Criminal Defense and Traffic Ticket Defense In Addison, Texas

Addison Municipal Court has jurisdiction over a variety of criminal offenses that can be filed by an Addison, Texas police officer.  These charges range from speeding tickets to assaults and theft cases.  Our experienced team of attorneys can help assist you with any and all charges that have been filed in Addison Municipal Court.  We have listed below some of the most common charges we assist people with in the Addison, Texas area.  If you would like legal representation after reading through this page, feel free to contact our legal professionals at 214-321-4105.  We look forward to assisting you.

Public Intoxication

Addison, Texas is known throughout North Texas as having a very lively nightlife.  Sometimes this can lead to a public intoxication charge.  The tricky issue with public intoxication charges is that they almost always come with the arrest of the individual.  This is due to the fact that in order to establish a public intoxication charge, the Addison police officer must believe that the person is a danger to themselves or to another.  The arrest normally occurs due to this belief in an effort to basically protect the person or another individual from harm.  Where public intoxication cases become complex is in the fact that even if the case is dismissed in Addison Municipal Court, the arrest record associated with the case will not be erased.  This means that mug shots and arrest records can be searched by current or future employers.  An experienced Addison criminal defense attorney must understand the separation of powers issue related to judicial records and executive branch records located in the police department to protect a client from these records being searched and used against them.  This is why our Addison criminal defense lawyers stand above the rest in that even if we get a public intoxication charge dismissed in Addison Municipal Court, we also encourage the filing of an expunction to destroy any and all arrest records associated with the charge.

Drug Paraphernalia

 

Drug paraphernalia tickets are also very common charges filed by the Addison Police Department.  The issue with drug paraphernalia charges arises from the global stance across Texas that marijuana should still be considered illegal.  In most cases in Dallas County, Texas if a person is caught with a small amount of this drug, officers will choose to file drug paraphernalia charges instead of possession of marijuana charges in an effort to cut down the punishment range associated with the two.  For example, possession of marijuana is considered a class b misdemeanor and punishable by up to six months in jail whereas a drug paraphernalia charge is considered a class c misdemeanor with no jail time associated with the charge.  However, another nuance to these charges is that employers can’t tell if the paraphernalia conviction was related to marijuana or cocaine or meth or heroine.  The conviction only states paraphernalia when reported to Texas DPS.  This is when employers who are risk averse can use the record as a means to deny a job opportunity to fire a person altogether.  As one can see, it takes an experienced Addison criminal defense lawyer to navigate these most basic pitfalls.  At least by reading this small explanation, you can see the hard work and dedication it takes to defend a person charged with a drug paraphernalia ticket in Addison, Texas properly.

Assault & Assault Family Violence

Assault tickets in Addison Municipal Court need to be treated with the highest level of concern due to the fact that if a case is charged as assault family violence, then it can have a huge impact on a person’s life.  The State of Texas does not distinguish between class c misdemeanor assault family violence cases and the higher misdemeanor and felony charges for the same crime.  Much like drug paraphernalia charges, once the case is filed and fingerprints are taken, they are simply sent to Texas DPS as an assault family violence charge.  Texas DPS will then report the fingerprints and the charges to all state agencies.  The problem arises when a person is licensed by a state board.  For example, if you are a school teacher, nurse, locksmith, engineer or any other profession that requires licensing from the State of Texas, then that license can be revoked and you can lose your employment immediately regardless of whether or not the charge was eventually dismissed.  You have to take these types of cases seriously and hire an experienced Addison criminal defense lawyer for all assault cases pending in Addison Municipal Court.

Theft

Addison Municipal Court has jurisdiction over theft allegations that are $100 or less in value.  Theft charges can also have a huge impact on a person’s life due to the fact that these types of charges are considered crimes of moral turpitude.  That means that they imply poor character and can be used in a variety of ways to deny employment, housing and even the ability to serve on a jury.  For this reason, you have to make sure that you have an Addison criminal defense attorney knowledgeable in making sure your record remains clear from any convictions and can file the appropriate documents to destroy any records associated with the charge if it is dismissed.  For more information on how to defend theft charges, we suggest you call our Addison, Texas theft defense lawyers today.

Traffic Tickets and Commercial Driver Defense

Traffic tickets are used in a variety of ways by Texas DPS and insurance companies across the state to set insurance rates.  If you are a commercial driver, a traffic ticket conviction can be the difference between remaining employed and losing your job.  For this reason, we highly suggest that if you are stopped and cited for any type of traffic law violation, you fight to protect your record.  Traffic ticket defense in Addison, Texas can be complex, but our experienced legal professionals try to make it is as simple as possible for you.  Our ticket attorneys will attend all pretrial hearings on your behalf so you don’t have to attend court unless a case is set for trial  In that process we work hard to ensure that a case is either dismissed or a deal is negotiated to protect your permanent driving record.  If that cannot be accomplished, then we are more than willing to take a case to trial.  Give our traffic ticket defense attorneys in Addison a call today.