| Type
of Case |
|
Example
Case |
|
Verdict |
| Aggravated Assault (felony) |
|
Client accused of shooting
and wounding several people in a "road
rage" incident on a Houston freeway.
Our firm requested a jury trial. We
suppressed a statement that the client
had given to the Harris County Sheriff’s
Department, produced several alibi witnesses,
and successfully argued that the client
was a victim of mistaken identity. |
|
Not Guilty - 2
Dismissals - 6
Guilty - 0
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| Assault |
|
Client accused of assaulting a complainant
in the complainant’s home. Our
investigation revealed that the complainant
was extremely intoxicated at the time
of the incident, had a criminal history
indicating potential dishonesty, and
engaged in a personal lifestyle that
cast significant doubt upon the complainant’s
version of the incident. Our firm recommended
that the client set his case for jury
trial. |
|
Not Guilty - 1
Dismissals - 5
Guilty - 0 |
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| Bribery |
|
Client accused in federal court of
bribery of a public official and obstruction
of tax laws. The client had allegedly
bribed an agent of the Internal Revenue
Service. The incident was caught on
videotape and the client faced almost
certain prison time. But we hired an
accountant and successfully proved that
the client owed far less in taxes than
the government claimed. We argued that
the crime should be considered less
serious under federal sentencing guidelines
and the client should be eligible for
probation. |
|
Client was placed on probation.
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| Criminal Mischief |
|
Client accused of spray painting cars
in the parking lot of a Houston shopping
center. Investigation revealed that
the cost of damages sustained by the
parked cars was insufficient to justify
felony prosecution. Our firm arranged
for the client to pay a portion of the
damages.
|
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Dismissals - 2 |
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| Driving while Intoxicated (DUI / DWI) |
|
Client was arrested by the Houston
Police Department and accused of DWI.
Client performed reasonably well on
field sobriety tests but refused to
take a breath test. Our firm recommended
that the case proceed to jury trial.
|
|
Not Guilty - 3
Dismissals - 11
Guilty - 0
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| Driving while License Suspended |
|
Client accused of driving while license
suspended, due to previous convictions
for no insurance. Investigation revealed
that the client did not receive actual
notice of suspension from Texas Department
of Public Safety.
|
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Dismissals - 1 |
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| Drugs |
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| Evading Arrest |
|
Client accused of fleeing Harris County
Sheriff's deputies on his motorcycle.
Client hired our firm after the case
had been set for trial. We conducted
an audio experiment on the motorcycle
and established that the motorcycle
engine was so loud, the client simply
could not have heard the police sirens
that had been following him.
|
|
Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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|
Felon in Possession of Firearem
(felony) |
|
Client arrested for public intoxication
after falling asleep in his vehicle.
Police searched vehicle and found a
pistol under the front seat. Due to
client’s previous, felony convictions,
he faced a punishment of 25-99 years.
Prosecution’s final offer was
to reduce the punishment to 15 years
in prison. Our firm requested a jury
trial.
|
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Not Guilty - 1 |
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|
Forgery
(felony) |
|
Client accused of stealing another
person’s checkbook, forging a
signature on one of the checks, then
attempting to cash the check at a local
bank. Our investigation raised questions
about whether another person had supplied
the check to the client, and whether
someone else had possibly forged the
check owner’s signature. Our firm
requested a jury trial. |
|
Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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|
Hindering Apprehension
(felony) |
|
Client accused of harboring, concealing,
and providing her employee with means
of avoiding arrest on drug charges in
Montgomery County. Investigation revealed
that the client was probably unaware
of her employee's impending drug charges.
The District Attorney offered our client
probation, but we saw nothing illegal
in our client's behavior. We requested
a jury trial.
|
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Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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Indecency with a Child
(felony) |
|
Client accused in two cases of committing
indecent acts with minor children. Investigation
cast doubt on each complainant’s
version of the events. Our firm scheduled
a jury trial, but the client elected
to resolve the case and spare his family
any additional worry. |
|
Dismissals - 1
Reduced Charges - 1 |
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Injury to a Child
(felony) |
|
Client accused of causing injury to
his girlfriend’s teenage daughter
by giving her a spanking. Investigation
revealed no significant injuries to
the complainant. Circumstances of the
incident showed that the spanking was
probably justified, even if the client
was not the complainant’s natural
father. Client’s case proceeded
to jury trial, but the judge committed
legal error during jury selection.
|
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Dismissals - 2 |
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Kidnapping
(felony) |
|
Our firm assisted in the defense of
an Israeli citizen, who was accused
of kidnapping a boy in the client’s
ice cream truck. Investigation revealed
that the boy had thrown a rock at the
ice cream truck and that the client
was simply trying to take the boy into
"custody," so that the client
could report the incident to the boy’s
parents. Case was presented to a grand
jury.
|
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Dismissals - 1 |
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Motion to Adjudicate/Revoke
(felony) |
|
Client had been placed on deferred
adjudication for aggravated assault.
After a first motion to adjudicate guilt,
client was sentenced to boot camp and
placed back on probation. Later, client
was arrested on a second motion to adjudicate
and faced 2–20 years in prison.
He was accused of failing to report
to his probation officer, failing to
perform community service, plus various
other technical violations of community
supervision. Our firm put together exhaustive
documentation to explain the client’s
behavior and cast him in the best, possible
light. |
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Murder
(felony) |
|
Juvenile client accused of robbing
and beating an elderly woman to death
with a wooden board. Our firm’s
investigation revealed that the client
had passed a lie detector test early
in the police investigation, but since
lie detector tests are not admissible
in court, the police continued to try
and build a case against the client.
Our investigation also uncovered numerous
police errors in the handling of evidence,
failure to follow leads against other
suspects, and possible misconduct on
the part of police detectives in charge
of the case. Client was offered 25 years
imprisonment but our firm recommended
that the case proceed to jury trial. |
|
Not Guilty - 1
Dismissals - 1 |
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| Official Oppression |
|
Client police officer was investigated
by his local District Attorney for intentionally
mistreating a suspect, whom the client
and several other officers had placed
under arrest. Our firm negotiated an
immunity agreement with the District
Attorney, so that the client could testify
before a grand jury without fear of
prosecution. Client was free to explain
what happened and tell why the client
and his fellow officers should be cleared.
|
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Not Guilty - 1 |
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| Possession of a Controlled Substance
(felony) |
|
Client accepted a ride from an acquaintance
in the Montrose area of Houston. Police
stopped the vehicle for an alleged traffic
violation and requested that the occupants
exit the vehicle. Police allegedly found
cocaine on the floorboard of the vehicle
and arrested client, but let the driver
go. Investigation raised disturbing
questions about the true motive behind
the police officers’ decision
to arrest our client, while letting
the driver go. Case was set for jury
trial.
|
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Dismissals - 5 |
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| Prostitution |
|
Male client accused of soliciting
sex from a female, undercover Houston
Police Officer. (Commonly known as a
"reverse sting.") Incident
was recorded on audiotape but the client
could not afford to have a prostitution
conviction on his record. Our firm requested
a jury trial, but the undercover officer
was not able to show up for court, due
to illness.
|
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Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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|
Robbery
(felony) |
|
Client accused of aggravated robbery
in Montgomery County by allegedly stealing
another person’s money, necklace,
jacket, and shoes at gunpoint. Investigation
revealed that the complainant could
not sufficiently identify his attacker.
Our firm argued that the client was
innocent and the case was one of mistaken
identity.
|
|
Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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|
Sexual Assault
(felony) |
|
Juvenile client accused of indecency
and sexual assault of a younger child.
Investigation cast serious doubt on
the police and prosecution’s version
of the case. Client also passed a lie
detector test, although such tests are
usually inadmissible in court. Our firm
recommended that the case proceed to
jury trial.
|
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Dismissals - 2 |
| |
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Tampering with Governmental Record
(felony) |
|
Client accused of printing and selling
false insurance documents. Our firm
filed a "motion to quash the charging
instrument," arguing that the evidence
was insufficient to prove that the client
intended to "defraud or harm"
another person. We argued that the case
should have been filed as a misdemeanor,
not a felony. The District Attorney
conceded that the case should not have
been filed as a felony and dismissed
the charge. Unfortunately for the prosecution,
the Houston Police Department had waited
too long to submit its case for review
and the statute of limitations barred
any further prosecution of the case,
even as a misdemeanor. |
|
Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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|
| Terroristic Threat |
|
Client accused of threatening his
wife over the telephone. Investigation
showed that the client and the complainant
were in the midst of a contested divorce
and that the alleged threat was probably
taken out of context. Even the complainant
expressed her desire to drop the charges,
after giving our firm a detailed, written
statement. Our firm shared this information
with the prosecution and the court. |
|
Dismissals - 2 |
| |
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| Theft
(felony) |
|
Client accused of assisting his employer
in purchasing a gas generator that an
undercover police officer represented
as stolen. (This is commonly known as
a "sting operation.") Our
investigation revealed that, although
the client helped unload the gas generator
from the undercover officer’s
vehicle, the client did not know the
generator had been represented as stolen.
He was only following his supervisor’s
order to help unload the generator and
place it in a storeroom. Our firm requested
a jury trial.
|
|
Dismissals - 3 |
| |
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Unuathorized Use of Motor Vehicle
(felony) |
|
Client accused of stealing a van.
Investigation revealed that client was
in the process of purchasing the van
from its rightful owner. Despite that
client had no written contract to prove
his purchase of the van, our firm’s
investigation proved that the client
had been driving the van openly and
in public for several months before
the owner ever reported the van as stolen.
Our firm successfully argued that this
was a civil matter involving breach
of contract and not a criminal case. |
|
Dismissals - 1 |
| |
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Weapons
(felony) |
|
(See also Aggravated Assault) |
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Welfare Fraud
(felony) |
|
Client was accused of illegally collecting
government benefits, by virtue of failing
to disclose ownership of a vehicle parked
at her home. Our firm’s investigation
revealed that, although the vehicle
was listed in the client’s name,
the vehicle was actually owned by a
third party, who made all payments related
to the vehicle. Client agreed to reimburse
the government for any illegally collected
benefits. |
|
Dismissals - 1 |
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