Collin County Criminal Lawyers Blog

The client was arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-wife by shoving her several times and pushing her to the ground. The State of Texas had several witnesses and on the surface it seemed like an easy case to prove. My client was charged with a Class A misdemeanor--the highest level of misdemeanor punishable up to 1 year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Moreover, the State of Texas also wanted to enhance the charge with an affirmative finding of family violence (AFV). The AFV acts like a baby felony that cuts your rights in half - when you have an AFV on your record, you cannot adopt a child, act as a managing conservator for your child, possess or transport a firearm or ammunition.

After working on the case to develop leads and evidence that was helpful to our side, we were able to gain leverage in negotiations and prosecutor agreed to reduce the Class A charge to a Class C misdemeanor assault by contact charge. The State also agreed to drop the AFV enhancement allegation--a giant relief. Finally, my client received deferred adjudication on this charge as part of the negotiation. This essentially reduced the offense to the equivalent of a traffic ticket. And following a 6 month non-reporting probation period (basically just keep your nose clean during the probation period), my client will be able to get the charge off his record--just like it never happened.

So what began for my client as a serious case with serious consequences ended up as something he can expunge off his record--as if the arrest never occurred. As you can expect, my client was relieved and very pleased with the result.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
Collin County 24-Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com

If you have not heard already, listen to this.... following the arrest of black defendant in Denton County after she drunkenly drove through a cemetery (knocking over gravestones along the way) and gave the arresting officers a bunch of grief in the process, a prosecutor in the Denton County DA's office mentioned to a black co-worker (also a prosecutor) that the defendant's behavior made him "understand why people hung people from trees." Now on a roll, the prosecutor also went on to say to the same co-worker that it made him "want to go home and put on his white pointy hat." These remarks were made around April 2009.

You would think after such comments, the person making the comments would be reprimanded or fired right? Well, not really. When the co-worker reported the prosecutor for making the statements, you guessed it--she was dubbed a "troublemaker" and harassed by others including the prosecutor's relatives that also worked in the DA's office. Apparently, the prosecutor's wife was the troublemaker's direct supervisor, so you can imagine how uncomfortable the working situation had to be. So how did the DA's office resolve to fix this: send the folks making the comments to sensitivity training and put letters in their files.

Well, the black prosecutor decided to make a federal case out it, sued, and hit the county right between the eyes as reported by the Denton Record Chronicle, "A lawyer in the Denton County District Attorney's Office won a federal racial discrimination suit against the county Thursday and was awarded a little more than $500,000 plus attorneys' fees." The Denton Record Chronicle went on to report:

"The suit alleged that felony prosecutor Cary Piel made racially insulting remarks in [Nadiya Williams] Boldware's presence; that his wife, Susan Piel, who was Boldware's supervisor in the misdemeanor crimes section of the office, did not protect Boldware from having to hear those remarks; and that Ryan Calvert, Susan Piel's brother and another prosecutor with the district attorney's office, made remarks later that harassed Boldware and contributed to a hostile work environment...."

During this whole process Ms. Boldware and her tormenters were all still employed at the DA's office--which must have been absolutely miserable for Ms. Boldware. The Denton County DA's office finally responded yesterday by firing Cary Piel, Susan Piel, John Renz, and Ryan Calvert--more than 3 years after the comments were made.

bo@kalabuslaw.com
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com
972-562-7549
214-402-4364 (24 hour jail release)

The client was alleged to have pushed their spouse in a bar parking lot in the middle of a heated argument. On the surface it looks like a certain conviction for the State of Texas, but the State still has the burden to prove its case at trial.

The case was set for trial, and on the day of trial, the State was unprepared to proceed. Knowing it would have issues proving the assault occurred, the State ultimately dismissed the case against my client.

In the final analysis, this was a rushed decision to proceed with the case against my client. The State finally realized on the day of trial that the evidence just did not support going forward with the case to a jury. The client was relieved and very pleased with the result. Holding the State to its burden is your right as a citizen and keep in mind you will miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
Collin County 24 Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com

SCRAM -it's an ugly word. Over the years, depending on the facts of the cases, I have had a few clients ordered by judges to wear a SCRAM device. It's not a fun device that's for sure. SCRAM is a device that monitors alcohol in your system and is worn around your ankle. The device measures a person's blood alcohol content through perspiration and it takes a reading every 30 minutes. The device transmits the data to the provider at least once a day. The device is also a huge burden for a variety of reasons.

Usually the first concern about SCRAM is its outrageous cost. SCRAM's expensive--from $380 to $450 a month. Maybe more importantly, its bulky and you have to watch what you wear--if you wear shorts or a skirt, then it will show. Going in the same direction, it can be very uncomfortable especially if your ankles swell since the bracelet does not expand. Also--if this applies to you--it's nearly impossible to shave your legs with the device on, as I have been told you cannot get a razor around it. Another knock against the device is you cannot submerge it, so baths are out, and so is swimming--which is especially a raw deal in the middle of summer.

The device can also be annoying considering it will vibrate every 30 minutes when it is taking its readings. You may not notice it during the day, but when things are quiet and you are trying to sleep, I expect it will get under your skin.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
Collin County 24-Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com

No refusal weekends are good weekends to call cabs if you are out on the town and enjoying alcohol. In fact any time you are out drinking is a good time to call a cab. However, the stakes really go up for drunk drivers on a "no refusal weekend." And you can bet for sure that this upcoming 4th of July weekend will be a no refusal weekend for Dallas and Collin Counties.

What a no refusal weekend means is that if you get pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving you will be given the option of providing a breath or blood sample. If you refuse to provide a sample, a warrant will be secured to take a blood sample to measure your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and of course these results will be used against you at your trial.

The police will be very aggressive in looking for drunken drivers. Austin had a no refusal weekend recently and 51 people were arrested during the course of the weekend. So be careful out there during the upcoming holiday. Just take it easy on yourself and others and call a taxi.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
Collin County 24 Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com

Being on probation usually sounds good, especially if the alternative is jail. But is it? Probation is hard, and in my opinion probation can be very dangerous if the probationer is careless or has a lapse in judgment--we are all human and we all make mistakes. To survive on probation you have to be organized, disciplined, and have a little bit of luck. People do make it through probation, but for many the road through probation is hard.

Take this for example--let's say you ended up on DWI probation either through an agreed plea, or you lost your case at trial. The deal you ended up with was 120 days jail probated for 15 months. What this means is you have 15 months probation, but if you mess up on probation, the State will try to put you in jail for 120 days.

One of the conditions of your probation is no alcohol during the duration of probation. You've been good through the first 10 months of probation, but then you decide to go to a comedy club for your friend's birthday. You have a beer and think it's not a big deal, until a little pushing and shoving starts in the club on the way out. The bouncers break things up, but the police show up. You are a little punchy because you were shoved around in the altercation and say something smart to the police. The police are not amused because they are a little on edge themselves because they expect the place to erupt into riot mode at any minute. The police deal with you by arresting you for public intoxication.

Well guess what? You are now in deep trouble with your probation officer. As a condition of your probation, you had agreed to not commit crimes against the State of Texas. The public intoxication ticket violates that condition and since it alleges you were intoxicated this violates the no alcohol provision of your probation. And you can't hide--you have to report the arrest to your probation officer within 48 hours or you are in violation of yet another condition of your probation. In the blink of an eye you have thrown your first 10 months of being a good probationer in the trashcan.

What happens next? The probation officer will either call you in and tell you they are going to revoke your probation and ask for jail time, or they want to play lets make a deal. This is where things get really hairy and it goes like this--the probation officer will say in lieu of jail, they will graciously extend you probation 6 more months, have you do 24 hours more community service, and get you signed up to take an outpatient drug treatment program that you get to pay for yourself. You think, "Wow, what a guy" and take the deal by signing the paper. The probation officer then submits the new agreement to the judge for him to sign.

As a result, you have just added more stuff to do during your probation because you were afraid of going to jail and this is natural. But you may have just set yourself up to fail. What you need to keep in mind is the probation officer has no power to do anything but make recommendations to the judge. In some cases the probation officer will use the threat of jail to get you to agree to additional conditions that may be very difficult to complete and you may end up getting revoked anyway.

Remember, probation is tricky. You don't have to go it alone if you run into trouble along the way. Consult with a lawyer if you think you have violated your probation before you meet with your probation officer and sign away more of your rights.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com
Office: 972-562-7549
24-Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364

Sure, police can, but only if they were properly motivated. Why? It's called the community caretaking function. As part of a police officer's duty to "serve and protect" an officer may stop and assist an individual whom a reasonable person, given the totality of the circumstances, would believe is in need of help.

Community caretaking may be used in situations where:
• A vehicle has a flat tire
• Stopped in the middle of the road
• Pulled over on the side of the road
• Hitting a curb
• Reckless driving
• Weaving outside a lane of traffic
• Vomiting out a window
• Driving under the speed limit
• Etc....

It's sounds like community caretaking may be an easy excuse for police to pull people over or approach a parked car to start a DWI or other type of investigation without actually having reasonable suspicion. Well, the courts appreciate that this could happen and the Court of Criminal Appeals held in Wright v. State, 7 S.W.23rd 148 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999) that the community caretaking function in Texas will have narrow applicability--Only in the most unusual circumstances will warrantless searches of private, fixed property, or stops of persons located thereon, be justified under the community caretaking function.

What this means is when a court is reviewing a stop based on the community caretaking function, it must first ask a threshold question: Was the officer primarily motivated to make the stop out of concern for the welfare of the individual? If the answer to the question is NO, then the community caretaking function cannot be used as reason for the stop--remember, a police officer may not properly invoke his community caretaking function if he is primarily motivated by a non-community caretaking purpose.

If it is determined that an officer was primarily motivated by his community caretaking function, the next question is whether the officer's belief that the defendant needed help is reasonable. To help make this determination, the Court in Wright gave us a list of factors:

• The nature and level of the distress exhibited by the individual--this factor is given the most weight by the reviewing court;
• Location of the individual--was the vehicle in an isolated spot, near a neighborhood, in a dangerous location, etc.;
• Whether the individual was alone and/or had access to assistance independent of that offered by the officer--was the individual alone, did they have access to a phone, etc.; and
• To what extent the individual-if not assisted-presented a danger to himself or others--would a reasonable person believe there was a danger?

As you can see, community caretaking is an issue that may come up when defending a criminal case. If you find yourself facing charges that stem from a detention based under the guise of the community caretaking function, you should obtain counsel that will aggressively explore the true motivations of the officer for the detention.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
Collin County 24-Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364
www.kalabuslaw.com
www.rosenthalwadas.com

An affirmative finding of family violence (AFV) on you record is a bad thing. Family violence is defined under the family code as "an act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself." Tex. Fam. Code § 71.004.

Usually in a criminal case, the AFV is used to enhance an assault charge. What does an AFV on your record mean to you? Well, consider your rights as a U.S. citizen cut in half. Among the consequences of a first offense of an affirmative finding are:

• You can never be named as the "managing conservator" of a child in any divorce action or action requiring the placement of a child.

• You can never adopt a child under Texas law.

• You can never posses or transport a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

• If, at any time in the future you are charged with an assault against a family member or a member of your household or a person who qualifies under Texas law as a person with whom you have a "dating relationship", that assault can be filed as a third degree felony offense regardless of the degree of physical injury.

As you can see, the AFV packs a powerful punch and can severely limit your freedoms down the road. If you find yourself facing such a charge, you should seek competent legal counsel that will fight for you and aggressively defend your case.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
www.rosenthalwadas.com
24-Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364

The Deep Lung Device, otherwise known as the DLD is considered to be one of the most hated and feared conditions of DWI probation. Let's face it--blowing into a machine every time you start your car is not cool and it's downright embarrassing. The DLD is very intrusive because it also requires you to periodically blow into it while you are driving the car. It's also inconvenient having to drive to the provider at least once a month to have the DLD calibrated. Moreover, the DLD is a machine and machines can break down leaving you locked out of being able to start your car. And finally, the DLD at approximately $100 to install and around $70 a month is expensive.

As you can expect after reading the above, the number one question I hear about the DLD is "when can I get this this off my car??" A Texas probationer is eligible to have the DLD removed after they have served half of their DWI probation. Eligible is the key word here--just because half the probation is served does not mean the probationer will get it off as the final decision on early DLD removal is up to the discretion of the judge. What the probationer has to do is file, or have a lawyer file, a motion to modify the conditions of his/her probation. The judge will consider the motion and make a decision following a hearing.

In making his decision the judge will most likely give the most consideration to the data collected on the probationer's DLD to date. High alcohol alerts on the DLD data will not go over well with the judge. Also, if there are a low number of starts on the car, the judge may think you are driving a different car without a DLD and this will mean you will be stuck with the DLD for the duration of your probation. The judge may also call your probation officer and see if you are caught up on the other conditions of your probation and see how you have been doing on probation overall.

As you can see, DLD goes on easy, but it's very hard to get off. If may be worth your time to have an experienced lawyer navigate the process with you.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
www.rosenthalwadas.com
24-Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364

If you have just been convicted of a DWI, either through a loss at trial or a negotiated plea agreement--and receive probation, that probation will have various conditions. The mandatory conditions for DWI in Texas include the following: 1) Victim Impact Panel (VIP), DWI education class, perhaps have a Deep Lung Device (DLD) installed on your vehicle, and take a Substance Abuse Evaluation (SAE) and complete any conditions that may evolve from the evaluation. The various conditions that can be placed on a person following a SAE can be as minor as "no consumption of alcohol on probation" or a medium level variety such as attending several AA meetings a week, or as severe as going to an intensive inpatient treatment program that the probationer has to pay for out of his own pocket.

I like the idea of the SAE and the point of making it a mandatory condition of probation is obvious. However, the execution of the program is the issue. The SAE has a serious drawback-the probationer is usually given a short one page Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI). It is described by its creator as "A one-page paper and pencil test that identifies people who suffer from substance dependence." It seems impossible to me that a one page standardized test can be a substance abuse fix it all for all people. And as you can probably imagine by now, this test requires no training to be administered...

If it scares you that a one-page test could have such dramatic swing in the conditions of your probation, it should. And it should be near the top of your list of reasons of why you should call a cab the next time you are out on the town.

By Bo Kalabus
bo@kalabuslaw.com
Office: 972-562-7549
www.rosenthalwadas.com
24 Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364

Call for Immediate Jail Release 214-402-4364
Getting a phone call in the middle of the night and learning that you have a friend or family member in jail is a tough experience. These calls usually come in the middle of the night, which will cause you even more stress and anxiety as you begin making a flurry of phone calls trying to figure out how to get them out. I have a pretty good idea that if you have landed on this website, you have had a very recent conversation with the jail staff or the bond desk that says your friend or family member may need a attorney writ bond and this frustrated you further because you have also found out that you can't get them out of jail. If this is the case, call 214-402-4364 for immediate jail release.

You may be asking yourself "what's going on and why am I getting the run around??" Well, getting out of jail is never as easy as it appears in the movies or TV. Here what's happening-- in the U.S. getting a bond set is the first step in getting out of jail. If you have been told your friend/family member needs an attorney writ bond then they do not have a bond set.

Why is no bond set yet? The law says a person is to have a reasonable bond set. A magistrate judge sets the bond when he/she arraigns the person at the jail. In Collin County this happens at around 8:00 a.m. If the person is not booked in by the time the judge is at the jail then guess what?--The person will sit until the next day to see the judge. What happens on the weekend?---The magistrate judge only comes on Saturday, but not on Sunday, so if the person misses the judge on Saturday then they will sit until Monday, unless Monday is a holiday, the they will sit until Tuesday. This is a tough concept for a person to understand in the middle of the night and it can be extremely frustrating.

It's hard to understand why a person arrested at 11:00 at night can miss seeing a magistrate at 8:00 in the morning, but it happens all the time. Usually after an arrest, a person is taken to the municipal jail such as Allen or Frisco, and there they wait until the jail fills up and then they are transferred to the main Collin County jail. Once at Collin County they are "booked in" and that can take up to 8 hours or even longer on a busy weekend. This is why it may appear that your loved one has been lost in the shuffle.

An attorney writ bond (short for writ of habeas corpus--which means produce the body) works because it is a mechanism that triggers an immediate cash bond for certain misdemeanor arrests in Collin County. The bonds are $350 for Class B misdemeanors and $500 for Class A misdemeanors and all DWI misdemeanors. Because the writ bond is a mix of the legal profession and the bail bond business, the sources for such writs can come from full service criminal law firms or bail bond companies that employ attorneys to file the writs. Getting the person out of jail is only the first step in a much larger legal situation, so using a full service criminal defense firm just makes sense.

When you hire a full service criminal defense firm you get a variety of benefits that should set you and your loved one at ease:

1) Most important--you get your loved one out of jail. This can be accomplished usually within 2 hours;

2) Act as surety on the bond so you do not need to show up at the bond desk with cash (since the bond desk does not take checks or credit cards) and we understand that coming up with $500 cash in the middle of the night can sometimes be difficult;

3) You get an experienced attorney that can provide immediate professional counsel to your loved one;

4) Although the facts of the case may not be known, the attorney can alleviate the fear of the unknown by explaining the legal procedure and timelines of the criminal matter your loved one is now facing;

5) As criminal defense attorneys we want to serve you and we want to help, therefore we offer a free consultation to your loved one once they are released from jail; and

6) As a attorney, we have a legal responsibility to our clients and prospective clients and put their needs first;

Cases Eligible for Attorney Writ Bonds:

Class B Misdemeanors
Class A Misdemeanors
These are usually DWI, Theft, and Possession cases

Cases NOT Eligible for Attorney Writ Bonds:

Class C Misdemeanors--traffic tickets
Felony cases
Family Violence cases