Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

Facing an arrest is always frightening. The threat of possible jail time, fines, and damage to your reputation is anxiety-inducing. But if you have joint custody of your children after a separation or divorce, your biggest concern may be what can happen to your custody arrangements. Can you lose custody or visitation? Even if your split was amicable and you and your ex can co-parent without conflict, an arrest, particularly for a serious charge, could throw that into jeopardy. That's why your first step after an arrest should be to hire an expert in criminal defense law to ensure you have the best possible outcome in your case and to discuss the possible effects on your child custody arrangements.

Custody Decisions in Texas

Texas courts typically divide custody decisions into two categories, conservatorship and "possession and access."

1. Conservatorship

Conservatorship refers to who has the right to make major decisions for a child, including medical, educational, and religious decisions. The parents often share these decisions in a joint managing conservatorship. In others, one parent may make all the decisions in a sole managing conservatorship. In determining whether one or both parents make decisions for a child, the court will decide what is in the "best interests of the child." While a joint conservatorship is typical, the court may not choose a joint conservatorship if one parent has a history of abuse or neglect, family violence, alcohol or drug abuse, or abandonment.

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

Blackouts after drinking alcohol are a medically well-documented and publicly pretty well-known phenomenon. People don't always remember where, when, and how much they drink. What isn't always so clear to a DWI defendant is the consequence of a blackout. What happens if you've suffered a DWI arrest and charge, but you don't remember drinking? Does the defendant who has no recollection of having had anything to drink before a DWI arrest have a better chance of beating the charge? Wish it were that simple. Just because you can't remember drinking doesn't mean that you'll surely beat the charge. Loss of memory is not generally a helpful factor. That a blackout may be your DWI defense is another DWI misconception. But that doesn't mean that you'll lose the DWI charge. You may have other defenses related or unrelated to your loss of memory. Retain Texas DWI Specialist attorney Doug Murphy for the best outcome on your DWI charge, even if you can't remember drinking.

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

The stress of deployments and combats can be challenging for many military service members. And more than half of military members report that they believe seeking mental health treatment would be detrimental to their careers. As a result, perhaps it's not surprising that veterans have much higher rates of binge drinking than the general population. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than one in ten veterans is diagnosed with a substance abuse disorder, a rate only slightly higher than the civilian population. However, alcohol is the most prevalent substance use disorder among active duty military personnel and veterans, at a rate twice that of the civilian population.

As a result, veterans in Texas may be at higher risk of arrest for driving while intoxicated. According to a 2018 study by the American Addiction Centers, rates of drunk driving and binge drinking increased by 60 percent between 2014 and 2018. If you're a veteran facing a DWI charge in Texas, it's important to remember that an arrest does not mean a court will find you guilty. You need an expert in DWI defense for the best possible result for your case.

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

An arrest is frightening. You're undoubtedly wondering what will happen next and where you're going. Many of our clients are also concerned about the possible consequences of a conviction and whether they'll spend time in jail or prison. Also, our clients want to know where they'll be incarcerated if they spend time in jail. In this article, we'll discuss some of our clients' most common questions about the aftermath of an arrest, where the police may hold you, and where you can end up incarcerated after a conviction.

However, the most important thing to remember is that you are innocent until proven guilty. An arrest and a criminal charge do not mean that you'll go to jail or that a court will convict you. After an arrest, the most urgent thing is hiring an expert in criminal defense law like attorney Doug Murphy. An expert in criminal defense can ensure the best possible outcome in your case and protect your rights in the immediate aftermath of an arrest. You don't have to navigate the Houston criminal justice system alone.

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

Driving while intoxicated is a serious problem in Texas, and our criminal code can levy serious penalties for a DWI conviction. But we all make mistakes. It can be easy to get arrested for DWI if you have too much wine with dinner or a few too many beers at the game. But a DWI conviction can have serious consequences beyond possible jail time, fines, and a license suspension.

A DWI conviction will appear in a criminal background check and, in some cases, may prevent you from advancing in your career of choice. A DWI can also hurt your reputation, with acquaintances, future dates, and neighbors finding information about your arrest with an internet search. That's why it's a good idea to consult an expert in DWI and criminal defense cases like Doug Murphy to see if you can clean up your criminal record and tackle online information about your arrest and conviction.

Expunction

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

Police have been using alcohol breathalyzers for decades to detect potential DWI offenses, despite the unreliability of alcohol breathalyzers. Houston police use the Intoxilyzer 9000 breathalyzer to infer your blood alcohol concentration for DWI charges. Houston prosecutors can convict on a Texas DWI using breathalyzer results, but a skilled Texas DWI Specialist's cross-examination can often discredit the results. That's pretty much the landscape for alcohol breathalyzers: in common use but subject to challenge. Yet what about a marijuana breathalyzer? Driving while impaired by marijuana is a Texas DWI crime, chargeable under Texas Penal Code Section 49.04 just like alcohol DWI. You may have seen or heard about advertisements for marijuana breathalyzers. They're out there, on the market. But are drivers facing marijuana breathalyzer tests, and if so, are the results admissible to support marijuana DWI charges?

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

Self-driving cars, autonomous vehicles, or just AI assist. Whatever you call them, their artificial intelligence can work wonders in keeping a vehicle on the road and even avoiding crashes. But vehicle AI assist technology isn't perfect, especially when combined with the imperfections of the driver behind the AI assist vehicle's wheel. What, though, if that driver is drunk, and the AI assist technology leads to a vehicle crash? Can the drunk driver blame the DWI crash on the AI assist? Drivers of AI assist vehicles in the Houston area have every right to wonder whether their AI assist vehicle might save them from a DWI offense.

What Is Vehicle AI Assist?

One first has to understand a little about the technology, to answer the question of what role AI assist might have in relieving a drunk driver of a DWI crash arrest. Vehicle AI assist terms and definitions vary. And vehicle AI assist technology is changing rapidly. But one clear way to think of the subject is that vehicle AI assist technology provides automatic braking, automatic steering control, warning lights and sounds, and similar driver aids to reduce or prevent vehicle crashes. Vehicle AI assist systems differ in the technologies that they use, like LiDAR, radar, and cameras. AI assist systems also vary in the way they deploy those technologies and integrate them with the vehicle's driver controls. Some AI assist systems do more, while other systems do less. Generally, though, vehicle AI assist technology leaves the driver in place, on alert, and in at least some, if not primary, control. Contrast vehicle AI assist technology with outright autonomous vehicles, also known as self-driving vehicles, which put full control in the system, leaving the vehicle driverless or with only backup driver control.

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 Posted on November 11, 2022 in Uncategorized

Domestic violence can be a problem in any relationship, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. When discussing intimate partner violence, we typically picture a large man beating up a smaller woman. A 2014 study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy reported that 25% to 75% of LGBTQ+ couples experience domestic violence at some point in their lives. But same-sex couples also face domestic violence and tend to be less likely to report it to the police. However, with the recognition of same sex marriage, LGTBQ+ couples now share the same protections that heterosexual couples do.

What Qualifies as Family Violence in Texas?

Same sex couples can face arrest for family violence in Texas. The typical charges for domestic violence include:

• Domestic assault,
• Aggravated domestic assault, and
• Continuous violence against a family.

But family violence in Texas includes more than just assault. In Texas, the family code defines family violence as:

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 Posted on October 10, 2022 in Uncategorized

No one expects to get into a fight when they head off for some fun at a party or a bar, but sometimes it happens. Passions and tempers can be high if everyone is drinking, and even if you were just defending yourself or someone else, you could end up arrested. In this article, we'll discuss the charges you could face after a fight in a bar or at a party and what you can do about it.

Assault

Depending on the circumstances and whether anyone was injured, you could end up charged with assault after a fight in a bar or at a party.

1. Simple Assault

You may face a charge for simple assault if you knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally:

• Cause bodily injury to someone else,
• Threaten another person with bodily injury, or
• Make or cause physical contact with someone else, knowing they would find it inflammatory, provocative, or offensive.

Simple assault is typically a misdemeanor in Texas, but the level may change depending on the circumstances of the alleged crime. Simple assault is typically a Class C misdemeanor if there are no injuries and is typically punishable by up to a $500 fine. Assault may be a Class B misdemeanor if it involves attacking a sporting official during a game or match and is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. However, simple assault may become a Class A misdemeanor if you fight an elderly or disabled person or if you injure someone. A Class A misdemeanor conviction can come with up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

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 Posted on October 10, 2022 in Uncategorized

Increases in Psychedelic Drugs and Driving

The public appears to be taking a greater interest in psychedelic drugs to the point that millions of Americans are using them. For some, using psychedelic drugs seems more adventurous and experimental than dangerous or addictive. But psychedelic drugs aren't just for the adventurous. Media reports suggest that psychedelic drugs may be moving from the fringes of medicine to medicine's mainstream and that we may even see a revolution in the psychiatric use of psychedelic drugs. Whether the increased use of psychedelics is just another passing cultural phase or instead a genuinely therapeutic development, the fact that more Americans are using psychedelics means that more Americans are driving under their influence. One National Library of Medicine study indicates that about one out of ten psychedelics users report driving under their influence. If you face a Texas DWI charge relating to a psychedelic or hallucinogenic drug, retain DWI Specialist attorney Doug Murphy for your aggressive and effective defense. You need premier DWI defense for any such charge.

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