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We give every case the attention that it deserves.

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Don’t you hate feeling uncertain about your future?

It can be terrible constantly stressing about how your case will turn out. It doesn’t have to be that way. We know how to fix this problem. We have helped hundreds of people. We want to help you.

We give every case the attention that it deserves.

We care about you.

Don’t you hate feeling uncertain about your future?

It can be terrible constantly stressing about how your case will turn out. It doesn’t have to be that way. We know how to fix this problem. We have helped hundreds of people. We want to help you.

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Contact An Experienced Texas Attorney At Rush & Gransee, LC Today.

We Offer Free Consultations – Call Today And Let Our Experienced Work For You!

 

SAN ANTONIO OFFICE:

Sciano Professional Plaza

10107 McAllister Freeway

San Antonio, TX 78216

Map and Driving Directions

Phone: 210-263-3051

Fax: 210-223-1344

Law Firm San Antonio, TX

Personal Injury Law Firm San Antonio, TX

Law Firm in San Antonio, TXAt Rush & Gransee, L.C., we practice law on a one-on-one basis with each car accident being handled by an experienced Law Firm San Antonio, TX who is available to answer your questions and will pursue a course of action to maximize your recovery. Having over 25 years of experience handling motor vehicle accidents, the car accident cases we handle tend to be complex or involve serious injuries. Our clients know that when we undertake their auto or truck accident case we will do everything that can be done to maximize their recovery. We have hired in past cases some of the best auto and truck accident reconstructionist experts in the country to prove our cases and maximize our clients’ recovery. After an injury case is settled, we will normally contact any providers, including health insurers, to get their liens reduced so that our clients put more money into their pockets. Call our personal injury Law Firm San Antonio, TX.

 Car Accidents in South Texas

If you are injured in a motor vehicle wreck resulting from the careless or negligent actions of another driver, that driver will submit the claim to his or her insurance company. An insurance claims adjuster will then attempt to settle the case for as little money as possible. Their goal is to get you to agree to a quick solution, before you have had the opportunity to obtain legal representation and understand your legal rights. Do not talk to an insurance company representative until you consult with a Law Firm San Antonio, TX. The insurance company for the negligent driver has no obligation to treat you fairly; its aim is to get you to sign a release for as little money as possible. The insurance representative will record your conversation and use it against you if possible. The insurance representative’s duty is to his or her insurance company and not the injured party.

Our Law Firm San Antonio, TX handle all phases of car accident claims, starting by reviewing medical expenses and missed wages to determine what your case is worth.

We have the experience to handle all kinds of car accidents. We frequently handle cases involving:

  • Drivers without insurance or with insufficient insurance
  • Drunk drivers and negligent drinking establishments
  • Distracted drivers
  • Defective automobiles, including defects that cause rollovers

We represent people who have suffered injuries of all kinds, as well as family members in car accident wrongful death claims.

Experienced Car Accident Law Firm San Antonio, TX

With over 25 years of successfully representing clients in car and truck accidents Rush & Gransee knows how to maximize your recovery. In most car accident cases, the fee is contingent, meaning we only receive our fee upon a recovery.

We can maximize our client’s car accident injury recovery because we have the experts needed. We staff each case depending on the issues involved. If a claim involves alcohol or other criminal activity, Kurt Gransee will steer the case to maximize your recovery. Robert Rush, a board-certified civil trial advocate and a former insurance company lawyer supervises car accident cases.

Being injured in an auto or truck accident can be a difficult both emotionally and financially. To protect your legal rights, we often have to act quickly or at least we need to guide you so that your potential recovery is not harmed. We will handle all aspects of the car accident claim, many of which are normally done free or for no fee, including assisting with the property damage claim, assisting with PIP personal injury protection, as well as dealing with opposing parties, their attorneys and their insurance companies. Often, we negotiate giving a recorded statement if we believe that it will assist with the resolution of a claim. We will work toward a settlement that fully compensates you for the injuries and damages you have sustained. If an out-of-court settlement is not possible, we will aggressively pursue your case in court. At our Law Firm San Antonio, TX, we are skilled and experienced trial lawyers, and we have successfully represented many clients to achieve substantial awards in car accident cases.

We hire experienced experts who skillfully investigate the technical aspects of your case. A medical doctor is of counsel to our firm, providing our clients with a valuable resource of additional knowledge and experience in the preparation of their case.

If the cause of the auto accident is in dispute or if the accident may be caused by a defect, we often hire the best engineers who specialize in accident reconstruction. This allows us to prove why the accident happened and who should pay for the damages.

Frequently Asked Questions | Law Firm San Antonio, TX

What Should I Do After a Crash?

If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident in Texas, go to the emergency room, call EMS, or call your doctor. Take care of yourself first because you don’t know the extent of your injuries unless you’re a doctor. The fact is, you might think you’re okay but tomorrow you’re going to wake up and all of a sudden have pains that you never had before. You now have things you’re worried about that you never had to worry about before. The only way to take care of that is to get yourself looked at by somebody who knows what they’re doing.

The only way to make sure that you get full compensation for what happened to you is to hire a law firm that knows what they’re doing. We will worry about all the legal hurdles; we’ll jump over them for you. We’ll take care of you.

Do I Need a Law Firm San Antonio, TX?

The honest truth is not always, but you need to know when that is the case. If you’ve been seriously injured, have medical bills piling up, are missing time from work, you’re probably going to need a Law Firm San Antonio, TX. You need to worry about things like how am I going to pay my bills? What am I going to do if I can’t go to work for another two weeks? How am I going to get my car fixed?

Let’s be upfront about this: if you’re not hurt, your car has got a dent in it, and the insurance company says they’ll fix it, you probably don’t need a Law Firm San Antonio, TX. Our firm is here. Our experience will be put to work for you when you know you need a Law Firm San Antonio, TX.

Do I Have to Talk with the Insurance Companies?

If an insurance company calls you after a car accident, especially if it’s the other person’s insurance, be very careful what you say. The fact of the matter is, they can only record you if they ask you, but be very careful. I always tell people not to give them a statement. You need somebody there sitting with you who can hear the questions, make sure they’re appropriate questions and make sure that the information they want to get from you is information they’re allowed to have.

Insurance companies hire adjusters that are trained to ask you questions to which there’s no good answer. They record it and type it up, and they use it against you. Don’t get caught in that trap. Before you talk to the other person’s insurance company, make sure you have someone experienced by your side.
If your insurance company wants to talk to you, you need to cooperate with them. They’re the ones that are trying to help you get your car fixed and take care of those basic things. If the other person’s insurance calls you, I wouldn’t talk to them; not unless you have a Law Firm San Antonio, TX ready to go.

Should I Take an Offer from the Insurance Company?

If you’ve been in a car accident, you might get a quick phone call from an insurance company. They might want to offer you $500 right up front. You should not accept that offer. The thing you need to think about is when you accept that check, when you sign that piece of paper, it’s over. If you find out next week that your doctor is telling you to get surgery, there’s nothing you can do to get compensation for that. That’s why insurance companies call you and offer you a quick check. Quick and easy usually isn’t the right answer. Call us so we can help you. Our Law Firm San Antonio, TX has 30 years of experience doing this for you.

Can I Get My Lost Wages Reimbursed?

If you’ve been in a car accident in Texas and it’s prevented you from going to work, whether that’s for three days, a week, or longer, you’re entitled to compensation for that lost time. Even if your employer allows you to take it as vacation time or doesn’t penalize you for it, you’re still losing something of value. For example, if you made $5 an hour and you work 10 hours a day, that’s $50 a day that’s coming out of your pocket because someone was careless, caused you an injury, and you’re missing time from work. Whatever your pay rate is, whatever your salary is, for that number of days, weeks, or months, you’re entitled to it. If it goes into the future, you’re entitled to what that would calculate out to as well.

Who Pays My Medical Bills? | Law Firm San Antonio, TX

When you’re injured in a car crash, there are a couple of things going on. If you have health insurance, they will pay for those bills. It’s becoming more and more complicated and some health insurance companies don’t like paying for those bills, but we’ll navigate those waters for you.

The thing to keep in mind, however, is if your health insurance company pays for your medical bills and then you recover money from the person who hit you, you have to pay back your health insurance company. Health insurance is there primarily if you have a cold or a sore throat. They will pay the bills for a car wreck, but they just have a law – it’s called subrogation – and it’s written in your insurance policy that says if you recover from that wrongdoer, you have to pay them back.

With an experienced law firm, they’re going to call that health insurance company and say, “We did all the work. We got this money back for you, and there are Texas laws that say you can’t have it all because the person who suffered the injuries is really the one who needs it.” We’ll negotiate that, we’ll lower what we have to pay back to the health insurance company, and that puts more money in your pocket. That puts more money available for you to take care of whatever happened to you.

How Much is My Case Worth?

People ask all the time what their car accident case is worth, but the truth is we don’t know yet. We don’t know the extent of your injuries. We don’t know how much future treatment you might need. We don’t know if this is going to cost you your job or if you’ll be able to work at all.

In Texas, you’re entitled to full and fair compensation for several categories of damages. You’re entitled to all your past medical bills, any future medical bills that your doctors think you may need, any wages that this has caused you to lose, and if it’s going to impact your wage-earning ability in the future, you’re entitled to make up that difference. If someone harms you through their carelessness, their insurance company is responsible to compensate you for those things.

Then there are the things that aren’t easy to count. There’s the pain that you’re going through, and the fact that now you can’t do the things you used to be able to do. That can be basic things like needing a caregiver now because you can’t get in and out of the shower. It can be things like not being able to take care of your family anymore. All of those kinds of damages are part of the equation too.

People want to know, “What’s the value of my claim?” The value of your claim in Texas is full and fair compensation for everything that person did to you. In some instances, there are limitations, but when you hire an experienced law firm for your Texas car accident, what they should do is seek out every penny available for you.

How Long Will This Case Take?

There is no easy answer for you. It’s going to take as long as necessary to make sure that everything that needs to be taken care of, is taken care of. There are some basic steps. We’ll get in touch with the insurance company, we’ll tell them that you’re being treated by a doctor, and when we know the extent of your injuries, we can make some decisions.

If we file a lawsuit in your case, there are just some natural delays. By law, they get 30 days to even respond to it. Every case cannot be resolved in six months. Not every case is resolved in a year. When you have an experienced team behind you, what you can count on is that they will push the case so that it doesn’t take longer than it should. There are not going to be any delays on our end, and we’re not going to let them delay more than the law allows.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

If you’ve been in a car accident in Texas, you have two years to take action. That doesn’t mean you should wait one year and 364 days, but you do have time. You don’t have to let somebody rush you into anything. Two years is the absolute limitation period, and that’s two years from the date of that wreck.If you call us a day before that time runs out, we may not be able to help you. Take your time though. Think things through and get a grip on what you’re facing with medical bills, with work, with repair bills, all of those things, and we’ll take action. We’ll take action quickly and we’ll move things along as quickly as we can.

What If I Was Hit by a Drunk Driver?

Drunk driving accidents in Texas unfortunately are a very common thing. Texas has one of the highest drunk driving rates in the nation. If you’ve been involved in a car accident with a drunk driver, there are a couple of things you need to know. Number one, whatever happens to the other driver on the criminal side happens to them. You need to worry about what’s going to happen to you. Their insurance company needs to compensate you. Their insurance company needs to accept the fact that this was more than carelessness. This was somebody going out, getting drunk, barreling down the road and slamming into you, and that causes a lot of harm.

In Texas, if you’ve been hit by a drunk driver you need somebody on your side that understands the intricacies of that. At our law firm, we have criminal defense lawyers. We understand the laws of drunk driving, and we put those to your benefit. We use those to help you in your civil lawsuit.

What is Personal Injury Protection Insurance?

In Texas, most drivers have personal injury protection, PIP coverage, on their insurance policy. If you don’t have it, you really should get it. What that does is it provides immediate reimbursement to you for medical expenses and for lost time at work. There are limits to PIP insurance. The most common policy in Texas provides $2,500 worth of payments, but check with your insurance agent because you can get $5,000 – $10,000. Some companies will provide even more. What we can do for you for no charge is fill out a form, and send in your paperwork. You get all your out-of-pocket expenses immediately reimbursed and you get 70% of your wages immediately reimbursed. We’ll handle all of the administrative stuff, and none of our fees apply to those coverages.

How Do We Prove Fault in a Car Accident?

If you’ve been in a car accident and it wasn’t your fault, but the police are saying it’s your fault, you don’t have to give in. We have the resources. We hire accident re-constructionists, and engineers. We’ll go out to the scene. We’ve handled cases where a DPS officer said the crash was 100% our client’s fault, but when we went to the scene, and when we looked at all of the evidence, we found that the other driver was 100% at fault. We looked at the skid marks, and the crash results. The engineers measured the scene, took their tests and made their determinations.

How Do I Recover from an Underinsured Driver?

Texas insurance policies provide for uninsured or underinsured insurance coverage. You have to ask for it and you have to pay an extra premium, but it’s very cost-effective and it’s very important. In Texas, some of the latest statistics tell us that one out of every four drivers on the road doesn’t have insurance. We’re all supposed to. The law says you have to have insurance, but the fact is there are a lot of irresponsible people out there that don’t.
If you get hit by one of those people, you need uninsured motorist protection. If somebody with a minimum insurance policy slams into you, causes catastrophic injuries, and all they have is $30,000 of insurance coverage, then you’re going to need underinsured coverage. What that does is provides a second layer of coverage. For instance, if you had a $100,000 uninsured/underinsured coverage on your policy, and somebody hits you that only has $30,000 in coverage, right off the bat you’ve got $130,000 of available benefits to take care of the injuries caused in that car crash.

What Are Uninsured Motorist Claims?

If you’ve been in a car accident and the other driver doesn’t have insurance, the fact of the matter is that’s not good for you. About the only thing that we can go after is their liability insurance. Your own uninsured motorist protection can help you out, In Texas, unless that other driver is Bill Gates, insurance is the only thing you can go after. If they don’t have insurance, there’s not a lot that anybody can do for you.

What Are My Recoverable Damages? | Law Firm San Antonio, TX

When people are in car accidents, the first thing they worry about is, “What can I get to compensate me?” You get compensated for a lot of different things. All your medical bills need to be compensated. All your lost wages need to be compensated. All of what people call intangible is not really intangible damages; it’s the things that make you hurt. It’s the things that keep you up at night. It’s the things that changed your body. Your life is different because somebody was careless. You’re entitled to compensation for all those aspects, and the only way is to fight hard, and to fight with experience.

Personal and Caring Car Accident Representation

Car accidents can be devastating. You may find that you are no longer able to do the things that you love to do. If your life has been changed by a car accident, please call our office today. We will fight tirelessly to get you the compensation that you deserve.

Get Our FREE Car Accident Guide

Criminal Defense Law Firm San Antonio, TX

If you’re arrested and charged with a crime, you’re at the start of a long journey through the Texas court system. There’s a lot on the line. You could lose your job. You could be evicted. You could lose custody of your children. If you’re a college student, you could be expelled and barred from returning. You could also lose your right to vote, own a gun, or the ability to qualify for federal student loans.

With all of that stress comes pressure from the State. Should you plead? What happens if you go to trial? Does the State really have enough to prove you’re guilty? Should you really trust that law enforcement can and will follow through on their offer to help you or to tell the prosecutor that you cooperated?

Ask yourself whether you should put your freedom and your future into the hands of a public defender. Most Texas public defenders do their best to help, but they often have few resources and are extremely overworked. A private team of Law Firm San Antonio, TX have the distinct job of looking out for your best interest while mounting a vigorous defense to protect your freedom and your rights.

How a Criminal Charge Will Affect a Professional

If you’re a professional and are facing a criminal charge, you won’t necessarily be cut any slack by the Prosecutor. In fact, you could lose your job and any professional license you hold. Professionals should consult with a Law Firm San Antonio, TX to determine whether a dismissal is probable with a zealous defense.

How to Choose a Law Firm San Antonio, TX

How to Choose a South Texas Criminal Defense LawyerNot all south Texas criminal defense lawyers are the same. When you’re looking to hire a Law Firm San Antonio, TX, look for the following traits:

  1. The Law Firm San Antonio, TX is a well-respected member of the south Texas legal community.
  2. The Law Firm San Antonio, TX has verifiable experience handling the type of charge or charges you’re facing.
  3. The Law Firm San Antonio, TX has a verifiable track record of success with the type of charge or charges you’re facing.
  4. The Law Firm San Antonio, TX treats you like a person and takes the time to answer your questions and explain the process.
  5. The Law Firm San Antonio, TX is willing and able to mount a vigorous defense that fits your circumstances.
  6. The Law Firm San Antonio, TX has both negotiation and trial experience.

While not mandatory, you can also look for a Law Firm San Antonio, TX who offers free consultations. This can be an important step to help you determine if the Law Firm San Antonio, TX is someone you feel like you can trust. It’s imperative that you feel like you can be totally truthful with your Law Firm San Antonio, TX.

How Crimes Are Classified in Texas

Crimes are classified as felonies and misdemeanors. Texas uses determinate sentencing. This means that the State has sentencing guidelines that help determine the punishment for a crime. Here are the classifications from least serious to most serious:

  • Class C misdemeanor – fines of no more than $500 and no jail sentence
  • Class B misdemeanor – fines of up to $2,000, up to 180 days in county jail, and up to three years of probation
  • Class A misdemeanor – fines of up to $4,000, up to a year in the county jail, and up to three years of probation
  • State jail felony –a state crime that doesn’t fit into the felony degree classification system, fines of up $2,000, between 180 days and two years in jail, and subject to probation
  • Third degree felony – fines of up to $10,000, a prison sentence between two and ten years, and the possibility of probation
  • Second degree felony – fines of up to $10,000, a prison sentence between 2 – 20 years, and the possibility of probation
  • First degree felony – fines of up to $10,000, a prison sentence between 5 – 99 years (or life), and the possibility of probation
  • Capital felony – life imprisonment or the death penalty

Factors That Are Considered During Sentencing

Factors That Are Considered During SentencingUltimately, no two charges are alike. The facts surrounding the situation can mean that some, all, or none of these factors are considered during sentencing. This is another reason why it is vital for you to seek out the help of an experienced Law Firm San Antonio, TX. The factors include:

  • Whether you’re a first-time offender
  • Whether you’re considered a repeat offender
  • Whether you’re considered an accomplice or the main suspect
  • Whether someone was harmed
  • Whether the commission of the crime was unlikely to cause injury to anyone
  • Whether the suspect was suffering from mental illness, including extreme stress
  • Whether the suspect acted in a way that would be considered especially cruel or destructive
  • Whether the suspect appears remorseful for what happened

If you’ve been arrested and you’re being charged with a criminal offense, schedule your free consultation with our Law Firm San Antonio, TX. Know your rights. Let us help you protect your freedom and your future.

Frequently Asked Questions | Law Firm San Antonio, TX

What is the Difference Between Felony and Misdemeanor?

There are many types of felonies, and many types of misdemeanors, but generally, felonies involve the potential to go to prison while misdemeanors have the potential to go to jail. The difference is the maximum period of incarceration for a felony is up to life in prison, and on a misdemeanor the longest period that can be imposed is one year in jail.

There are felonies of the state jail, felonies third-degree, second-degree, and first-degree; those are increasing in severity. There are misdemeanors including Class A, which is the most severe; then there is Class B and Class C. The Class C misdemeanors are those that you go to municipal court for. Misdemeanors where you really have no risk of going to jail include speeding and littering; it’s a fine-only type offense. Class B misdemeanors are offenses like theft. A lot of first-time offender type offenses are Class B misdemeanors where you can go to jail up to six months and have up to a $2,000 fine. Class A misdemeanors are things like assaults and theft over a certain dollar amount. Those have a penalty range that can go up to one year in jail.

Most people that have clean records, other than traffic offenses, can expect there’s a very low likelihood that they’ll go to jail on a misdemeanor. On felony cases, if it involves a theft or something of that nature, the court’s going to want some restitution, some dollar amount paid back to the victim, to avoid going to prison.

In Texas, there are a lot of different categories. If you’re charged with one category, very often we can get the case dropped down to a lower category to lessen your punishment.

Should I Let the Police Search My House?

If police officers come and knock on your door and ask for permission to search, your answer should be, “Do you have a warrant?” If they don’t have a warrant, say no. You have no obligation to let them into your house. You don’t get any benefits for letting them in. In fact, instruct them to get a warrant. I suspect if they had enough evidence to get a warrant, they would already have one.

Should I Let an Officer Search My Car?

In Texas, if a police officer asks to search your vehicle and search your trunk, the answer ought to be no. There are some circumstances where an officer is going to be able to search your car, regardless if you give consent or not. If he stops you for a criminal offense and you’re driving the car, and he’s going to arrest you, then he can do what’s called an inventory search of your car. He’s going to be able to search your car anyways.

If an officer just asks to search your car – he didn’t stop you, he didn’t pull you over – the answer ought to be no because he needs a warrant. Secondly, you don’t know always what’s in your car. Other people use your car, you’ve had passengers in your car, and the fact is there could be something found in your car that will be attributed to you and get you charged with a criminal offense.

Should I Go Down to the Police Station for Questioning?

If a police officer or detective calls you and says, “I would like you to come down and give your side of the story to an incident,” I would suggest you immediately call a criminal defense Law Firm San Antonio, TX that’s handled those types of cases or handled that situation before. Normally, what I instruct my client to do is have me call the officer and say, “He’s not going to come down and meet with you. That’s my advice.” You’re acting on the advice of a Law Firm San Antonio, TX; do not refuse to go down.
Should I Go Down to the Police Station for Questioning
I would suggest that you tell the officer you’re going to talk to a Law Firm San Antonio, TX first because there is some risk in going down and talking with the police officer. In 25 years, I’ve probably gone down two or three times with a client, and met with police officers, and met with the detectives, and ultimately those cases were dismissed. However, it’s very risky to go down, especially without a Law Firm San Antonio, TX, because normally when you walk in the room, the detective will tell you you’re free to leave, you’re not under arrest, you’re there voluntarily, and that puts you at ease. But if you’re not under arrest, and you’re free to leave, then he doesn’t have to read you your Miranda rights – he doesn’t have to describe the risk you’re taking – and so people very often think they can go in and talk freely which is very risky.

Very often, you can say things that are very innocent, things you would think wouldn’t be able to be used against you, but the fact is the officer may find a way to use that incident against you. If you find out the date of an alleged incident, you may end up having a defense to it. You may be able to have an alibi, you may have been out-of-state, but when you meet with the officer, you don’t probably know the exact date; you don’t know the allegation. Very often, they’ll get you to commit to something. Were you drinking? Is it possible you were intoxicated? All those questions could come back and hurt you. It’s best to talk to a Law Firm San Antonio, TX first and make an informed decision about whether you want to go down and meet with the police officer.

How Are Juvenile Crimes Handled?

In most juvenile crimes, if the juvenile has no criminal history or very little criminal history, very often the prosecutors will allow some sort of diversion program to allow them to get out of the criminal justice system. This may be supervised for some short period, but basically, it’s more trying to change behavior and less about punishment. Now, if someone’s charged with a very serious crime as a juvenile, that can all change. They can even be diverted into the adult court system. Generally, a misdemeanor crime involving a juvenile will involve getting them some sort of program to change behavior. If they successfully complete the program, the case is dismissed in most cases.

What Are the Simple Assault Penalties?

The penalties for a simple assault are up to a $4,000 fine and up to one year in jail. Of course, very seldom does that happen where somebody gets the maximum penalties. In most cases, a simple assault would involve a period of probation, community service and a small fine. The period of probation usually extends for a year, and that year can be terminated early.

If there are issues regarding self-defense, or mutual combat, a lot of times those cases can either be won at trial or they can be reduced. You might be offered some alternative program to get you out of the criminal justice system. With a good Law Firm San Antonio, TX, you can sit down and talk about those options and develop a game plan for handling your charge.

How Do You Defend Assault Charges?

A simple assault is assault not alleging family violence, an assault not alleging choking, an assault not alleging any sort of serious bodily injury, an assault is not involving a weapon. If it’s an assault without those things, it is a simple assault and it’s a Class A misdemeanor. With a Class A misdemeanor, it’s highly likely if you have no criminal history that they’ll offer you a deferred adjudication, which if that’s all you can get, that’s better than a conviction. Usually on an assault case, there are usually parts or facts that the state doesn’t know. Very often, there’s self-defense. Very often, it’s a mutual combat type of situation.

Usually, when somebody comes in on a simple assault case, I know more about the case than the prosecutor does, so we’ll sit down and talk. We’ll figure out a game plan, see if there’s a way to get somebody totally out of the charge. If so, we’ll go down that route. If not, we’ll try to resolve the case to the benefit of the client.

What Happens If I’m Charged with Possession of Cocaine?

If you’re charged with possession of cocaine, the first thing you need to do is interview some lawyers, find somebody you’re comfortable with, and talk about what the potential avenues are. You can fight the case, or get the case thrown out. You should also know what the potential plea deals are that will allow you to maintain your livelihood, keep your job, and keep your license. In state court, it may even be possible to get the case diverted out of the criminal system and into some sort of diversion program where it’s really about rehabilitation.
What Are the Shoplifting Penalties
If that’s not possible, the thing you want to also look at is if there is a problem with how the officer found the drugs. If there is, a successful motion to suppress could result in the case getting thrown out. If all that fails, one thing that may be offered is a pretrial diversion. The other thing that might be offered is a deferred adjudication. Deferred adjudication is not perfect, but it does allow you to avoid the conviction and avoid losing your driver’s license, which will happen if you’re convicted of a drug offense.

What Happens If I’m Charged with Possession of Heroin?

If you’re charged with possession of heroin, the first thing you need to do is find a Law Firm San Antonio, TX. Interview a couple lawyers to find out who you’re comfortable with. Then the Law Firm San Antonio, TX will go about collecting the evidence, which may involve video tapes, police reports, and a look at your criminal history. All those things play a role in what the Law Firm San Antonio, TX will do for you.

On a possession of heroin case, most of those cases are in state court. In state court, there’s really no penalty for dragging the case out and doing the research. Very often, in state court, your deal will get better as the case gets older. What we very often do is investigate, collect the evidence, talk to the client, and decided on a game plan. Very often, the game plan involves filing a motion to suppress to see if we can get the case thrown out for an invalid search or an invalid stop. If we’re successful at that point, the case gets thrown out and you can even expunge it.

What Happens If I’m Charged with Possession of Prescription Drugs?

If you’re charged with possession of a prescription drug, if it’s only a few pills and you say you got them from your mother, or from your brother because you hurt your back and he had a prior back surgery, and he had a few of those laying around, sometimes you can get the prosecutor to drop that type of case.

If you’re caught with a 30-day supply of a drug and you don’t have a prescription, then it’s a much more difficult case to deal with. The good thing is in most cases, it’s a misdemeanor. You still don’t want to have that conviction. Very often on that type of case we can get the person diverted into some sort of program that allows them to avoid a conviction and allows them to even avoid conviction to the extent where it can be expunged down the road. You really need to avoid that conviction at all costs, and very often you can.

How Should I Defend Myself Against a Distribution of a Controlled Substance Charge?

In Texas, distribution of a controlled substance or possession with intent to distribute is an offense where what’s going to happen to the case depends a lot on if you’re in state or federal court. If you’re in federal court, then time is not to your benefit. In federal court, you want to make a decision quickly about what you’re going to do. The investigation has to happen quickly, and decisions have to be made, because the time you spend to fight the case in federal court, you’re going to be penalized for by the court for not taking responsibility. In state court, there’s no such penalty; you can take your time. You can try to interview as many witnesses as possible. You can do the investigation that’s needed. You can even drag the case out if it’s to your advantage.

Also, the other issue in state court is, very often, you can get the prosecutor to drop the quantity of drugs possessed, because that will drop the offense level. You can also look to do a motion to suppress – if they stopped a vehicle, for instance, and found the drugs in a vehicle. Very often, that stop was done incorrectly or for an invalid reason. The fact that you’re charged doesn’t mean that you’ll be convicted of this offense.

What is a Motion to Revoke?

If you are on probation or deferred adjudication and the court has a motion to revoke, what that usually means is that a warrant will be issued for your arrest. You’ll be arrested and processed in the jail. You’ll bond out, and then you’ll have a hearing about whether the judge is going to take away your probation or take away your deferred adjudication.

If you believe that one is going to be filed because you either picked up a new offense, failed to report, or you tested positive for alcohol or drugs while on probation, call a Law Firm San Antonio, TX. Call somebody with experience in this area, and what they can do is go and talk to the judge to see if they can get the motion to revoke withdrawn. If they can’t it withdrawn, they’ll try to process the individual in a satellite office. What that means is the processing to get you booked, get you out, will take two hours, approximately, versus all day if you get arrested and taken to jail.

Your Law Firm San Antonio, TX will talk to probation and the DA at your hearing to see if it can be resolved without them revoking your probation or deferred which it very often can be for minor violations. Minor violations would be things like missing an appointment, or picking up a very minor offense. What becomes more difficult is if you pick up what the state refers to as a new number one which is a new criminal offense. However, in most cases, the state won’t try to revoke your probation if the only allegation is you picked up a new criminal offense. They don’t want to try that new offense in a motion to revoke, so they usually will hold back on that motion to revoke until your new offense is resolved. What’s really important on a motion to revoke is to get a Law Firm San Antonio, TX, get a bond set, and get out of jail or get processed, so you can start preparing a defense.

What Are the Shoplifting Penalties?

Shoplifting in Texas is a kind of shorthand version for theft. The difference is on a shoplifting case, very often it’s a store and they have a loss prevention person, and they may have watched through video cameras and saw the theft occur. It’s the dollar amount that determines what the range of punishment is. If it’s under $100, it’s a Class C misdemeanor. If it’s over $100, but less than $750, generally you’re looking at a Class B. Above that amount, it is a Class A misdemeanor. In most cases, you want to avoid a conviction for a theft case because a theft case is a crime of moral turpitude and it can have ramifications.

What I usually do, if I represent somebody on a theft case or a shoplifting case, is try to see if there’s a way to get the person off. Can we win the case? Can we get the case thrown out through a motion to suppress? If we can’t win the case, if we can’t get it thrown out, then what you want to do is avoid a conviction through some alternative method. Maybe we can get the state to offer a pretrial diversion, which gets you out of the criminal justice system; or maybe we can get a deferred adjudication, where you avoid the conviction and down the road, you can seal it.

A theft conviction can affect you down the road in job applications. It can even be used against you in a suit. Let’s say you’re going through a divorce and the fact is if you’re convicted for a theft, they’re going to use it against you to show you’re not trustworthy. It’s important to avoid even a minor theft case conviction.

How Can We Defend a Burglary Charge?

Burglaries are serious offenses. In all cases, other than burglary of an automobile, they’re felonies. Burglary of an automobile is a misdemeanor. Any other burglary involving a building, or a habitation is a different grade of felony depending on what the person wanted to do when they entered the building. Is it a burglary to commit a theft? Is it a burglary to commit an assault? Is it a burglary to commit a sexual assault? All those things will determine what grade of offense it is.

One thing that happens quite often on a burglary is that you can get the case reduced to a trespass case. When someone enters the home or enters the building, that’s when you had to have the intent to commit, let’s say, a theft. It’s not uncommon for somebody to enter a building because your car broke down and it’s late at night, or you’re just trying to locate somebody to help you and so you knock, no one comes in and you holler and you go into a barn. You may then get charged with burglary of the building, but you had no intent to commit a theft. What you did was a trespass, which is a misdemeanor. We need to always look to see whether our client is correctly charged with a burglary, when in fact it just might be a misdemeanor trespass.

What is Forgery?

When you’re charged with forgery, forgery by itself is a very complicated offense. The statute is a couple pages long describing all the different ways that you can be charged with forgery. It usually requires an in-depth investigation. You kind of need to see exactly what the state is saying as far committing a forgery. A lot of people think forgery is just signing someone else’s name. Forgery can also involve presenting a document to somebody that you know is false. There are a lot of different ways to commit the offense, all of which you need to fight vigorously because in most cases, forgery’s going to be considered a crime of moral turpitude, and it’s going to affect you down the road if you’re convicted.

What Happens If I’m Caught with a Stolen Credit Card?

If you’re caught with a stolen credit card, there are a lot of different ways you can be charged. If you try to use the credit card, it can be one charge. If you’re just caught possessing it, it could be another charge. In a lot of cases, it’s a theft charge. All these cases involve potential crimes of moral turpitude that can affect you down the road, so you really need to get a Law Firm San Antonio, TX involved to see if there’s a method or something that can be done to avoid the conviction.

What If I’m Arrested for Domestic Violence?

If you’re charged with domestic violence or family violence, the one thing you need to know is that you have to fight the charge. In Texas, family violence has a lot of different ramifications. If you’re ever charged at any point in the future with another family violence case, it becomes a felony. That means that on a second charge, you end up getting arrested; it’s called a felony arrest. The officers may pull their guns on you. They may take you down, throw you on the ground and handcuff you; all that’s possible. The other thing that’s possible if you’re charged with a felony family violence, because it’s your second charge, is you can end up serving up to 10 years in prison, so it’s really important to avoid that family violence conviction.

The other thing that happens if you’re charged with a family violence offense is, if you are convicted, you cannot possess a weapon under federal law for the rest of your life. That’s important to a lot of people, and so you need to avoid that conviction. In fact, you even need to avoid a deferred adjudication on that family violence charge.

In Texas, a family violence charge can also be somebody that you’ve never had a dating relationship with, somebody that you did not have a marriage with, or somebody that’s not even a family member. It can be somebody that you just cohabitated with, and that’s real important to know. If you’re cohabitated with somebody, living with somebody, but you’re not dating, you can still be charged with family violence. In those circumstances, under federal law, you would not be prevented from possessing a weapon because a federal statute provides dating relationships, family members, or spouses.

On a family violence case, the person that may have been injured, will want to drop charges. That doesn’t mean the state will drop the charges. What happens in a family violence case is the state picks up the case. It becomes theirs; it is no longer the victim’s case. The fact that the person may want to drop these charges doesn’t mean it will get dropped. Likely, we’ll still have to vigorously fight the case.

Can the Plaintiff Drop the Charges for Domestic Violence?

The person that’s alleged to have been assaulted in a family violence case can take an affidavit of non-prosecution to the police station, but it is not their choice whether to drop the case. Once a case is filed, it becomes the state’s case. In most cases, I do not have a client have somebody come in to give a non-prosecution affidavit right away, even if they want to. I want to look and see what evidence is out there. I want to see what the state is saying happened. If the person still wants to come in and talk to me, I’ll have them come in and have them describe to me what happened, and what statement they want to make.

I also do not make just a basic non-prosecution affidavit. If they can add some facts to give it some more meat, that helps my client and if they’re confident that what they’re saying is truthful, I will have them add some additional facts. An example might be that the complainant, the person that was allegedly injured, started the altercation. If they’re adamant that’s what happened, we put it in the affidavit.

What Are Strategies for Fighting Family Violence Cases?

When I have somebody come into the office with a family violence charge, there are some questions that I’ll always ask. One is, who called the police? Was it a neighbor? Was it the alleged victim? Did you call the police? That all plays a role in evaluating the case. The other thing I want to know is, were there any visible injuries to the complainant? Another thing I want to know is, are there any pictures of the complainant? Maybe one of the most important things is, does the complainant want to prosecute you?

If someone comes in and they’re the ones that called the police and there were no visible injuries, and the person wants to drop the charges, that’s probably the best fact situation you can have in fighting one of these cases. It doesn’t mean it’ll go away, but those are probably the best facts. What I usually do is talk to the client, figure out what’s going on, and I tell them I don’t want to go into any great detail at this point. I also don’t want to talk to the complainant at this point. What I want to do is collect from the state all their evidence, including videos, police reports, statements that were made. I want to look at that before I talk to witnesses, before I talk to the complainant, because I kind of want to see what’s going on, and how the story has changed. If the complainant wants to drop the charges, very often I’ll ask somebody else to be in the room when I interview the person in case that person changes their mind or changes their story. I want somebody to be able to back up what was said to me.

In most cases, there is a strategy that will vary, but there are some common themes including trying to figure out how strong or weak the case is before we start interviewing and talking to everybody and seeing what evidence the police have.

What is Deadly Conduct?

Deadly conduct is a misdemeanor offense. There are a couple different ways that someone can commit the offense. One is that you just place someone in eminent danger, serious bodily injury, or death. Another way is discharging a firearm at a car or a home. Those are ways in which you can be charged with this crime. The fact that the gun isn’t loaded isn’t necessarily an affirmative defense. In fact, they’ll presume that that was reckless, and you could end up getting charged and even being convicted because you pointed an unloaded gun at somebody. It’s really important in those cases to get a Law Firm San Antonio, TX to look at the facts, and to see if there’s some defensive issue to it.

It’s important to realize, also, that the purpose of the statute about discharging a firearm towards a home or car, was targeting gang violence. Today, I represented somebody many years ago who was cleaning his weapon in his home and it discharged, and went through the wall of his house and hit the neighbor’s house, and they actually charged him with that crime. It’s important to realize that this crime can take many different turns and twists that you can’t anticipate.

What If I’m Charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide?

If you’re charged with criminally negligent homicide in Texas, you must be careful because it is kind of a slippery slope. You can be charged for that crime for basically negligent behavior. An example might be you’re speeding and you’re on your cell phone texting, and you get in a wreck. You could conceivably be charged with criminally negligent homicide. When you think of it, that charge is where you are undertaking some action that a reasonably prudent person ought to have known that there was an unreasonable risk of harm or death. It’s one of those offenses that is discretionary for the prosecutor. There are some offenses that are cut and dry. On a theft, did you take the item with intent to steal and walk out of the store? Did you possess the drug; yes or no? Some are much clearer cut.

With criminally negligent homicide, you have to get into the mindset. You get into the what a reasonable person is, and if they should have known. I think today a lot of people talk on their cell phones, and I think that people would say that doesn’t have that high-degree of risk that would warrant a charge. However, some prosecutor may disagree with that and say, you’re on your cell phone, driving down the highway, that’s criminally negligent homicide if you get in a wreck and kill somebody.

You can see where there’s no cut standards that are clearly out of bounds or in-bounds. There are some that are clearly out of bounds. If you’re driving 120 miles an hour, it’s at night, and you shut your lights off to evade the police, well, that’s clearly criminally negligent homicide. However, if you are going 20 miles over the speed limit, not on your phone, I would argue that it is not criminally negligent homicide, but somebody else may disagree. You need to get a Law Firm San Antonio, TX, because the fact is that those offenses are not clear cut and very often you can convince a prosecutor that the person is overcharged.

Call Our Law Firm San Antonio, TX

If you are facing a difficult legal situation, please give our office a call to meet with our Law Firm San Antonio, TX. We are here to fight for your justice and will do so fiercely.