Denton County Criminal Defense Lawyer

Criminal Defense

All criminal charges must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In Texas, crimes are divided into minor offenses, misdemeanors, and felonies. Felonies are the most serious crimes and can have grave consequences. They are usually punished by at least a year in prison and significant fines. Felonies are further categorized as capital felonies, first-degree felonies, second-degree felonies, third-degree felonies, and state jail felonies. Sentencing depends on the category of felony. Third-degree felonies, for example, may result in 2-10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

DWI

Some people are unaware that driving while under the influence of alcohol is a criminal charge, rather than just an administrative matter. You are considered legally intoxicated in Texas if your blood alcohol concentration is .08% or higher. You can also be charged if alcohol or drugs impair your driving ability. Usually, a DWI is charged as a Class B misdemeanor. For a first DWI conviction, you can face 3-180 days in jail, along with a $2,000 fine and the loss of your driver’s license. You can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor if a chemical test reveals that your alcohol concentration level was .15% or greater at the time of the analysis. However, there may be many defenses to a DWI charge that a Denton DWI attorney can help you explore. The police may have lacked a proper basis to stop your car, or they may have conducted testing improperly.

Traffic Tickets

In Texas, traffic tickets are criminal offenses, rather than civil infractions. Most are charged as Class C misdemeanors. Convictions can result in fines of up to $500. Class C misdemeanor charges can appear on an employment-related criminal background check or disqualify you from federal financial aid. Traffic tickets may be issued for reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, attempting to flee a police officer, open container, or hit and run. What must be proven depends on the traffic ticket. For example, you can be convicted of misdemeanor reckless driving under Texas Transportation Code section 545.401 if you drive your car on a public Texas road with willful or wanton disregard for the safety or property of others.

Drug Crimes

Many of the drug cases that we handle involve possession of a controlled substance under PG2, marijuana, THC vape, edibles, and wax. Texas Health and Safety Code section 481.121 provides for various classes of misdemeanor and felony charges for marijuana possession. You can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, for instance, if you possess 2-4 ounces of marijuana. The prosecutor will need to show that you knowingly or intentionally possessed the drug. Although the active component in THC wax is the same as marijuana, possession of even a relatively small amount of THC wax may be charged as a felony. However, you should not assume that a conviction is assured because you were caught with drugs. There may be procedural and substantive defenses that a criminal defense attorney can raise. For instance, if the drugs were found in an illegal search and seizure in violation of your Fourth Amendment rights, we may be able to get that evidence suppressed.

Assault

The level of an assault charge depends on the severity of the defendant’s actions and the nature of the relationship between the defendant and the victim. For instance, you can be convicted of a Class C misdemeanor if a prosecutor can show that you threatened another person with bodily harm or caused physical contact in an offensive or provocative way, but there were no other aggravating factors. However, you may be convicted of a third-degree felony if you perpetrate an assault against someone with whom you have a domestic relationship or whom you know is discharging a duty as a public servant. You can be charged with aggravated assault when a weapon is used to perpetrate an assault, or the assault results in a serious injury. Defenses in these cases may include self-defense or defense of others.

Family Violence

Family violence occurs when a family or household member perpetrates a violent act against another family or household member, and the violence is meant to cause bodily injury, physical harm, assault, or sexual assault. You can also be charged with family violence if you make a threat that reasonably puts a family or household member in fear of immediate bodily injury, physical harm, assault, or sexual assault. In Texas, if you perpetrate violence against someone with whom you have the requisite familial relationship, you could be charged with domestic assault, aggravated domestic assault, or continuous violence against family. Family violence also includes abuse and dating violence. If you are convicted of domestic assault, you can face jail time and fines, and you can be barred from owning or possessing firearms and a hunting or fishing license. Your criminal defense lawyer can investigate the strategies that may be available, such as questioning the credibility of the accuser or arguing for self-defense.

Theft

In general, theft occurs if you illegally appropriate property while intending to deprive the owner of it. Appropriation of property is illegal if it is without the owner’s consent. It is also illegal if you appropriated property while knowing that it was stolen or if you appropriated property that a law enforcement agent told you was stolen and that you believed was stolen. Theft offenses are classified according to the value of what was stolen. The least serious form of theft is Class C misdemeanor theft, which is charged when what was stolen was worth less than $50. The most serious type of theft is first-degree felony theft, which can be charged if you stole property or services worth $200,000 or more.

Consult an Aggressive Denton County Attorney

There may be many ways in which an experienced attorney can fight the criminal charges against you. In some cases, it is possible to file a motion to suppress or other motions to prevent criminal charges from moving forward. Sometimes there are substantive issues that can lead to a dismissal or acquittal. It is important to retain a criminal lawyer who can examine the facts of your case and who understands which strategies are likely to yield the best available outcome. If you need a Denton DWI lawyer, or if you are charged with any other crime in Denton, Wise, Cooke, Collin, Tarrant, or Dallas County, you should discuss your situation with Rudy Vrba at VRBA Law. Call us at (469) 240-9080 or complete our online form.