Houston DWI Lawyer | DWI Defense in Houston, TX

Chuck Knoblauch, Bellaire High baseball standout, and former American League Rookie of the Year, has been charged under the new law that makes choking a family member a third degree felony.  Luckily, Mr. Knoblauch is presumed to be innocent.  His predicament illustrates how easily a person can be charged with a Felony in Texas now that the law has changed.  The Texas Legislation that just ended making choking a Family Member a third degree felony even if the person does not have a criminal history.  If these allegations would have been brought forward in August of this year he would be facing misdemeanor charges.  A felony charge is much more serious with the range of punishment being two to ten years in prison as opposed to the one year maximum punishment for a misdemeanor.

The ability to file these charges as a felony gives the prosecutor another tool to extort a guilty plea from a person.  On a highly contested case the assistant district attorney will likely offer to reduce the charges to a misdemeanor.  This may seem like a fair resolution unless the person is compromising.  If this is the case they should keep in mind that a second charge of Family Violence Assault is a third degree felony just like the choking charge.  Lastly, a person should keep in mind that a subsequent choking charge may be enhanced to a second degree felony if a person has a previous assault of a family member conviction.  This would increase the possible punishment from two to twenty years in the Texas Department of Corrections.

If you have any question regarding your asault case in Houston, Harris County please contact our law firm at (713) 242-1779 or click here to visit our website.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

One of the most frustrating things about being a Houston Criminal Attorney is having to wait for the assigned prosecutor to do their "RIP" call.  "RIP" stands for Restitution, Injury, and Punishment.  It is the Harris County District Attorney's Office policy to refrain from making a decision on a case before they contact the alleged victim in a case.  While I understand the policy, it is frustrating for everyone involved to needlessly appear in court because the alleged victim can not be contacted.  It is not uncommon for a person to attend several court settings while incarcerated, serving more time than they deserve because a police officer neglected to get the victim's contact information.

Most commonly, these are misdemeanor cases like DWI, Assault, or Criminal Mischief.  A prosecutor should be allowed to determine the severity of the crime without the necessity of contacting the complaining witness and resolving the case in a more equitable manner.  The judge, the trial prosecutor, the jail, and the defendant would find closure much quicker when these cases are handled appropriately.

If you need any assistance with a criminal case in Houston, Texas please contact our law firm at (713) 242-1779.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As a Houston Assault Lawyer I have have received a few calls this week from people seeking a motion for non disclosure after completing a deferred adjudication for an assault of a family member.  Since they received incorrect information from the initial assault attorney I feel the need to post a blog to provide clarity on this issue.  Despite what your criminal defense lawyer may have told you a deferred adjudication for assaulting a family member is INELIGIBLE for a motion for non disclosure.  That is even true if probation officer told you the same thing.  Your only hope is that law changes on this changes on this issue in the future.  I am not optimistic since the current law states that a second charge for assaulting a family member is a felony even if you successfully completed your deferred adjudication.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link