The American criminal justice system provides that a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always matter. In some cases, people are convicted of a crime they didn’t commit. In fact, some people have served time on death row, only to later be exonerated. According to the Innocence Project, DNA testing has led to the exoneration of 364 people in the United States, including 20 people who were sentenced to death prior to their exoneration. On average, the individuals exonerated through the use of DNA testing served 14 years in prison before … [Read more...]
Criminal Appeals In Dallas, Texas: What Winning Arguments Can An Appeals Lawyer Make?
You or a loved one has been convicted of a crime in Dallas, Texas, and received a prison sentence. Now, what do you do? Unless the defendant has given up the right to appeal as part of a plea bargain, a criminal defendant in Texas has the right to appeal to the court of appeals for the region serving the county where the trial court was located. For example, cases from Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, and Rockwall Counties are appealed to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. In my experience as a criminal defense attorney, most people do not understand what a criminal appeal … [Read more...]
Causing Injury to a Child in Texas: Can You Be Charged For Failing To Protect A Child?
Under section 22.04 of the Texas Penal Code, causing injury to a child (defined as someone fourteen or under), is a felony. Many cases of causing injury to a child deal with a parent or caregiver striking or shaking a child, but what if the accused simply fails to protect a child? Can that be a criminal offense? “The answer,” says Dallas criminal defense attorney John Helms is that “it can be, depending on the circumstances." In Texas, criminally causing injury to a child includes an “omission,” which means a failure to do something. An omission that causes an injury to a child is … [Read more...]
