Recent Blog Posts in December 2008

While I do not condone what the single mother does, other options should be available to her.  For example, the welfare fraud division has a steadfast rule that they will only offer felony deferred adjudication or a misdemeanor time served offer if the poor mother pays back the funds she was over paid, within forty days.  The welfare fraud division never considers a dismissal of the charges or a misdemeanor deferred adjudication if the money is paid back sooner.  They need to see that justice would be better served if they offered some other options.  They should have a standard policy of contacting the potential defendant to inform them that they have thirty days to pay back the money before criminal charges are filed.  If charges are filed they should give them the opportunity to get a misdemeanor deferred adjudication.  The welfare fraud division needs to see that the children are the ones being hurt by having their mother receive a conviction for theft or being on deferred adjudication for a felony.  The theft conviction would eliminate a lot of job opportunities for her.  Moreover, a felony deferred adjudication is not a conviction, but that means that for a minimum of two years she would be on probation, and must wait longer before she is eligible for a motion for non disclosure.

Everyone enjoys some type of diversion in life.  Some people like to read or play music to "get away."  The Houston Marathon is next month and I have come across various criminal lawyers at the Harris Criminal Justice Center  that  are in training for or have done a marathon. There are all types of runners at the courthouse.. Some are new at running, others are slow and some are fast, but they all like to run for that special feeling that running a long distance does for them.

While I have done several marathons in the past this year my wife and I have opted for a half marathon.  Mario Madrid, a Houston Criminal Defense Attorney, my business partner, and his wife are doing the full marathon again this year.  Mario's time was so good last year that he made the Houston Chronicle results section for the top finishers.  Fellow criminal lawyer, Tom Radosevich, recently had the best time for his age group in a local long distace race. .  John Boone, chief of the Check Fraud division, has the best Houston Marathon time that I know of at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.  Judge Marc Carter and his family are all avid runners. Rick Trevathan can recount how he ran one of the first Houston Marathons.