Texas Criminal Lawyer Blog

There is a procedure available in Texas which is short of Expunction, but which limits the disclosure of a criminal record to law enforcement agencies only.

A person placed on Deferred Adjudication probation who is discharged after having successfully completed the term of community supervision may be eligible to petition the supervising court to order criminal justice agencies not to disclose the public criminal history record information related to the offense giving rise to the deferred adjudication.

In Texas, Deferred Adjudication is a term of community supervision imposed without a finding of guilt by the court. The defendant is later discharged without a final conviction upon successfully completing the terms and conditions of community supervision. It is distinguished from probation, as probation involves a final conviction and is not able to be expunged or nondisclosed.

There is no time period for filing a Motion for Nondisclosure of Criminal Record in most misdemeanor cases. Felonies have a 5 year wait after discharge by the court. Offenses involving family violence and sex offenses are not eligible for nondisclosure.

Most courts require a hearing, and rule on each case on its own individual merits. I do many of these for younger offenders who need clean records to go to school or find good jobs. It is such a good idea that I am surprised that our Legislature passed it.

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Texas Criminal Law Glossary

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There is some good news and some bad news about the Expunction of criminal records in Texas. The good news is that a person placed under a custodial or noncustodial arrest for the commission of a felony or misdemeanor is entitled to have all records and files relating to the offense expunged. This procedure is complete, thorough, and final. It results in the total erasure of everything relating to the expunged arrest.

The bad news is, it is hard to get. A person has to have been either acquitted by a judge or jury, or if convicted, subsequently pardoned. Or, an indictment or information has either not been presented or, if presented, was dismissed or quashed. Further, if these conditions for expunction do exist, the statute of limitations has to have already expired, or a court has to have found that such indictment was presented by fraud or by mistake.

Expunction is also available if the Defendant was released with no final conviction, and without having served any period of probation. Expunction is not available to anyone who received Deferred Adjudication or any form of Probation.

I get a lot of calls for Expunction these days, as criminal records are more public than ever before, and public records searches are commonly done by employers, apartment management, colleges, trade schools, and other such entities.

But the bottom line is this: if you were arrested and never went to court, chances are good you may be eligible for an Expunction of the arrest; if you went to court, however, you are probably out of luck, unless the case was dismissed.

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Texas Criminal Law Glossary

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Black's Law Dictionary defines "Capital" as "affecting or relating to the head or life of a person; entailing the ultimate penalty.....A Capital Crime or Case is one for which the death penalty may, but need not necessarily, be inflicted."

In Texas, more people are killed by the state than in all the western and "first world" or modern countries, combined. It is only when we take into consideration 'third world" countries, in which human life is considered cheap and expendable, that the Lone Star State is eclipsed in its zest for the ultimate punishment.

Capital cases are prosecuted at the sole discretion of the local District Attorney, upon whom the decision lies whether to present a case as a death or non-death case. The most common Capital case is one involving a murder committed in the act of committing another felony;such as, robbery, sexual assault, or burglary, Later modifications of the law included serial killings and murder of a police officer or prison guard.

Harris County (Houston), America's 4th largest city, is the first city of the death penalty, "the capitol of capital cases". The Houston District Attorney's office had 6 death cases lined up and ready to go after the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of the practice of "lethal injection" used by Texas and other states.

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Texas Criminal Law Glossary

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Title 18, Section 371 of the United States Code sets forth a separate crime for Conspiracy to commit any offense listed in the U.S. Penal Code. Conspiracy has a maximum punishment of Five years.

So if someone is charged with the Bank Fraud, for instance, that person can also be charged with Conspiracy to commit Bank Fraud.

Conspiracy requires that two or more people conspire to commit a Federal crime, and that one or more of these individuals do any act (sometimes referred to as an overt act) to effect the object of the conspiracy.

To be charged with Conspiracy, therefore, two or more individuals must not only discuss,scheme, or otherwise plan to commit a Federal Crime, but one or more of them must do something to accomplish the goal or object of the conspiracy.

Federal Conspiracy Laws are a powerful tool in "White Collar" cases involving multiple parties and complex financial transactions.

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Texas Criminal Law Glossary

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