According to My Fox Houston, a group of activists protesting a pipeline project in downtown Houston this morning were arrested for their behavior. The individuals were expressing their opinion on the Keystone XL Pipeline project. The group organizes outside of the TransCanada headquarters, but police felt it proper to arrest them for misdemeanor trespassing because they were on the property. The police claimed that the act was in civil disobedience.
The Keystone XL Pipeline Project involves an effort to build a pipeline from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. Yet activists believe that the pipeline will damage the environment and should be stopped before it’s built. One protester told news stations that the pipeline is going to brine dirty materials across the United States down to Houston where it can be refined and shipped to Asia to be burned. According to protesters the oil will not be used in America unless it spills.
Regardless of the protester’s opinions and whether or not they are correct, the police say that trespassing is a crime. Depending on the nature of the trespassing it can be charged as a Class A, Class B or Class C misdemeanor. On the other hand, protesting and expressing opinions is a constitutional right.
If you have been silenced for protesting and believe that your arrest violated your rights as stated in the U.S. Constitution, then you need to talk to a Houston criminal defense attorney about this immediately. With the right attorney on your side, you may be able to avoid prosecution and prove that you should not have been arrested for your crime in the first place. Talk to someone at The Martinez Law Firm today to learn more about this crime or to develop a convincing defense.
<span><p>Herman Martinez reports that the D.C. Navy yard shooting suspect from this morning, was from Texas. In the early morning hours, a former Navy man launched an attack in a building at the Washington Navy Yard. The offender shot office workers in the cafeteria and then rushed into a hallway. Thirteen people were killed in the exchange, including the gunman. Authorities write that they are looking for a second possible attacker who may have been in a military-style uniform.</p>
<p>Investigators say that they have not established a motive for the shooting which happened less than four miles from the White House. The Navy Yard is heavily guarded, so many are wondering who the offenders managed to get in the building in the first place. This is the deadliest shooting at a U.S.-based military institution since the Fort Hood shooting in Texas. The offender in that case, Major Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death last month. That shooting took place in 2009.</p>
<p>The FBI has already taken charge of this investigation and identified the gunman who died in the midst of the attacks. His name is Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old from Texas. He died after running in a gun battle with the police. A federal law enforcement official says that the shooter most likely got into the Navy Yard using someone else’s identification card. The FBI is still trying to determine if the person with the identification was an accomplice or was unaware of the danger.</p>
<p>About 3,000 people work at the Navy Yard, and many of them are civilians. The Navy reports that Alexis was a full-time reservist from 2007 to 2011 and then left as a petty officer in third class. The FBI is still trying to gather information on why he left his position with the military. Prior to the shooting, Alexis was working with a fleet logistics support squadron in Fort Worth, Texas.</p></span>
I was at a get together this weekend when the topic of money laundering came up. Not surprisingly, most people thought that a money laundering arrest involves millions of dollars like it is shown in movies like Scarface or Blow. While money laundering does stem from alleged drug dealing like those films the arrests in Houston, Texas do not involve that much cash. The typical case in Harris County, Texas involves a young person that is carrying a gym bag that is fully loaded while acting nervous around law enforcement, the police. What is surprising to me is that the young person typically gives the police consent to search their bag. In most instances, the police only have a hunch that is something is afoul and get lucky that the person does not know that they have the right to refuse the search. The typical “mule” is carrying $50,000 to $100,000 in cash, is under 30, and receiving less that $5,000 for transporting the money. They are a far cry from Tony Montana or George Jung.
The Houston Police are currently on the lookout for a “wigged bandit” and three other suspects that are responsible for a bank robbery in Heights. The FBI is also aiding in the search to hunt down the men who robbed a local credit union earlier in the week. According to investigators the armed men went into a Texas Dow Employees Credit Union and demanded cash from those behind the counter. They escaped from the scene of the crime unharmed.
One man wore a woman’s wig, and the others concealed their faces with masks and sunglasses. If caught, the Houston Police will press charges against the men and see that they are punished for their actions. If you want information about bank robberies or if you have been arrested for a theft crime and would like an aggressive lawyer on your side, then you need to contact a Houston criminal defense attorney at The Martinez Law Firm today!
A Houston local who has been on death row for 20 years recently won a federal court appeal allowing him to pursue claims that he is mentally impaired and therefore does not qualify for the death penalty. This shocking ruling may have saved the individual’s life. The verdict was decided in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, September 3rd.
The 50-year-old defendant is a former member of the Mexican mafia who was convicted of his crime in 1992 and has been in a federal prison ever since. He was convicted of murder after stabbing his 70-year-old neighbor 25 times during a home break-in. The defendant was on parole at the time that the crime occurred and had already been serving time for another home break-in where he sexually abused a pregnant woman.
The defendant’s attorneys argued that he deserved a court review because a psychiatrist who was present at his previous trial gave a questionable testimony and was later questioned for his methodology and credibility. If a questionable witness was a part of your trial, and you are now seeking an appeal, then you will want to hire a reliable and hardworking attorney to assist you.
Oftentimes the court will reconsider a sentence if a professional witness is proven to be inaccurate or questionable. At The Martinez Law Firm, Attorney Martinez is a former U.S. Chief Prosecutor. This means that he understands both sides of the law, and also understands what types of witnesses are most effective in a case. He can help you to contact the accurate and trusted witnesses that you need on your case to possibly even win an appeal. Learn more by contacting the firm for a free case evaluation today!
Presently, the hit-and-run penalties in Texas are harsh but not harsh enough to discourage the act in many cases. According to Texas lawmakers, the current penalties set for hit-and-run accidents are less severe than the penalties for DUI manslaughter. Often, hit-and-run offenders are intoxicated individuals who don’t want to be caught while under the influence of alcohol.
As a result, they will flee the scene of a serious accident, hoping that the police will not discover that they were driving drunk when the crash occurred. This way, even if they are caught, these suspects assume that they will be charged with a hit and run, rather than a severe intoxication manslaughter charge.
On September 1st, the Texas state government will pass a new law allowing the courts to heighten the penalties for a hit and run. The new penalties will be equivalent to the penalties for a
DUI manslaughter charge. This way, individuals that are involved in a DUI accident will not have any advantage by trying to flee the scene of the incident.
Texas officials are hopeful that this change in penalty structures will further discourage the practice of hit and runs. Now, individuals who hit another car and cause severe injury or death, and then flee the scene of the crime can be sent to prison for between two and twenty years. They can also be issued a fine of up to $1,000.
If you are arrested for a hit and run, you will certainly want a Houston criminal defense attorney on your side. With these new laws going into effect on September 1st, 2013, you will want an attorney there to advocate on your behalf and petition for a plea bargain or a lighter sentence. Talk to our team at The Martinez Law Firm today!
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that required mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses would be coming to an end. These highly controversial minimum sentences would no longer be required for nonviolent, low-level drug offenders. This signals a major turning point in state and federal sentencing policy and should have a massive impact on the growing federal prison population.
These mandatory minimums were heavily implemented in the 1980s, although the “war on drugs” dates back to the Nixon era. They were a way for politicians and lawmakers to show that they were tough on crime, but decades later it is difficult to prove that the mandatory minimums did anything more than increase the state and federal prison population. Since the 1980s, federal prison population has increased 800 percent.
Holder noted that shifting policy in this direction has become a bipartisan issue, citing officials from “red” and “blue” states advocating for an end to these minimum sentences for drug offenders. Just about half of the federal prison population is comprised of inmates sentenced for drug-related crimes. Many of these thousands of individuals were sentenced for nonviolent and low-level offenses.
Our attorney general and many others hold to the belief that harsh sentences for these types of crimes do little to keep our communities safer, but actually perpetuate a cycle of incarceration that is far too much the norm in urban areas, particularly among low socioeconomic classes. As an alternative to mandatory minimums, the federal government plans to implement drug rehabilitation and community service programs. In turn, they hope this will help manage our overcrowded prisons while simultaneously helping offenders avoid recidivism.
Some states have already begun to reverse these harsh sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, such as Texas and New York. Even California recently amended its “Three Strikes Law” so it only applies to third violent felony offenses, rather than all third felony offenses. All state prisons in the United States are under court order to reduce inmates, a total reduction of 10,000 prisoners nationwide.
“By reserving the most severe penalties for serious, high-level or violent drug traffickers, we can better promote public safety, deterrence and rehabilitation, while making our expenditures smarter and more productive,” Holder said.
The United States imprisons a greater percentage of its population than any other country in the world. Our country holds five percent of the world’s population, and yet nearly a quarter of the world’s total prison population. Holder and others are advocating for massive sweeps in sentencing changes so that the punishment more appropriately fits the crime.
A gunman in North Texas used an explosive device in an attack at two different residencies near Dallas in a revenge rampage that took four lives, a recent report by Reuters explains. The police believe that the attack was a domestic violence situation.
The gunman was hoping to get revenge on his ex-girlfriend. While his name has not yet been revealed, various sources report that the man was a former special education teacher who was angered when his girlfriend broke up with him. The FBI is investigating the situation to get further details, but reports show that the shooting began at a home in Dallas and ended at another home about seven miles away.
The victims have not been identified as of yet. Two boys ages 11 and 13 were also shot and survived. They are now being treated in local hospitals. Two other wounded victims have been injured and unidentified at present. Sources say that the gunman was a special education teacher that resigned on his own accord. He was never terminated from his position. The individual will most likely be charged with assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, and murder if he is confirmed as the shooter.
If you have been accused of these very serious crimes, the most important decision that you will make is the lawyer that you will hire to represent you in your case. If you hire an attorney that is only adequate, then you will have a lower chance of reducing your charges or avoiding penalties. Instead, you need to hire a dedicated, experienced, successful lawyer who will do that entire he or she can to work in your favor. At The Martinez Law Firm, a Houston criminal defense attorney will do everything possible to fight and win your case. Hire one of our excellent lawyers today.
At Border Patrol checks in the state of Texas, many arrests are taking place. Yet many of these arrests aren’t targeting illegal immigrants trying to sneak into the United States. Instead, recent data suggests that many of the arrests at these Border Patrols in South Texas have been Americans smuggling drugs into the country. Information from 2011 shows that 2,102 individuals were arrested for smuggling illegal narcotics into the United States at only one checkpoint on the border.
Unfortunately, the cost of arresting and then prosecuting all of these low-level offenders has become excessive and increasingly unaffordable. Because of this, the federal government has allowed many of the low-level offenders to go free without a trial. The Texas counties have expressed frustrations about the amount of criminals left without punishment, but the governments of these small counties all agree that they do not have sufficient funds to pay for the jailing and the costs of prosecution for these individuals.
An article published on NPR suggests that for every dollar that comes to the county from handling the federal border patrol crimes and seized assets, it costs about $2 to detain, prosecute, and process offenders. This doubling of costs makes it almost impossible for the counties to keep up with the steady stream of defendants.
If you have been arrested for a drug crime in Texas, this issue may work to your advantage. You will want to talk with a professional and hardworking Houston criminal defense attorney at the Martinez Law Firm for more information. Attorney Martinez is a former U.S. prosecutor, so he understands criminal law from both sides and can use his experience to best combat the prosecution in your case.
Hire the firm today to get optimal representation in your case!
Want to get your juvenile court records sealed? You can get a fresh start on your life by filing a petition in court and seeking expungement of a juvenile court conviction. Most of the time, expungement will make it so that employers, landlords, licensing agencies and others will never know that you have been arrested or convicted of a crime. Expungement is not the same as erasing the crime from your record, because it can still serve as a strike against a harsher punishment for repetitive behavior in the future.
The person that is seeking the sealing of their juvenile court records must be an adult in almost all states. This means that you must be 18 years old to seek an expungement. Also, in order to receive an expungement or seal your criminal records you will need to wait for a specified amount of time to pass. For example, to seal a juvenile court ruling the defendant will need to wait until five years have passed from the date of the offense or the end of the court proceedings. Also, states have the right to place limits on the types of offenses that can be expunged from a juvenile record.
Many states don’t allow people to expunge serious or violent offenses from a record. Any offense that would be a felony in an adult criminal court is normally supposed to remain as public record. Also, if you have an offense on your criminal record that resulted in later criminal arrests or convictions as an adult, then you may not be able to seal your juvenile record. If you believe that you qualify for expungement, then your first job should be to hire a professional Houston criminal defense attorney to help you argue for the record sealing. You will want an attorney there to prove to the court why the expungement is necessary. Talk to the Martinez Law Firm today for more information!