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Recent Blog Posts in April 2009

April 22, 2009
  Did You Celebrate The "High Holiday?"
Posted By Herman Martinez
It is not widely known in Texas that April 20th is celebrated as a holiday for marijuana users across the country.  In fact, High Times magazine holds its annual beauty pageant on this day.  Typically, you will find Ethan Hawke, James Franco, and Keith Richards attending the party.  Of course, Snoop Dog never misses the event.

I wonder what will happen to this event once marijuana becomes legal across the country?

Continue reading "Did You Celebrate The "High Holiday?"" »

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April 21, 2009
  Are You Really A Criminal Attorney In Houston?
Posted By Herman Martinez

When I tell people that I am a criminal defense lawyer, I am often asked "How can you defend someone you know is guilty." The question actually has different meanings to different people. To some, it often assumes that the "guilty" person should simply "take what's coming". To others it is morally wrong on my part to assist someone that is charged with a crime.   Routinely, their feelings dramatically change when one of their friends or family member is charged with a crime especially  if that person is facing incriminating evidence, the need to post bail, and find a lawyer.  Their question changes to How can you help us?"

I will not bore you with what I tell people the first two type of questions.  A person accused of a crime is faced with many dilemmas. They discuss their problem with non lawyers, and often receive bad advice from those they trust the most.

Most everyone wants to cleanse themselves of the incident by telling someone about the facts. They immediately want to know if there are going to be found guilty.   Sometimes the answer is obvious. Often it is not.    Whatever the facts of any particular case, my job is to provide the best defense I can. I am responsible for the identification of possible defenses, and defense strategies. I must discover, organize and prepare the evidence, and research the applicable law. This not only includes the law describing the crime alleged, but also, and often more important, the law as it relates to the evidence the prosecution will be able to use against us, and the law that may prevent us from using important evidence.

The complex and confusing series of sentencing rules and laws are also important to understand in order to fairly evaluate the prosecutor's plea offer. What is the "exposure"? If we go to trial how likely is it that we will win and if we lose, what's the worst case scenario? What are the mitigating and aggravating factors that might be considered if we lose.  Do we request a Pre Sentence Investigation, entering a plea of guilty and leaving the punishment up to the judge.

If someone seeking a lawyer speaks to two or three lawyers, he will probably hear fees quoted that differ dramatically. Often the "best price" buys little more than "holding the defendant's hand" while they plead guilty. I have also seen very high paid  lawyers do what appeared to be second rate work or failing to inform the client of all their options.

In some instance, I know early on that a trial is not the best course. Just because I know the prosecutor will be able to prove that a crime has been committed, and that my client did it, does not mean that something can not be done. Even when you know a trial is not likely, it is still important to prepare as though there will be a trial. Preparation is necessary in every case.

Continue reading "Are You Really A Criminal Attorney In Houston?" »

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April 15, 2009
  The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test is a Fraud
Posted By Herman Martinez
There are not many things that I dislike more than taxes.  As a Houston DWI Lawyer I have come to dislike the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) more than them.  The reason I believe this is the case is because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is lying to the public, the officers they train, and the prosecutors that use them to convict people.  The HGN is an unscientific test.  The lie is first and foremost that it the most reliable of the field sobriety tests.  This is untrue!  How can a study that only had 28 subjects, done in a lab setting, a test that has not been peer reviewed, and took over four years to complete be reliable?  The study has not been cited by anyone else for determing a person's blood alcohol content.  Moreover, the test is easily manipulated.  The test may be affected by how fast the officer does the passes in front of the person's eyes, moving objects in front of a person's eye site, or flashing lights.  The NTSA manual used by the police does not state the amount of jerking required to in order to measure one of the six clues in the HGN test.  Therefore, the test is subjective.  Lastly, every person has some sort of nystagmus, and there are over 45 forms of nystagmus that are not related to alcohol.
Continue reading "The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test is a Fraud" »

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April 10, 2009
  Are You Really A Criminal Attorney?
Posted By Herman Martinez

When I tell people that I am a criminal defense lawyer, I am often asked "How can you defend someone you know is guilty." The question actually has different meanings to different people. To some, it often assumes that the "guilty" person should simply "take what's coming". To others it is morally wrong on my part to assist someone that is charged with a crime.   Routinely, their feelings dramatically change when one of their friends or family member is charged with a crime especially  if that person is facing incriminating evidence, the need to post bail, and find a lawyer.  Their question changes to How can you help us?"

I will not bore you with what I tell people the first two type of questions.  A person accused of a crime is faced with many dilemmas. They discuss their problem with non lawyers, and often receive bad advice from those they trust the most.

Most everyone wants to cleanse themselves of the incident by telling someone about the facts. They immediately want to know if there are going to be found guilty.   Sometimes the answer is obvious. Often it is not.    Whatever the facts of any particular case, my job is to provide the best defense I can. I am responsible for the identification of possible defenses, and defense strategies. I must discover, organize and prepare the evidence, and research the applicable law. This not only includes the law describing the crime alleged, but also, and often more important, the law as it relates to the evidence the prosecution will be able to use against us, and the law that may prevent us from using important evidence.

The complex and confusing series of sentencing rules and laws are also important to understand in order to fairly evaluate the prosecutor's plea offer. What is the "exposure"? If we go to trial how likely is it that we will win and if we lose, what's the worst case scenario? What are the mitigating and aggravating factors that might be considered if we lose.  Do we request a Pre Sentence Investigation, entering a plea of guilty and leaving the punishment up to the judge.

If someone seeking a lawyer speaks to two or three lawyers, he will probably hear fees quoted that differ dramatically. Often the "best price" buys little more than "holding the defendant's hand" while they plead guilty. I have also seen very high paid  lawyers do what appeared to be second rate work or failing to inform the client of all their options.

In some instance, I know early on that a trial is not the best course. Just because I know the prosecutor will be able to prove that a crime has been committed, and that my client did it, does not mean that something can not be done. Even when you know a trial is not likely, it is still important to prepare as though there will be a trial. Preparation is necessary in every case.

Continue reading "Are You Really A Criminal Attorney?" »

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April 10, 2009
  Houston DWI lawyer starting another blog
Posted By Herman Martinez
As you may know, I have a more general Houston criminal defense blog that I have keeping up with for more than a year.  That blog is more informational then I hope this one will be in the future.  I hope to make this one more personal then the other blog.  Also, I think I should write about more DWI related issues here.   I am up to the challenge of having two blogs. 
Continue reading "Houston DWI lawyer starting another blog" »

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