AUSTIN CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER

Once someone has been arrested and charged with a criminal offense they are arrested and detained in jail. In order to get out, the accused will have to post bail by either paying full amount in cash or getting a bondsman to bail them out.

• Cash bond- can be paid personally by detained person or they can have someone pay the bond to the jail on your behalf.
• Bail bondsman- a person or agency that provides a bond for someone who is in jail. The agreement is between the county and the bonding company who agree that the defendant will appear at all future court dates. There is also an agreement with the Bond Company and defendant that they will check in regularly and attend all court dates. Most people chose this option because you are normally only required to pay 10-20% of the bail amount.
  • Example bond set at 1,000. The defendant will be required to pay $100-$200.

You're driving down the highway and get pulled over to find out that there is a warrant for your arrest. You had no idea that you had one but now you're concerned about whether you will be facing a criminal charge.

• The first thing to do is contact a local bondsman to run a check on your name to view any outstanding warrants. A lot of bondsmen provide this service for free.
• Common reasons for warrants may include:
  • Outstanding traffic tickets.
  • Missed court dates.

The purpose of a warrant is to bring a person to court before a judge. The judge can order fines, suspend your license and other penalties. So warrants should not be brushed off and should be dealt with immediately.

Speaking with an experienced attorney at The Law Office of Kevin Bennett can help you sort things out so that you aren't inconvenienced by a warrant. If not taken care of properly the consequences of having a warrant can be very serious.

You have to comply with the investigation meaning that you shouldn't resist arrest. If they ask for your identification, give it to them. Do not admit guilt to any crime that law enforcement accuses you of. Just mention that you do not want to speak with anyone until you have an attorney present. A goal of many Police officers is to charge someone with a crime and get them arrested. They have ways of making even innocent people seem guilty. Anything you say during an investigation can be used against you in court.

Police do not have to read you Miranda rights if they have not initiated questioning with you. Under the 5th amendment, it is your right to not incriminate yourselves. If they start an interrogation, they have to read you your rights.

• These rights are:
  • The right to remain silent.
  • The right to an attorney during questioning (If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you)
  • Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law.

The Miranda rule can be complicated and it is best to speak with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about your rights.

The purpose of hiring an attorney at The Law Office of Kevin Bennett is to get the best possible outcome for your case. Handling things yourself will not yield the best possible outcome because you are not an experienced lawyer and you likely do not know how the court systems operate.

When you retain an attorney at The Law Office of Kevin Bennett you can rest assured that they will be working to get you a favorable outcome. An attorney can get you on probation or pretrial diversion in order to keep you out of jail. If this is your first offense it may be eligible for expungement which means that no record of this offense will be on your record.

A lawyer at The Law Office of Kevin Bennett will also review your case to make sure that law enforcement followed proper procedures to arrest you. A criminal conviction can cause you to lose jobs, lose your apartment, lose financial aid if you are in school and many other things. It should be taken seriously and you should hire an attorney as soon as possible so that they can start working on your case immediately.

• Probation is the community supervision of an offender that is served outside of the traditional jail system. The terms of probation vary depending on the individual, the state of the offense, and the crime. An offender placed on probation has a set of conditions that they must abide by during this period. Examples of some conditions would be having to submit to drug test once a month, completing a certain amount of community service hours, refraining from firearms, abide by a curfew, and having to take drug/alcohol addiction classes. Probation is available for both felony and misdemeanor probation in all 50 states in the United States and typically granted for first-time offenders or crimes that aren't very serious. Once you complete probation your records cannot be sealed or expunged like in deferred adjudication.
• Deferred adjudication is a sentence that is completely diverted out of the court system. This is usually offered to first-time offenders. If the person completes the term successfully they are able to get the conviction off of their record and they will have no finding of guilt. If a defendant wants to go to trial they will not be allowed to get deferred adjudication. The courts offer this because with rising cost of prison's and high rates of incarceration it is more efficient to handle less serious offenders outside of incarceration.
  • Ex: Someone who has no criminal record gets arrested for shoplifting out of Walmart; they might get on deferred adjudication. If they do not follow through with all terms set forth for them they will have to appear before a judge and their sentence will probably be revoked and a new punishment will have to be completed.

Pre-Trial diversion is supervision that is offered to first-time offenders in Texas during prosecution of their crimes. It allows offenders to pay for what they have done without having a conviction on their record.

The impact of being arrested for the first time can be very scary and each the terms of each program is personalized to each case. Since the case is diverted out of the court system, offenders do not have any court fines.

Call The Law Office of Kevin Bennett so that we can go over your options and see if you are eligible for Pre-Trial Diversion. If you complete this program and get an expunction you can legally deny the occurrence of the arrest or criminal case.

Yes, the police can legally search your car if they believe your vehicle has evidence that a crime has been committed or will be committed. They also have the right to search if something is in plain view sight which gives them probable cause to believe evidence is in the vehicle. An example of this would be an open alcohol bottle in the passenger seat of your car or a gun in your car that is in plain view. If you have been arrested or your car has been impounded they can search your car. If you give consent they can also search. You have the right to say no but if they meet any of the standards mentioned above they will probably still search anyways. The police might be able to get a warrant to search if you refuse.

An example of this would be an open alcohol bottle in the passenger seat of your car or a gun in your car that is in plain view. If you have been arrested or your car has been impounded they can search your car under the "incident to arrest" exception to the warrant requirement. If you give consent they can also search. You have the right to say no but if they meet any of the standards mentioned above they will probably still search anyways. The police might be able to get a warrant to search if you refuse.

If you give free and voluntary consent, then the police can conduct a search without a warrant. You have the right to say no but if they meet any of the standards mentioned above they will probably still search anyways. The police might be able to get a warrant to search if you refuse.

If no exception to the warrant requirement applies, then the police must get a warrant or the search is illegal. If the search is illegal, then your attorney can file and litigate a motion to suppress any evidence seized so that it cannot be used against you at trial. The police might be able to get a warrant to search if you refuse.

Alcohol blood concentration's only rise when you drink alcohol at a faster rate than your body can eliminate it. The human body considers alcohol to be a poisonous substance. Once you ingest alcohol, your body will try to remove it. Your BAC is based on your size, statute, and other factors. An average 150-pound man has a BAC of 0.08 percent after drinking four 12 oz. beers.

It is important that you are polite and follow instructions, but do not say any more than you need to. Make sure that you provide proof of a valid driver's license, insurance, and registration for your vehicle. It is recommended that you have these ready by the time the police officer approaches your car. The police officer will evaluate you through observation to determine if you are too impaired to drive. If he or she asks if you have been drinking, you will have a choice to admit to drinking or not. If you say yes or you say no and the officer still suspects you are impaired, he or she will usually ask you to exit the car and do a quick assessment of your sobriety. After asking you to submit to field sobriety tests, the officer may ask you to do some chemical testing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) designed the standard field sobriety tests. There are three tests, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the Walk and Turn, and the One Leg Stand. If all three are done in a standardized manner (which is not always the case), the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus is 77 percent, the One Leg Stand is 65 percent, and the Walk and Turn is 68 percent accurate. These NHTSA statistics indicate that up to 35 percent of the people tested are inaccurate. This does not even incorporate police officers who do not follow the standardized procedures and individuals who suffer from injury or disability.

Sober people have difficulties with the field sobriety tests. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released several factors that affect people during field sobriety tests including:

• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Inner ear disorders
• Back problems
• Leg or knee problems
• Weather conditions
• Allergies
• Weight
• Lack of coordination
• Traffic distractions
• Police car lights
• Footwear
• Age
• Being sick
• Certain disabilities
• Road or sidewalk conditions

Most criminal defense attorneys will advise you to not perform a field sobriety test. Texas law does not require you to perform field sobriety tests. You should consider your physical, mental, and balance limitations before you say yes to do any of these tests. Some sober individuals cannot even finish these tests, so it can end up hurting you in the future.

It is highly recommended by most criminal defense attorneys that you do not take a breath test. Many would consider breathalyzers occasionally flawed and unreliable in measuring impairment and alcohol concentration. Texas State Law indicates that any person who does not submit a blood, urine, or breath sample may lose their license for 180 days or longer. You will possibly be arrested in addition to this. However, it is important to note that most people who refuse to end up with lower court costs, different bail conditions, and a much higher chance of winning their case.

If you are working with a practiced criminal defense attorney, yes. Many breathalyzers are inaccurate and are outdated for measuring blood alcohol concentration. In addition to this, there are many factors that can cause abnormal results on a breathalyzer or other chemical tests. For instance, it has been reported that Atkins dieting, dental work, and people who are exposed to chemicals in their day-to-day work, can create a high result in a breathalyzer test.

According to Texas Penal Code § 22.01, an individual can be charged with domestic assault if they intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury, threaten or physically contact a family member, household member or person they are in a dating relationship with.

There is a serious misconception by defendants that an assault case can be dismissed by the alleged victim or that they can drop the charges. Although it certainly helps with the defense of the case when the alleged victim does not want the case prosecuted, it is only one aspect of the case.

Domestic violence cases are prosecuted every day in Travis County and in Texas courts despite the fact that the "victim wants the charges dropped." The best way to defend your case and increase your chances of having the charges dismissed is to hire a good criminal defense lawyer who regularly handles family violence cases in Austin, Tx.

Domestic assault allegations often arise when an individual commits an assault against a family member. A family member is defined under Texas law as anyone who related by blood or by marriage, former spouses, parents of the same child, foster parents, and step-parents.

An individual can also be charged with domestic assault if they commit an assault against a household member. Texas law defines a household member as anyone who resides or previously resided in the same home, such as roommates.