News - Alex Tyra Law Office

What is a No Refusal Weekend in Texas?

October 10, 2013/in Texas DWI Defense/by LS_admin

If you plan on attending a Halloween party in Texas later this month, there is something that you definitely should know. Holiday weekends, including the weekend of Halloween, are considered to be “No Refusal” weekends in many cities and counties throughout Texas. During a No Refusal weekend, individuals who are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol will be told by police that they must submit to roadside breath or blood alcohol testing. Any driver who refuses to submit to roadside breath or blood alcohol testing during a No Refusal weekend will automatically be arrested, and a blood sample will be obtained from them while they are in police custody.

The procedure for obtaining blood samples from drivers who refuse roadside testing during No Refusal weekends may vary slightly from location to location. In most places, the procedure begins when a driver suspected of DWI refuses to submit to roadside breath or blood testing. The police take the driver into custody and transport them to a location that has been designated as the central processing facility for all DWI suspects. The facility may be a jail, but in some places, a mobile blood draw van or a hospital is used instead. While the driver is in custody, the officer applies for a blood draw warrant from a night judge. If the warrant is issued, a nurse or other medical professional obtains the blood sample from the suspect.

When the No Refusal rule is not in effect, Texas drivers who are suspected of DWI may refuse to submit to roadside breath or blood testing, with the only consequence being license suspension. According to state-wide statistics, the rate of refusal is about 50%, with repeat DWI offenders refusing breath testing about 70% of the time. The threat of arrest and involuntary blood alcohol testing during No Refusal weekends drastically lowers the refusal rate to about 25%.

The important thing to remember about No Refusal weekends is that traffic stops during those weekends are no different than traffic stops at any other time. If a police officer has pulled you over to investigate the possibility that you are driving under the influence of alcohol, the officer has already made up his or her mind that you are impaired. Do your best to remain calm, and treat the officer with respect as you politely say as little as possible except to identify yourself and provide proof of insurance. The less information you provide to the officer, the less information the officer has to put in the application for a blood draw warrant, and the less likely it is that the warrant will be issued.

Even if you are calm and respectful during the traffic stop, and you do not provide the police officer with much information, the officer may still obtain a blood draw warrant and take you into custody. If you are taken into custody, continue to remain silent and ask to speak with an attorney. A knowledgeable Texas DWI defense attorney can scrutinize the blood draw warrant, the handling of the blood sample, the accuracy of the blood test results and the integrity of the procedure for taking and handling the blood sample, among other things.

If you are charged with DWI during a No Refusal weekend or at any other time, it is important that you get help from an experienced Longview DWI attorney. Attorney Alex Tyra has been providing top quality legal defense services to East Texas clients since 1998. For a free consultation, call our Longview office at (903) 753-7499 or submit a case contact form via our law firm website.

Addressing Your Children’s Needs During Your Texas Divorce

October 3, 2013/in Texas Divorce Cases/by LS_admin

Going through a divorce is difficult for anyone, but for parents with a divorce case underway, it is even tougher. Specifically, parents have to attend to their own feelings about the divorce as well as the feelings of their children. In fact, not only do they have to figure out how they will manage the day-to-day details of their own lives, they also need to do so for their children as well.

If you are a parent and you are involved in divorce proceedings, you may have questions about how to handle some of the emotional and practical effects that your divorce will have on your children. Throughout the course of your divorce, two questions are likely to remain at the forefront of your mind – what do your children need from you, and how you can ensure that they get it? The good news is that if you have already asked yourself these questions, you are probably providing your children with all of the support that they need during this very challenging time. Notwithstanding, there still are some specific things, described more fully below, that you can do to reduce the impact that your divorce will have on your children.

The most important need that all children have during a divorce is to feel loved and accepted by each of their parents, and to feel as if they are just as valued and important as they were before the divorce. Keeping intense discussions, arguments, and other negative interactions out of the earshot of your children can prevent unnecessary feelings of guilt, or of having to choose a side. Children should not have to take on any parental roles or duties, or make any decisions, such as the decision about which parent they will live with.

Another very important thing that you and your soon-to-be-former spouse can do for your children during your divorce is to keep your daily and weekly routines as close as possible to the way that they were during your marriage. From a child’s perspective, routines and familiarity create a feeling of safety and security at a time when they need it the most. Temporary orders from the court can help you to preserve your family’s routines and schedule during your divorce.

When you are involved in a divorce, strong emotions may make it difficult for you to “keep it together” and to effectively move forward. However, your children need you to be brave and strong, and to keep on conducting business as usual. In order for you to do so, you must take care of your own emotional needs. Talking with friends and family, going to therapy, exercising, writing in a journal, or spending time outdoors can all help you to work through the tangled web of emotions that you are currently feeling. Taking care of your emotional needs will help you to be able to be calm, present, and seemingly unruffled when your children are in your care. It will also help you to work through the practical details of your divorce so that you can make important decisions with a clear mind and vision for your future.

If you are going through a divorce, let an experienced Longview divorce attorney take care of all of the details so that you can focus on taking care of yourself and your family. Schedule a free consultation with East Texas divorce attorney Alex Tyra today. Call our Longview office at (903) 753-7499, or submit an online contact form through our law firm website.

How a Texas DUI Conviction Can Dramatically Affect Your Career

September 29, 2013/in Texas DWI Defense/by LS_admin

It is certainly no exaggeration when I say that a Texas DWI conviction can impact every aspect of your life. From your family relationships to your friendships, and of course your job, no area of your life is immune to the consequences of a DWI conviction. Of course, the potential impact of a Texas DWI conviction on your career will depend largely upon what you do for work. Another factor is whether your conviction has resulted in any restrictions on your ability to get to and from work. When you are weighing your options regarding how to respond to your DWI charges, don’t forget the following potential effects that a DWI conviction could have on your career.

One way that a Texas DWI conviction could affect your career is if it interferes with your ability to get to and from work. License suspension is a common penalty associated with DWI convictions, and even first – time offenders can find themselves without a driver’s license for up to two years. If you live somewhere where you have access to public transportation that can get you to where you need to be for work, and driving a vehicle is not a part of your job, then you may be able to navigate the logistics of getting to and from work after your DWI conviction with relative ease. Of course, if you live and/or work in a more remote area, or if driving is a part of your job, you may have to stop working if you cannot get to and from work, or if you can no longer perform your job duties because your license is suspended.

If driving is your career and you have a CDL, stricter drunk driving rules apply to you whether you are driving your commercial vehicle or your personal vehicle. Not only will a DWI conviction result in loss of your commercial license for one or more years, it will more than likely result in loss of your job. It could also make it harder for you to get a job once your license has been reinstated, as employers may feel that a past DWI conviction makes it more likely that you will be convicted for DWI again in the future than a driver with no DWI on his or her record.

Even if your job does not involve driving other than just getting to and from work, you should be aware that some professions are more sensitive to DWI convictions than others are. For example, careers that involve working with children, such as teaching or working in a day care center, often view a DWI as something that makes an applicant less qualified for that position. Also, military, government, and other jobs that require the handling of sensitive or confidential information may be harder to get following a DWI conviction because of strict background check requirements.

The best defense against a Texas DWI is a knowledgeable and experienced Longview DWI defense attorney. East Texas attorney Alex Tyra offers free consultations to drivers accused of driving under the influence. Learn more about your options for defending your DWI case today. Call our Longview office at (903) 753-7499 or submit a case contact form via our law firm website.

I Have Been Served With Divorce Papers – Now What Do I Do?

September 11, 2013/in Texas Divorce Cases/by LS_admin

Whether you were suspecting that it might come to this, or it is a complete shock to you, being served with divorce papers likely means that your marriage is 100% over. While it may be tempting to tuck the divorce paperwork away in a file to read “later”, it is essential that you take prompt action in order to protect your rights. As uncomfortable as it may be to do so, the very first thing that you should do when you are served with divorce papers is to just read them.

Once you have finished reading through the divorce paperwork, it is time to move right on to the next logical step – retaining a knowledgeable Texas divorce attorney. Time is of the essence in the early days and weeks of a divorce proceeding, and a failure to respond to the divorce paperwork that you have received within twenty days could result in a default being taken against you. Don’t take that risk, take action and speak to a Texas divorce attorney right away.

Your Texas divorce attorney can answer all of the questions that you have right now, advise you of your rights, offer you helpful and practical advice to guide you in your day to day life, and take care of drafting and filing your answer to the complaint for divorce in a timely manner. Your Texas divorce attorney will also handle all communications with your spouse’s attorney (if he or she is represented by one), or, with your spouse if he or she does not have legal counsel, and represent you at all of your hearings.

As soon as divorce proceedings have been started by one party filing divorce paperwork and that paperwork being served upon the other party, there are a few “rules” that apply to both parties. These “rules” affect your everyday life, and your ability to understand and follow them can help you to be successful in resolving your divorce in a manner that is satisfactory to you.

The first basic “rule” to follow after you are served with divorce papers is to say as little as possible to your spouse. Anything you say from this point forwards could possibly be used against you. That said, there are some conversations that cannot and should not be avoided, such as making temporary arrangements for taking care of your children and making sure that the family’s bills get paid on time. Another “rule” to remember is that for the time being, you and your spouse are prohibited from selling or transferring certain marital assets. This is one area that your Texas divorce attorney can help you to better understand, but the basic idea is that it is better to play it safe right now by not selling or giving away anything than to make a misstep and be held accountable for it later on.

These are just some of the ways in which your pending divorce affects your day to day life. If you live in the Longview, Texas area and you have been served with divorce papers, contact The Law Office of Alex Tyra, P.C., for a free consultation at (903) 753-7499. Phone calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I Have Been Served With Divorce Papers – Now What Do I Do?

September 11, 2013/in Texas Divorce Cases/by LS_admin

Whether you were suspecting that it might come to this, or it is a complete shock to you, being served with divorce papers likely means that your marriage is 100% over. While it may be tempting to tuck the divorce paperwork away in a file to read “later”, it is essential that you take prompt action in order to protect your rights. As uncomfortable as it may be to do so, the very first thing that you should do when you are served with divorce papers is to just read them.

Once you have finished reading through the divorce paperwork, it is time to move right on to the next logical step – retaining a knowledgeable Texas divorce attorney. Time is of the essence in the early days and weeks of a divorce proceeding, and a failure to respond to the divorce paperwork that you have received within twenty days could result in a default being taken against you. Don’t take that risk, take action and speak to a Texas divorce attorney right away.

Your Texas divorce attorney can answer all of the questions that you have right now, advise you of your rights, offer you helpful and practical advice to guide you in your day to day life, and take care of drafting and filing your answer to the complaint for divorce in a timely manner. Your Texas divorce attorney will also handle all communications with your spouse’s attorney (if he or she is represented by one), or, with your spouse if he or she does not have legal counsel, and represent you at all of your hearings.

As soon as divorce proceedings have been started by one party filing divorce paperwork and that paperwork being served upon the other party, there are a few “rules” that apply to both parties. These “rules” affect your everyday life, and your ability to understand and follow them can help you to be successful in resolving your divorce in a manner that is satisfactory to you.

The first basic “rule” to follow after you are served with divorce papers is to say as little as possible to your spouse. Anything you say from this point forwards could possibly be used against you. That said, there are some conversations that cannot and should not be avoided, such as making temporary arrangements for taking care of your children and making sure that the family’s bills get paid on time. Another “rule” to remember is that for the time being, you and your spouse are prohibited from selling or transferring certain marital assets. This is one area that your Texas divorce attorney can help you to better understand, but the basic idea is that it is better to play it safe right now by not selling or giving away anything than to make a misstep and be held accountable for it later on.

These are just some of the ways in which your pending divorce affects your day to day life. If you live in the Longview, Texas area and you have been served with divorce papers, contact The Law Office of Alex Tyra, P.C., for a free consultation at (903) 753-7499. Phone calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Stolen Guns are a Texas Sized Problem in the Lone Star State

September 1, 2013/in Criminal Defense/by LS_admin

Did you know that more guns are stolen in Texas than in any other state? It makes sense, if you think about it, because Texas has a larger population than many states. Not only that, but when you consider that many Texans own firearms, it is not really a surprising statistic. Earlier this year, the President ordered the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to conduct a study and report the number of firearms that have been reported lost or stolen on a state – by – state basis. Nearly nineteen thousand guns were reported stolen or lost in Texas last year. Of course, there is no data available on the total amount of firearms that were lost or stolen, because many more guns are stolen than are actually reported as stolen.

Stolen guns pose a greater threat to the public than guns that are purchased legitimately. Many guns that are stolen from private individuals or businesses are later used to commit crimes, and many of these guns are recovered at the scenes of the crimes. If your gun turns up at the scene of a crime, you may be facing even bigger problems than whether or not you will get your stolen gun back. When you take precautions to prevent gun theft, you not only reduce the chance that one or more of your guns will be stolen, you reduce the chance that one or more of your guns will make it into the hands of a criminal who uses it to commit a crime.

Your first line of defense against criminals stealing your gun and using it to commit crimes is to keep it stored in a secure place. In case you are wondering, a locked vehicle is not necessarily a secure place, especially if the gun is within view of people looking inside of your vehicle. A gun safe really is your best bet, especially one which can be mounted to your wall or floor. Not only do gun safes reduce (and practically eliminate) the chance of your guns being stolen, they help to keep your family and children safe, too. In addition to keeping your gun locked away in a safe place, it is important that you keep a file or notebook of detailed information about your guns, including pictures, serial numbers, and detailed descriptions as well as service records. This information can be used to file a report if one of your guns does get stolen, and can help you to prove that the gun is yours if it is eventually recovered. One other way that gun owners can prevent gun theft is to be very careful about lending your firearms to anyone. If the borrower does not keep your gun in a secure place, other people whom you did not authorize to borrow your gun may have access to it and it may end up in the wrong hands.

If your gun is lost or stolen, it is a good idea to report it even though Texas law does not currently require that you do so. Many stolen guns that are used to commit crimes are left at the crime scenes, where they are discovered by police. Reporting your gun as stolen can help you to clear your name if your stolen gun is later used during the commission of a crime. It can also increase the chances that your gun will eventually be returned to you.

Gun theft is a big problem in Texas. If you live in East Texas and your stolen gun has been used to commit a crime, contact The Law Office of Alex Tyra, P.C., for a free consultation at (903) 753-7499. Phone calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Divorcing without an Attorney Can Make for an Expensive Divorce in Texas

August 13, 2013/in Texas Divorce Cases/by LS_admin

Because Texas Divorce Attorney Alex Tyra spends most mornings in local courthouses representing divorce clients, his perspective on the folly of a DIY divorce is based on watching people learn the hard way that this is potentially an expensive and devastating choice. While we receive calls all the time from parties involved in a divorce or contemplating divorce that want to know if they need an attorney to pursue a Texas divorce, the answer to this question is not necessarily straightforward. There is no requirement that you use an attorney, but there are distinct advantages to having legal representation that include the following:

Avoiding Unnecessary Expense: It may seem counterintuitive to view retaining legal representation as a way to save money. However, the reality is that the amount you pay in attorney fees may be trivial compared to what you sacrifice in alimony or your share of a family residence or retirement account without legal representation. Additionally, many divorces that could result in an amicable negotiated divorce with legal representation may become a bitter contentious divorce when attorneys are later brought into the case after the parties are no longer receptive to negotiating the terms of a settlement agreement.

Knowing Your Rights: Once a divorce judgment is entered by a Texas family law judge, it can be extremely difficult to modify the terms if you made a mistake because you misunderstood your rights under Texas law. Those who handle their own divorce may not understand their interest in assets that have both a community property and separate property component. The division of “mixed character assets” entails calculating the separate property and community property contributions toward the assets. Once the separate and community property interests have been ascertained, the amount of appreciation attributable to each must be determined. Alimony can be even harder to estimate because there are a long list of factors that are considered rather than a straightforward formula like the one used to determine guideline child support. When you work with an experienced Texas divorce attorney, the lawyer will inform you of your rights so that you can make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Achieving Durable & Amicable Settlements: Although many people have misconceptions about the nature of an attorney’s role based on depictions by the entertainment industry and media, the role of a divorce lawyer is not to stir up disputes and conflict but to facilitate a favorable settlement. Certainly, contentious litigation may be both necessary and appropriate, but family law attorneys bring experience handling a wide range of issues. This knowledge combined with familiarity regarding how judges typically rule on an issue can lead to mutually beneficial settlements.

Efficiency: When spouses proceed without a Texas divorce attorney, they may make critical mistakes in terms of the paperwork filed in court. These mistakes can delay important temporary orders for spousal support, child support, possession of a residence and/or custody orders. Failure to properly complete court documents or provide the court with required information also may result in delays that make a divorce take much longer than necessary.

If you are involved in a divorce in Texas, Longview divorce attorney Alex Tyra offers a free consultation so that he can help you understand your rights and options. We invite you to contact us at 903-753-7499 or visit our website and submit a case contact form.

Latest News

What is a No Refusal Weekend in Texas?

Addressing Your Children’s Needs During Your Texas Divorce

How a Texas DUI Conviction Can Dramatically Affect Your Career

I Have Been Served With Divorce Papers – Now What Do I Do?

I Have Been Served With Divorce Papers – Now What Do I Do?

Stolen Guns are a Texas Sized Problem in the Lone Star State

Divorcing without an Attorney Can Make for an Expensive Divorce in Texas

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