Recent Blog Posts
Can Police Search Your Cell Phone Without A Search Warrant In Texas?
Your cell phone may contain years of private information, including text messages, photographs, emails, banking records, location history, social media activity, videos, contacts, and internet searches. For that reason, police in Galveston County generally cannot treat a cell phone like an ordinary object found in your pocket after an arrest. Texas law provides specific… Read More »
Federal Charges For Mailing Or Shipping Controlled Substances
Mailing or shipping controlled substances can quickly turn a drug investigation into a serious federal case. Prosecutors often use package records, surveillance footage, text messages, payment details, tracking data, fingerprints, intercepted messages, and evidence from homes or vehicles to link someone to a shipment. However, just because drugs are found in a package, the… Read More »
Can Text Messages Be Used To Prove A Federal Conspiracy?
Text messages often play a key role in federal conspiracy cases. Investigators may use them to suggest that people agreed to work together, knew each other’s actions, divided tasks, discussed money, set up meetings, or tried to hide what they were doing. The government does not need a message that clearly says, “We agree… Read More »
The Surprising Science Of False Confessions In Criminal Cases
Many people think they would never admit to a serious crime they didn’t commit. This seems reasonable, but things can change after hours of questioning, isolation, accusations, exhaustion, and pressure. Over the years, wrongful conviction cases have shown that innocent people sometimes confess to crimes like robbery, sexual assault, or even murder. DNA exonerations… Read More »
The Texas Grand Jury Process: What Really Happens Behind Closed Doors
What Is The Purpose Of A Grand Jury In A Felony Case In Texas? In Texas, every felony case must be presented to a grand jury to determine whether an indictment should be issued or if the case should be no-billed, which means not proceeding with charges. The grand jury process is essential because… Read More »
Can A DWI With A Child Passenger Lead To Child Abuse Charges In Texas?
Getting arrested for DWI is always serious in Galveston, but the stakes are even higher if a child is in the car. Texas law makes it a felony to drive while intoxicated with a passenger under 15, so what might have been a misdemeanor can quickly become a felony case. Depending on the details… Read More »
Federal Felon In Possession Of A Firearm Charges
A firearm arrest can become a federal criminal case even when no one fired the weapon, no one was injured, and the firearm was not allegedly used to commit another crime. For someone with a qualifying felony conviction, simple possession of a gun or ammunition may expose that person to prosecution under federal law…. Read More »
Federal Wire Fraud Charges Explained
Federal wire fraud charges can come from situations that might first seem like normal business disagreements, financial transactions, online messages, or money disputes. The key difference is when someone claims that electronic communications were used to intentionally get money or property by deceiving others. Federal investigators often spend months looking through emails, bank records,… Read More »
How Does Cross-Examination Expose Problems With Witness Testimony?
Witness testimony is often crucial in Galveston County criminal cases, but just because someone takes the stand does not mean everything they say is correct. Witnesses might misunderstand what they saw, remember things wrong, change their story over time, exaggerate, leave out key facts, or have personal reasons for describing events a certain way…. Read More »
Can Rising Blood Alcohol Be A Defense To A Texas DWI Charge?
A blood or breath test showing an alcohol concentration above 0.08 does not always reflect your level at the time you were driving. Alcohol takes time to enter the bloodstream, so your blood alcohol concentration can keep rising even after you stop drinking. This timing matters in a Galveston County DWI case, especially if… Read More »
