Recent Blog Posts in February 2010

The NFL season may be over, but does not mean that their players do not stop making news.  NFL players Will Allen and Byron Westbrook were arrested this weekend in seperate instances.  It is a shame when a person is merely arrested and it makes national news.  Both of these men are presumed to be innocent.

Mr. Allen was arrested while passing a DWI checkpoint.  Luckily, the citizens of Texas and more specificially Houston do not have to deal with these type of unreasaonable stops.  I have discussed DWI checkpoints before on my journal.  If you would like to see what I wrote last year click here concerning checkpoints and what the Texas legislature had in mind.

The Westbrook family is having a difficult week.  Byron Westbrook's brother, Brian Westbrook, a NFL running back, was released from his Philadelphia Eagle contract today.  I imagine both of these men can not wait for the next season to start since the playing field is where athletes are most able to put away their distractions.

Today, I received the judge's decision regarding an ALR hearing  in Houston I had last week.  The judge decided to suspend my client's drivers license despite the fact that I won her DWI trial in Houston.  These officers decided to attend the ALR hearing only to make it more difficult for my client.  They were upset and this was payback.  I hate that this occurred.  They are able to do this because they do not have to prove that my cilent was intoxicated.  The proof that was required was that she refused a breath test in Harris County.

This is the first time as a Houston DWI Lawyer that a police officer attended an ALR hearing after the criminal case was dismissed.  Some officers can be really spiteful!

Yesterday, I received an email inquiring why a bond would be $50,000.  As it usually happens my reply illicited several other emails back and forth.  I tried to explain that there is a bond schedule for all cases in Houston, Harris County, Texas.  If you would like to see the schedule for yourself click here for the felony bond schedule and here for the misdemeanor bond schedule.  The bond in any particular case may be raised after a request is made.  I truly wish the person would have just called me instead of exchanging ten emails before I was able to answer all her questions. 

For now on, I am going to answer at most two emails from the same person before I insist they call me on the phone to discuss a case.  A five minute conservation is far more effecient then an unlimited amount of emails.  Lastly, I am unable to quote a fee for a criminal case without talking to a person on the phone.

Typically, the Houston, Harris County Criminal Justice Center is a beehive of activity on a Monday morning. To my surprise, after walking through the tunnel at the 1401 Congress garage the courthouse was very quiet.  The dockets seemed much smaller then normal in the courts that I visited today. Perhaps, they coordinators anticipated some time with their kids since most public were closed today.

Additionally, when I arrived at my Houston Galleria Office it was equally quiet. Our office was the only one that was opened on our floor.  I should have anticipated that the Cheesecake Factory, where we decided to have lunch, would be packed with families because of the holiday.

First of all Warren Sapp is a lucky man in many ways.  I remember seeing him play at the University of Miami where he was an all american.  Unbelievably, his stock dropped during the NFL draft because of his alleged use of marijuana.  Nevertheless, he enjoyed what is considered by many to have had a Hall of Fame career while mainly playing for the Tamba Bucaneers. Currently, he is working for the NFL network.

Unfortunately, this weekend Mr. Sapp was arrested this weekend for domestic battery in Miami Beach, Florida.  Mr. Sapp was covering the Super Bowl for the NFL network.  While Warren Sapp may feel down right now since he was arrested and will not be covering the Super Bowl for NFL network.  The silver lining is that he is presumed to be innocent despite being a celebrity.  Lastly, he is lucky that this did not happen in Texas since choking a domestic partner is a felony in our state.

Judge Reagan Helm, Presiding Judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law #1 has decided to resign today.  His resignation is effective immediately. Ironically, as a Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer I enjoyed visiting his court.  His entire staff was professional, friendly, and effective, but the judge was completely different.  His demeanor was always short and never seem to enjoy being a judge.  I wish him well in retirement.

Judge Helm was not seeking reelection after his term ended this year.  Most curiously, he resigns the day before a hearing where the Harris County District Attorney's Office is trying to remove him from presiding over Family Assault cases.