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20 result(s) for expunction
More About Perry's Expunction Veto
On June 19th, Perry vetoed the unanimously passed expunction bill. Since then, here are some other bloggers weighing in on the topic: Grits for Breakfast, Paul Kennedy, Grant Scheiner, Doug Weathers, and last but not least, fellow Austin criminal defense...
Rick Perry's Definition of "More Harm Than Good"
The Governor’s reason for vetoing the expunction bill: House Bill No. 3481 would authorize the expunction of criminal records, including law enforcement case files, 180 days after an arrest if no formal misdemeanor or felony charges have been filed. Current...
Deferred Adjudication Means It 'Goes Away'... Right?
From an email: If you have the time, and don't mind, may I have your perspective on Article 42.12 - the specified portion: ---------------------------- If the judge discharges the defendant under this section, the judge may set aside the verdict...
Multiple Public Intoxication Charges and Expunction Questions
Question (from an email): I have a situation that I need your help with if you don't mind. Here it is: I have three public intoxication charges in the past nine years. Got my first one at 21 and my...
"Just" Pleading Guilty to Class C Theft in Texas
Question: I recently received a citation with a violation of "theft under $50'. The police officer advised me to go to court and appear before the judge and pay the fine. However I am not sure if I pay my...
Comparing the Practice of Criminal Law Between States
A “blogversation” has broken out. It started when Simple Justice responded to my post about Expunction/Expungement, noting that is not available to New Yorkers: Personally, I think it’s a bit bizarre when Texas law is a step ahead of New...
Dismissed Criminal Case Still On My Record
Someone called and asked me this today: Why did my deferred prosecution show up on a criminal background check? They had successfully completed a Travis County Deferred Prosecution agreement for a shoplifting (theft) charge. The terms of the agreement were:...
Getting Other Lawyers to Link to Your Blog
Criminal Defense Attorney Stephen Gustitis emailed me awhile back and asked: I'm a defense lawyer in Bryan, Texas and I started a blog for clients entitled "The Defense Perspective." I see how successful you have been getting backlinks to your...
Driving While License Suspended (DWLS) Questions
I have been reading your blog and The Wretched of the Earth's (by Poverty Lawyer 1) blog and I find both blogs very informative, easy to understand, and written by competent and organized minds! You have both had articles that...
Deferred Prosecution in Austin Texas
Deferred Prosecution Agreements are different than both deferred adjudications, and deferred dispositions. The latter two are covered by statute. Deferred Prosecution, however, is not. Deferred Prosecutions are basically informal agreements between the defense lawyer, the defendant, and the prosecutor to...
Deferred Disposition vs. Deferred Adjudication in Texas
There’s a lot of confusion about the terms “deferred disposition” and “deferred adjudication” in Texas. Deferred adjudication is a type of actual probation, for a Class B misdemeanor or higher charge, where the judge says (in legalese), “Based on your...
Do You Usually Have To Go To Jail For a First Time Misdemeanor in Texas?
I suppose I can really only to speak to criminal defense in and around Austin, but the general answer to this question is going to be “No”. We need to dig a little deeper though. Assuming, as the question does,...
Can You Expunge Multiple Arrests at the Same Time in Texas?
I received an email today asking me this question, and it’s a pretty simple one to answer: Yes, if you are (a) entitled to expunge each of them separately and (b) if the arrests occurred in the same county. The...
How Long Does a Texas Deferred Adjudication Stay On Your Record?
The answer: forever, if you don’t affirmatively do anything about it. One of my new found pleasures in starting this blog is that I am starting to get emails from folks who find the site on the internet, and email...
Continuing what may become a new regular blog feature, I am going to answer some questions I see “posed” by various internet searches that have found this blog (and still remained somewhat unanswered by the pages the searches brought up):...
Drug Convictions and Student Aid
Julie Ross writes a piece in the SMU Daily Campus paper today entitled “Smoke Pot, Get Caught, Lose College Funding”: This ban unjustly continues to penalize students with drug convictions. Under this ban even a single, minor drug charge or...
Travis County Drug Court (S.H.O.R.T.)
For those charged in Austin with a Felony level offense possession of a controlled substance, there is often the opportunity to stay out of district court, and to have the case dismissed, if you qualify for and complete the Travis...
Legal Blogs Discuss Expunctions
I was not alone in commenting on the recent New York Times story about expunctions. Here are some other posts about the same article from around the legal blogosphere. Michael Pinard’s post focuses primarily on housing and employment problems arising...
Expunged (But Not Forgotten)...
Within today’s New York Times most emailed articles is this gem: Expunged Criminal Records Live to Tell Tales. It chronicles the difficulties folks have when facing an employer armed with a criminal background check when they have a minor offense...
Right to an Expunction Article 55.01 - Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
Article 55.01. RIGHT TO EXPUNCTION. (a) A person who has been placed under a custodial or noncustodial arrest for commission of either a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the arrest expunged if:...
