Tag Archive for: Texas Criminal Defense Attorney

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Says State May Reform Failing Bond System Soon

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Texas lawmakers plan to address a number of criminal justice issues this year. One of the issues on their agenda is reforming the state’s bail system. Pretrial detention is intended to serve the purpose of ensuring that defendants who are at risk for harming others or failing to show up to court. Unfortunately, the current system detains thousands of people each day who do not create either of those risks for the simple reason that they cannot post the bond or pay a bail bondsman to post it for them.

The statistics are staggering. Three out of every four people incarcerated in county jails in Texas have not yet been convicted of a crime. This means that only one in four Texas county jail inmates is in jail because they were convicted of a crime. Texas taxpayers spend about a billion dollars per year keeping people in jail who do not need to be there.

While pretrial detention is vital for individuals who are likely to harm people or flee while they await trial, unnecessary detention has harsh consequences for those who are detained, and for their families. Employers cannot wait indefinitely for their employees to return to work, so many people who are detained eventually lose their jobs. Without income from employment, these individuals often face other hardships like loss of their housing. Their families struggle to stay afloat financially while they are behind bars, and even more importantly, their families struggle to function as they wait for them to come home. The stress and strain that come with trying to free an incarcerated family member without adequate financial resources take a huge toll on families, and some marriages and families crumble under the pressure.

Bail reform in Texas is likely to involve developing more accurate risk assessment procedures aimed at accurately predicting which arrestees pose a threat to public safety or a flight risk and assigning bail accordingly. While it is not expected that the state will do away with cash bail entirely like California and New Jersey have, it is possible that bail reform could eliminate the need for a cash payment by low-risk arrestees. A bill containing better risk assessment measures and a reformed cash bail strategy passed in the Texas House last year, but it failed in the Senate. Lawmakers do not plan to let that defeat end their efforts to rework the state’s pretrial detention system. Instead, they plan to try again and keep on trying until Texas’s badly broken bail system receives the repairs that it needs.

When you are charged with a crime in Texas, time is of the essence. Locate a skilled Texas criminal law attorney right away because your rights are at stake. Your attorney can develop a strong defense strategy that will address your charges and pursue an outcome that protects the things that are most important to you. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Says State May Reform Failing Bond System Soon

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Texas lawmakers plan to address a number of criminal justice issues this year. One of the issues on their agenda is reforming the state’s bail system. Pretrial detention is intended to serve the purpose of ensuring that defendants who are at risk for harming others or failing to show up to court. Unfortunately, the current system detains thousands of people each day who do not create either of those risks for the simple reason that they cannot post the bond or pay a bail bondsman to post it for them.

The statistics are staggering. Three out of every four people incarcerated in county jails in Texas have not yet been convicted of a crime. This means that only one in four Texas county jail inmates is in jail because they were convicted of a crime. Texas taxpayers spend about a billion dollars per year keeping people in jail who do not need to be there.

While pretrial detention is vital for individuals who are likely to harm people or flee while they await trial, unnecessary detention has harsh consequences for those who are detained, and for their families. Employers cannot wait indefinitely for their employees to return to work, so many people who are detained eventually lose their jobs. Without income from employment, these individuals often face other hardships like loss of their housing. Their families struggle to stay afloat financially while they are behind bars, and even more importantly, their families struggle to function as they wait for them to come home. The stress and strain that come with trying to free an incarcerated family member without adequate financial resources take a huge toll on families, and some marriages and families crumble under the pressure.

Bail reform in Texas is likely to involve developing more accurate risk assessment procedures aimed at accurately predicting which arrestees pose a threat to public safety or a flight risk and assigning bail accordingly. While it is not expected that the state will do away with cash bail entirely like California and New Jersey have, it is possible that bail reform could eliminate the need for a cash payment by low-risk arrestees. A bill containing better risk assessment measures and a reformed cash bail strategy passed in the Texas House last year, but it failed in the Senate. Lawmakers do not plan to let that defeat end their efforts to rework the state’s pretrial detention system. Instead, they plan to try again and keep on trying until Texas’s badly broken bail system receives the repairs that it needs.

When you are charged with a crime in Texas, time is of the essence. Locate a skilled Texas criminal law attorney right away because your rights are at stake. Your attorney can develop a strong defense strategy that will address your charges and pursue an outcome that protects the things that are most important to you. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Says State May Reform Failing Bond System Soon

/in /by

Texas lawmakers plan to address a number of criminal justice issues this year. One of the issues on their agenda is reforming the state’s bail system. Pretrial detention is intended to serve the purpose of ensuring that defendants who are at risk for harming others or failing to show up to court. Unfortunately, the current system detains thousands of people each day who do not create either of those risks for the simple reason that they cannot post the bond or pay a bail bondsman to post it for them.

The statistics are staggering. Three out of every four people incarcerated in county jails in Texas have not yet been convicted of a crime. This means that only one in four Texas county jail inmates is in jail because they were convicted of a crime. Texas taxpayers spend about a billion dollars per year keeping people in jail who do not need to be there.

While pretrial detention is vital for individuals who are likely to harm people or flee while they await trial, unnecessary detention has harsh consequences for those who are detained, and for their families. Employers cannot wait indefinitely for their employees to return to work, so many people who are detained eventually lose their jobs. Without income from employment, these individuals often face other hardships like loss of their housing. Their families struggle to stay afloat financially while they are behind bars, and even more importantly, their families struggle to function as they wait for them to come home. The stress and strain that come with trying to free an incarcerated family member without adequate financial resources take a huge toll on families, and some marriages and families crumble under the pressure.

Bail reform in Texas is likely to involve developing more accurate risk assessment procedures aimed at accurately predicting which arrestees pose a threat to public safety or a flight risk and assigning bail accordingly. While it is not expected that the state will do away with cash bail entirely like California and New Jersey have, it is possible that bail reform could eliminate the need for a cash payment by low-risk arrestees. A bill containing better risk assessment measures and a reformed cash bail strategy passed in the Texas House last year, but it failed in the Senate. Lawmakers do not plan to let that defeat end their efforts to rework the state’s pretrial detention system. Instead, they plan to try again and keep on trying until Texas’s badly broken bail system receives the repairs that it needs.

When you are charged with a crime in Texas, time is of the essence. Locate a skilled Texas criminal law attorney right away because your rights are at stake. Your attorney can develop a strong defense strategy that will address your charges and pursue an outcome that protects the things that are most important to you. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Talks About Hate Crimes

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Hate crimes are criminal acts that arise from the perpetrator’s prejudice or hatred towards a particular group of people. Sometimes, hatred towards a specific race or religion is what causes a perpetrator to act. At other times, the motivating factor could be gender identity, sexual orientation, or even disability. In 2001, the Governor of Texas signed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act (The Byrd Act) into law. The Byrd Act defines a hate crime as a crime that is explicitly motivated by the victim’s race, religion, gender, color, disability, sexual preference, national origin, or age. Other states have hate crime laws, and their definition of what constitutes a hate crime varies, so the definition of hate crimes is not uniform among the states. There are also federal hate crime laws.

The states are also not in agreement as to whether to treat hate crimes differently than other crimes, because there is always some underlying offense, whether it is an assault, murder, kidnapping, vandalism, or some other crime, that is recognized as an offense under the law. Some lawmakers are hesitant to support enhanced penalties for hate crimes because they feel as though doing so punishes specific thoughts in addition to the actions that arise from those thoughts. Other lawmakers feel as though discerning an individual’s intent is not something that can be accomplished with a legally acceptable degree of certainty, so they, too, are hesitant to endorse laws that impose additional penalties for hate crimes beyond what the law provides for each particular type of offense. Other factors in the hate crime law debate include the effects on crime victims and communities of classifying some acts as hate crimes and not others, and whether punishments for hate crimes are imposed equally on all offenders or whether offenders who target certain groups are punished more severely than those who focus on other categories of victims.

Hate crime law is a murky area of criminal law, and defendants accused of hate crimes need a reliable, experienced criminal defense attorney in their corner. Defense strategies for individuals charged with hate crimes vary with individual circumstances, but because of the nature of hate crimes, an effective defense may incorporate strategies that address political or media bias in relation to a particular case in addition to the defense strategies that are available based upon the type of offense that the defendant is accused of. Hate crime defendants require defense that goes above, and beyond the defense that would typically be needed for the crime they are charged with and seasoned Texas criminal defense attorneys can provide that type of support to their clients.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Strong Support for Texas Defendants

When you are charged with a hate crime, your rights are at stake, and your safety may be at risk. Due to the divisive nature of hate crimes, individuals accused of committing hate crimes are often the target of incendiary violence before they even have a chance to defend themselves against the charges. Protect yourself and your loved ones, your present freedom, and your future well being by working with a Texas criminal defense attorney on your hate crime case. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Says Bar Owners and Police Are Working Together to Prevent DWIs

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Police in Kemah and other communities are becoming more creative when it comes to increasing their efforts to cut down on the number of DWI arrests they make. While it is true that law enforcement officers seek out and pull over drivers that they suspect are intoxicated, it is also true that they are much happier when they do not have to make those arrests. DWI traffic stops and arrests take time, somewhere between two to three hours apiece. Officers have plenty to do, so when DWI situations can be prevented, they are grateful for both the increase in public safety and the decrease in time spent dealing with those drivers out on the road.

Increased communication between law enforcement, bar owners, and bar staff is at the heart of the DWI prevention effort. Bar staff and owners conduct an ongoing conversation with area police regarding patrons’ degrees of intoxication. Staff are trained to recognize indicators of intoxication and to encourage patrons who seem intoxicated to stop drinking for the night and arrange for a sober ride home. When patrons express concern over leaving their vehicles in area parking lots overnight, law enforcement officers increase patrols to both protect the cars that stay in parking lots overnight and create a law enforcement presence in the area to deter would-be drunk drivers. If bar patrons are intoxicated and appear to be leaving the bar without an alternative way to get home, bar owners or staff communicate that to the police and the owners of other bars in the area, to make it easier for police to catch would-be drunk drivers before they go on the road. It can also stop them from walking into other bars and having even more drinks.

Public intoxication is a lesser offense than drunk driving, and officers report that while they have been making more arrests for public intoxication since the effort started, they are making fewer DWI arrests. This means that the increased communication provided to them by the owners and staff of local bars is helping the officers locate and arrest at least some would-be drivers for public intoxication before they can commit more serious crimes like DWI.

Police and bar owners report that while the ongoing communication between them takes time and effort, they feel that they can make a more significant impact by discouraging people from drinking and driving than they would by arresting those individuals for DWI, one by one. Some of the things that bar owners and staff have learned, in addition to how to handle drunk patrons in a way that encourages them to seek safe transportation, are how to detect fake IDs and how to write incident reports to keep track of patron activities. The effort has been going on for about a year, and both bar owners and law enforcement are pleased. The number of arrests has declined, and bar owners feel as though focusing extra attention on their guests provides additional safety for them and contributes positively to their experience.

Texas DWI Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – You Ally Against DWI Charges

A seasoned Texas DWI defense attorney can help you understand your rights, protect your freedom, and make a plan for resolving your DWI case. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Talks About Competence

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Competence is an issue that can come up in any Texas criminal case, including a DWI case. For court proceedings to be just, a defendant must be competent to stand trial. An individual who is competent to stand trial is both capable of understanding the proceedings that have been brought against them and capable of helping their defense counsel represent them in those proceedings. Capability does not necessarily require a high level of understanding or skill. Instead, it describes an elementary type of intelligence and ability that most people have most of the time.

It is imperative that all criminal and DWI defendants understand that raising the issue of competence is not a defense to the crime that they are charged with. Raising the issue of competence is a tool that a defense attorney can use to ensure that their client’s trial is fair by putting court proceedings on hold until the defendant’s competence is assessed and the court decides whether the defendant can become competent to stand trial. For example, if a defendant is found to have a type of mental impairment that could respond well to therapy, medication or a combination of both, the defendant will be ordered to receive those treatments for a period of time that could enable the treatments to take effect. The case could then proceed to trial once the defendant demonstrates that have achieved competence.

An example of a case in which competence was at issue is the case of Thomas Gene Riddle, of San Antonio. Shortly after Riddle was accused of murder in 2016, he was declared incompetent to stand trial. In July of 2017, he was transferred from prison to North Texas State Hospital, where he received treatment. A year later, Riddle was returned to jail and declared competent to stand trial. Riddle’s attorney reports that he plans to use the insanity defense during his upcoming jury trial.

Some of the issues that can come up in cases where competence is disputed involve differing opinions among the professionals who have evaluated the defendant’s competence. At other times, there may be questions about whether the professionals who evaluated the defendant followed the proper procedures in examining them and reporting their findings.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – An Ally for Texas Defendants

Competence is just one of many issues that can arise during a Texas criminal or DWI case. DWI and criminal defendants have a lot at stake, and a Texas defense attorney can help them protect their rights. If you’re currently facing criminal or DWI charges in Texas, you do not have to develop a defense strategy on your own. In fact, doing so is not recommended because there is so much at stake, including your freedom. No matter what charge you face, whether it is a misdemeanor, your first DWI, a repeat offense DWI, a felony, or something even more severe, you are probably worried about the penalties you are facing. An experienced Texas defense attorney is prepared to help you protect the people and things that matter most to you. Your attorney knows your rights, they can help you understand them, and they can help you develop a plan for resolving your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

 

 

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Talks About Competence

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Competence is an issue that can come up in any Texas criminal case, including a DWI case. For court proceedings to be just, a defendant must be competent to stand trial. An individual who is competent to stand trial is both capable of understanding the proceedings that have been brought against them and capable of helping their defense counsel represent them in those proceedings. Capability does not necessarily require a high level of understanding or skill. Instead, it describes an elementary type of intelligence and ability that most people have most of the time.

It is imperative that all criminal and DWI defendants understand that raising the issue of competence is not a defense to the crime that they are charged with. Raising the issue of competence is a tool that a defense attorney can use to ensure that their client’s trial is fair by putting court proceedings on hold until the defendant’s competence is assessed and the court decides whether the defendant can become competent to stand trial. For example, if a defendant is found to have a type of mental impairment that could respond well to therapy, medication or a combination of both, the defendant will be ordered to receive those treatments for a period of time that could enable the treatments to take effect. The case could then proceed to trial once the defendant demonstrates that have achieved competence.

An example of a case in which competence was at issue is the case of Thomas Gene Riddle, of San Antonio. Shortly after Riddle was accused of murder in 2016, he was declared incompetent to stand trial. In July of 2017, he was transferred from prison to North Texas State Hospital, where he received treatment. A year later, Riddle was returned to jail and declared competent to stand trial. Riddle’s attorney reports that he plans to use the insanity defense during his upcoming jury trial.

Some of the issues that can come up in cases where competence is disputed involve differing opinions among the professionals who have evaluated the defendant’s competence. At other times, there may be questions about whether the professionals who evaluated the defendant followed the proper procedures in examining them and reporting their findings.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – An Ally for Texas Defendants

Competence is just one of many issues that can arise during a Texas criminal or DWI case. DWI and criminal defendants have a lot at stake, and a Texas defense attorney can help them protect their rights. If you’re currently facing criminal or DWI charges in Texas, you do not have to develop a defense strategy on your own. In fact, doing so is not recommended because there is so much at stake, including your freedom. No matter what charge you face, whether it is a misdemeanor, your first DWI, a repeat offense DWI, a felony, or something even more severe, you are probably worried about the penalties you are facing. An experienced Texas defense attorney is prepared to help you protect the people and things that matter most to you. Your attorney knows your rights, they can help you understand them, and they can help you develop a plan for resolving your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

 

 

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Reminds Drivers That Repeat DWI Offenders Face Harsher Penalties

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Three recent incidents serve as reminders that if you have been convicted of driving while intoxicated one or more times, the penalties increase with each subsequent conviction. Some drivers get one DWI charge and leave drinking and driving behind for good, whether they are convicted or not. Other drivers continue to get behind the wheel after they have been drinking, for whatever reason. Some of those drivers get caught and convicted a second time, and others go on to continue drinking, driving, and racking up more DWI arrests and convictions. Those decisions are not without significant personal costs, and, unfortunately, they sometimes affect the lives of other people, too.

An Upshur County grand jury recently indicted a driver on his fifth first-degree Driving While Intoxicated charge. He could get sentenced to life in prison if he gets convicted in connection with his May 5th DUI/Habitual offender charge. DWI convictions add up, regardless of where you get them. This particular defendant had three prior DWIs in Texas and one in Illinois. He has served five years out of a total of twenty years that he got sentenced to for his proper DWIs, and before this most recent arrest, he was on parole that was scheduled to end in 2026. A conviction on this most recent charge is sure to lead to even more time in prison.

An Arkansas driver who has at least five prior DWI convictions recently got indicted two counts of murder in connection with a Texas DWI wreck. Two people died in the crash, and both were passengers in a truck that he was driving. The man swerved off of the road as he was driving, and collided with a tree. He was arrested at the accident scene, and his blood alcohol content was over the legal limit. Since the deaths happened while the driver was committing the offense of felony DWI, he can be charged with murder.

Another Texas driver who has five prior DWI convictions recently got arrested and charged with DWI and evading arrest. His arrest occurred after authorities eventually stopped him, sometime after a critically injured woman who had fallen out of his vehicle was found lying in the road. This man’s most recent DWI charge has been enhanced to a third-degree felony.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Trusted Support for Texas DWI Defendants

Are you charged with DWI or a related crime in Texas? Whether you are accused of having committed your first DWI, a repeat offense DWI, a felony DWI, or something even more severe, you are likely very concerned about the penalties you are facing. A Texas DWI defense attorney is equipped to help you protect the people and things that matter most to you. Your attorney knows your rights and can help you understand them. They can also help you develop a strategy for resolving your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Talks About Teens, Guns, and The Law

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A student at Texas’s Santa Fe High School recently brought two of his father’s guns to school and used them to kill eight students and two teachers and to wound twelve other people. Since the shooter was seventeen years old at the time he opened fire on his schoolmates and teachers, under Texas law, his father cannot be held accountable for having made the guns accessible to him. The teen’s father legally owns the guns, so no charges related to illegal gun ownership can be brought either.

The legal definition of “child” in Texas state law as a person who is age sixteen or younger controls the outcome of this situation. Had Dimitrios Pagourtzis been sixteen years old or younger at the time he committed the school shooting, his father could have been prosecuted under Texas’s “negligent storage law.” Texas has a law that enables prosecutors to hold gun owners criminally liable for gun crimes committed by their children. As noted above, since Pagourtzis was not a child when he committed the crime, his father cannot be charged.

Thirteen other states have similar laws to the Texas “negligent storage law.” It is estimated that criminal charges against an adult are brought in approximately half of the reported incidents where children under the age of twelve have obtained a gun and used it to kill themselves or someone else. Data on children in other age groups, particularly teenagers, are not as readily available. Based on the Texas situation described above, it is reasonable to assume that the percentage of times that charges get pressed against adults when teens and kids over the age of twelve commit gun crimes vary according to the language of those laws and the ages of the people to whom they apply.

Whether you reside in a state that has a “negligent storage law” or not, the more significant issue is that gun owners should be locking their guns away safely so that nobody – not children, and not anyone else – can get their hands on them. It is reported that approximately one-third of all households in America contain at least one gun. Safe storage of firearms is a much bigger problem in our nation than many of us may be aware of, as a study recently published in the Journal of Urban Health recently revealed that a little over our and a half million American children live in homes where one or more guns are stored unlocked and loaded.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Uncompromising Support for Texas Defendants

Have you been charged with a gun-related crime, or with any other type of crime in Texas? Whether you are accused of having committed a felony or something less severe, there is a lot at stake, including your freedom. Protect the things that you value most by seeking the aid of a Texas Criminal Defense Attorney. Your attorney will help you understand the rights that you have, and they can help you resolve your Texas criminal law matter in the best possible way. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Urges Those Who Were Wrongfully Accused To Remain Hopeful

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A man who went to prison for nineteen years for a murder that he did not commit continues to work through the process of clearing his name. John Nolley’s most recent step towards victory came earlier this month when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his murder conviction. Nolley has been out of prison since the combined efforts of the Innocence Project, and the Conviction Integrity Unity in the Tarrant County district attorney’s office secured his release two years ago.

One of the bases for John Nolley’s murder conviction was jailhouse informant testimony, a form of evidence that proved to be so problematic that the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office, and eventually the entire state of Texas, had to reform the way such testimony is handled. In Nolley’s case, not just one, but two informants gave false testimony which tainted Nolley’s trial so severely that the district attorney’s office agreed that his pleas for relief were valid. The new law will help other defendants avoid wrongful convictions. There is also the possibility of relief for people who are currently in prison who were wrongfully convicted.

Texas’s new law on jailhouse informant testimony was passed last year, with the aim of improving accuracy in the Texas criminal justice system by calling for the more careful handling of testimony given by jailhouse informants. False testimony like the kind that kept John Nolley behind bars for almost twenty years is the most common reason for death row inmates to be exonerated.

One of the dangers of jailhouse informant testimony is that people who are incarcerated have an incentive to lie to potentially obtain a personal benefit. In the interest of catching informants who do try to lie their way to a better deal, the new law requires county and district attorney’s offices to keep records of various types of information about the informants who provide testimony against others. For example, each informant’s criminal history, as well as the details of any benefits informants receive in exchange for their testimony, and records of any previous cases in which they testified must be shared by prosecutors with defense attorneys.

In passing the law requiring transparency and careful handling of jailhouse informant testimony, Texas took a step forward in making its criminal justice system more accurate. Since jailhouse informant testimony is used to secure many convictions across America, it is essential that other states follow Texas’s lead and take a careful account of how that testimony is obtained and used in their own courts so that they can correct problems with their state laws and move in the direction of increased accuracy.

In addition to moving through the process of fully exonerating John Nolley, the district attorney’s office is continuing its investigation into the murder in the hope that the person who did commit the murder will be brought to justice. If John Nolley is exonerated, he will be able to access a state benefits program that compensates the wrongfully accused.

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

A Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you resolve your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.