct could result in charges, they may feel as though the most it could amount to is a slap on the wrist.

Unfortunately, as many misdemeanor defendants later learn, misdemeanor charges can carry consequences that are much more severe than they realized. For example, Class A and Class B misdemeanor convictions can lead to limitations on your future employment, housing options, and even your immigration status. A misdemeanor conviction could even interfere with your ability to have custody of your children.

Fortunately, if the police charge you with a misdemeanor, you do not have to face those charges on your own. An experienced Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you understand the charges and the potential consequences, and they can present a solid defense on your behalf while pursuing the least restrictive outcome that is possible in your case. Your attorney can also help explain the pros and cons of any options that you may have for resolving your case, such as probation. If probation is something that you would like to pursue, your attorney can help you to get fair conditions that you are likely to be able to comply with successfully.

A criminal defense attorney can also help you avoid conviction altogether. If your attorney can show the court that there is not enough evidence to convict you, the charges could be dropped. Likewise, if law enforcement or anyone else involved in prosecuting the case has failed to follow the rules that govern their work, they may have violated your rights. If any one of your rights, such as your right to remain silent, was violated, the charges against you may be reduced or even dropped altogether.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Protecting the Rights of all Texans

If you are facing misdemeanor charges, it is likely that you are aware of the impact that a conviction could have on your life. A seasoned Texas criminal defense attorney can explain the charges that you are now facing, as well as their possible consequences. Your attorney can use the unique facts of your situation to make a solid plan for your defense and explain all of the various solutions that may be available to you for resolving your criminal matter. It is important that defendants have access to this guidance because each possible option for resolving a case will have a different impact on everything in your life, including those things in your life that matter most to you. If you would like to learn more about how we could help you with your Texas criminal case, call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Explains License Suspension Policy and Procedure

April 10, 2016/in Texas DWI Defense/by LS_admin

DWI checkpoints often result in both DWI arrests and arrests for driving with a suspended license. Often, drivers who are driving with suspended licenses may escape detection by traveling in vehicles that are not their own and by refraining from attracting the attention of law enforcement officers. When there is a DWI checkpoint, all drivers must interact with law enforcement officers as they pass through the checkpoint, and this is why so many drivers with suspended licenses get apprehended.

If you get arrested for DWI, license suspension is a real possibility. If you are like many Texans, your ability to drive touches on many areas of your everyday life, from getting to and from work to bringing your kids to and from after-school activities. A license suspension could be quite costly, regarding both financial penalties and personal freedom.

Since license suspension has the potential to have a significant impact on your life, it is essential that you understand that you have just fifteen days from the date of your DWI arrest to preserve your chance at retaining your driving privileges. The process by which a driver can try to keep their driving privileges begins with a request for an ALR hearing. As I mentioned before, this hearing must be requested within fifteen days of your DWI arrest or your license will automatically be suspended. Instructions for requesting an ALR hearing are at the bottom of your Notice of Suspension.

Now that you know that you must ask for an ALR hearing if you wish to try to avoid license suspension, it is important that you learn a little bit more about what an ALR hearing is. An Administrative Law Review hearing, or ALR hearing, is a civil proceeding which the Department of Public Safety brings against a driver who refuses a blood or breath test after a DWI arrest, or who took a blood or breath test and failed it.

At an ALR hearing, the issue for discussion is the fate of your driving privileges. Requesting a hearing gives you a chance to contest the proposed suspension of your driver’s license. It also delays the imposition of any ALR sanctions until your hearing takes place. At your ALR hearing, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) will try to prove that your license should be suspended because you either took a breath or blood test which resulted in a reading of .08 or greater, or because you refused to take a blood or breath test. It is harder for the DPS to suspend your license after you refused to submit to testing because that type of suspension requires proof of four different elements. These elements are reasonable suspicion for the vehicle stop, probable cause that the driver was in control of a vehicle in a public place while intoxicated, an opportunity for the driver to voluntarily participate in testing along with both oral and written notice of the consequences of refusal, and an actual refusal. If the DPS fails to prove their case, your license must be returned to you.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Protecting the Rights of Texas DWI Defendants

Texas DWI defendants have a lot at stake, and experienced Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra may be able to help you resolve your DWI case. To learn more, call (903) 753-7499.

Texas Family Law Attorney Shares Three Reasons Why You Need a Divorce Attorney

April 1, 2016/in Texas Divorce Cases/by LS_admin

It is common for people who are considering filing for divorce to think about handling their divorce themselves. It is true that some people do file their divorces pro se, or without an attorney, but it is not advisable. Unfortunately, individuals who choose to represent themselves in their divorce proceedings do not always get the results that they wanted.

In contrast, people who are represented by attorneys in their divorce cases are often satisfied with the outcomes. Retaining an attorney to represent you in your Texas divorce case does not guarantee that you will get the exact result that you want in your divorce, but it does give you the best possible chance at achieving something very close to your desired outcome. There are three ways in which the knowledge and experience of your divorce attorney will help you to achieve a satisfactory result in your Texas divorce case.

One way that your attorney will help you achieve a positive outcome in your Texas divorce case is by completing and filing all of your divorce case forms correctly, and in compliance with all of the applicable deadlines. Divorce cases involve multiple forms, some of which require a lot of information, and there are various filing deadlines throughout the divorce process. Your attorney will ensure that all of your divorce paperwork gets to where it needs to go on time so that your case can proceed smoothly.

Another advantage to working with an attorney on your divorce is that having an attorney represent you instead of representing yourself increases your chances of settling your divorce instead of going to trial. The reason for this is that when you retain an attorney, the attorney takes on the task of communicating with your soon to be former spouse or his or her attorney if he or she has one. Once attorneys or even one attorney and one unrepresented spouse are communicating, the level of conflict often decreases. This decrease in conflict makes it more likely that there will be productive discussions about how the divorce could be resolved through settlement, and proposals and counter-proposals can begin to be exchanged and discussed in a reasonable manner.

A third reason why it is essential to hire an attorney for your divorce is that your attorney can help you to come out of your divorce in the strongest possible financial position by helping you to assess the advisability of accepting proposed settlement agreements. It may be difficult to believe that paying someone to represent you could ultimately cost you less than representing yourself, but it makes sense once you understand why this is the case. Some pro se litigants accept property settlements or agree to tax consequences or other provisions in a divorce which put them in a worse financial position than they could have achieved if they had been represented by counsel. Your attorney can help you to assess proposed settlement terms in light of your personal and financial goals so that you can make informed decisions about which, if any, proposed agreements to accept.

Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra – A Strong Advocate in Your Texas Divorce

If you are considering filing for divorce in Texas, it is important to select an experienced attorney to work with you during this important and life-changing experience. To learn more, call Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Says Some Texas Police Departments Have New Breath-Testing Machines

March 28, 2016/in Texas DWI Defense/by LS_admin

A breath test is standard procedure in a DWI investigation in Texas, as it is elsewhere. For a long time, the standard equipment that has been used all over Texas to administer breath tests has been the Intoxilyzer 5000. Law enforcement officials have become very familiar with using the breath testing devices over the time that they have been using them. DWI defense attorneys have also become familiar with the Intoxilyzer 5000, and they have become adept at exposing its weaknesses and understanding how its use or misuse can affect their clients’ cases.

As all of us know, older models of electronic devices get replaced by newer models from time to time. It seems as though the time for replacing the Intoxilyzer 5000 machines that are currently in use across the state of Texas is coming soon. The newer breath testing machine is called the Intoxilyzer 9000, and it is supposed to be easier for law enforcement officers to use than the older machines are. The technology that the machine uses for detecting alcohol in breath samples is the same as in the older machines, although it is wrapped in a nicer, newer looking package.

The Intoxilyzer 9000 features an automated voice that tells the person taking the test when they are to exhale into the machine. It also enables officers to scan drivers’ license information instead of having to type it all in. The new machines are able to transmit test results to DPS headquarters, in addition to displaying them on a screen.

Since the Intoxilyzer 9000 is a newer instrument than the Intoxilyzer 5000, one might surmise that it provides more accurate results. While that is possible, it is not necessarily true. Unfortunately, attorneys are not being allowed to inspect the Intoxilyzer 9000, and outside toxicology experts are not being permitted to take classes where they could learn about the machine and its proper operation. While these things, on their own, do not render the machine inaccurate, it is troubling that the machine and its operation are not open to investigation by people who have an interest in knowing how the technology works and how it should be used.

Bexar County already has several of the new machines in use, with others scheduled to be implemented soon. Other counties are likely to begin bringing the new machines into use throughout the year, and phasing out the older devices.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Strong Advocacy for Texas DWI Defendants

Texas DWI defendants have a lot at stake, and experienced DWI defense attorneys know how to protect it. Whatever the most important things in your life are, a skillful Texas DWI Defense Attorney can help you seek a resolution of your DWI case that is in line with your priorities. Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra may be able to help you resolve your DWI case. To find out more, call us today, at (903) 753-7499.

Latest News

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Discusses Crimes Committed With Imitation Weapons

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Offers Holiday Weekend Tips for Avoiding DWI and BWI

Texas Family Law Attorney Discusses the Role of Financial Professionals in Divorce Cases

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Explains Why You Need an Attorney for Misdemeanor Charges

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Explains License Suspension Policy and Procedure

Texas Family Law Attorney Shares Three Reasons Why You Need a Divorce Attorney

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Says Some Texas Police Departments Have New Breath-Testing Machines

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