Recent Posts in Arrest Category

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.

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.

Sadly, the Sheen household is having a Christmas they would like to forget.  Unhappily, this is what commonly happens when there is a domestic violence situation.  They arrest the man and ask questions later especially if the man has a prior conviction for this offense.  I understand the rush to judgment since for decades this crime went overlooked by law enforcement.  Nevertheless, the police are allowing these latent biases tragically affect families.  A proper investigaton should still take place without rushing to judgment. I see this happen routinely as a Houston Assault Attorney.  The woman is initally seen crying, distraught and frantic. While in this emotional state the woman enhances the story in her favor.  Contrastingly, the man acts understated while he tells his story in a muffled tone. The man instinctively thinks this is the way he should act.  Unfortunately  his remorse is interpreted as a sign of guilt by the police.

These domestic violence situations tend to arise out of a passionate relationship that is unable to properly address a recurring problem.  This inablility leads to resentment that causes the violence.  Furthermore, the situation is magnified when one or both of them have been driinking.  Once it is apparent that the disagreement will not be resolved an uproar ensues and the police are called,  Law enforcement should provide better training to the officers responding to these situations so that they are better able to diffuse the scene instead of enflaming it.

As a Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer I get parents that can not believe that this is the case.  In Texas, joy riding is called unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.  This happens a lot when a teenager takes a car without a parent's permission.  Unless, the parent comes forward for the child saying that they had persimmon to use the vehicle they will be charged with a felony.

This charge also comes up frequently when someone that is under the influence of drugs or alcohol lends someone the car that they are legally driving in exchange for drugs.  The drug induced person later reports the vehicle as stolen to the police.  Later, a person that is driving the vehicle is not aware of the report by the owner claiming that it was stolen is pulled over by police and charged with the felony of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

The Oakland Raiders are known for having some colorful players on their team.  During the 70's and 80's they would sign players that wore out their welcome with their teams or were released after having some type of legal issues.  Players like Jim Plunkett, Lyle Alzado, and Ted Hendricks fit the Raiders image to a tee.   

Lately, the Raiders have fallen from grace.  Their team is considered to be one of the worse  run franchises in the NFL and owner, Al Davis is routinely mocked by football experts.  It has gotten so unruly at "Raider Nation" that during the preseason their coaches were involved in an incident that may lead to assault charges.  The Raiders are expecting their head coach, Tom Cable to be arrested for felony assault potentially spending time away from the team during the regular season.

Luckily, in Houston, Texas this can be avoided.  In Harris County,Texas there is a procedure to avoid going to jail when there is a warrant for someone's arrest.  A "non arrest" bond allows someone to avoid the inconvenience of having to be arrested before going to court to dispute the charges against them.

Many of our clients are first time offenders and have typically never been in trouble with law enforcement prior to contacting us for help.  When they arrive at our office the first thing they they normally tell us is how badly they were treated by the police.  They also can not understand why the officer did not take into account their otherwise pristine criminal record.  I often tell them about the different cases that we have defended where we have been amazed at the fact that an arrest had in fact taken place.

A perfect example of the police not making an exception for anyone is the recent  DWI arrest of a groom on his wedding day.  His case landed in Harris County Criminal Court Law #7 where Pam Derbyshire presides. 

Luckily, every person that is charged with a DWI is presumed to be innocent and there are an infinite amount of ways a case may be defended. 

Do you remember Jerry's girlfriend that was able to persuade anyone to get what she wanted?  In fact, she was able to get out of traffic ticket by flirting with the police officer in the Seinfeld episode titled "The Calzone" despite Jerry admitting everything.  Well not even a extraordinary persuasive person like that will able able to convince Houston, Texas area police officers to write them a citation for being in possession of a misdemeanor amount of marijuana despite the law allowing them the opportunity to do just that in the appropriate situation.

Last year the law changed where an officer has the option to arrest someone or simply write the person a citation for being in possession of less than four ounces of marijuana.  In fact, Austin police officers hope to start the policy by the end of the year.

Since Houston, Harris County, Texas  has a notorious overcrowding issue in their jails you would think they would embrace this law. " Not on my watch your not" said Former Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal bluntly...he notified all the police chiefs in Harris County that if their officers want to follow the new law and issue citations, the DA's office would not accept the charges.  He flatly refused to recognize this law.  Even several months after Chuck Rosenthal's resignation from the District Attorney's office the policy has not changed in Harris County.

Here is hoping that whoever becomes the new Harris County District Attorney recognizes this law and values the good it could do for the overcrowding issues that are occuring in the Harris, County Jail.