Posted on March 05, 2025 in DUI/DWI

If you have been arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI), the arresting police officer will - by law if you refuse or fail a breath test - physically take possession of your driver's license, and you will be given a Notice of Suspension. Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT an automatic suspension. You have the legal right to challenge the suspension in an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing. You must file a request for an ALR hearing within 15 days of your arrest.

Evidence in an ALR hearing can be used in a later DWI criminal trial. For that reason alone, you should seriously consider hiring a board-certified criminal and DWI defense attorney to represent you in the hearing. Most of DWI specialist Doug Murphy's clients save their driver's licenses at their ALR hearings.

SOAH—Court Basics

Texas’s State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) handles litigation relating to Texas' various state agencies. SOAH matters are legal proceedings, supervised by an Administrative Law Judge. In many ways, they are just like a trial in another court: Evidence is presented; witnesses can be subpoenaed and testify; lawyers make arguments before the judge; and the judge makes a decision.

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 Posted on February 27, 2025 in Criminal Defense

Even if you are only charged with a low-level misdemeanor, you still have the right to a jury trial. Both the U.S. Constitution and Texas’s Constitution protect your right to trial by jury when you have been charged with a crime. Whether or not you should choose a jury trial in misdemeanor - or, for that matter, felony - cases is another matter entirely. A trial can be a big risk. No matter how weak the state’s case might be or how strong your evidence is, it is impossible to predict who the jury will believe. If you are risk-averse, a jury trial might not be the best option for you. That said, sometimes a jury trial is necessary in misdemeanor cases when a conviction would have a disproportionate impact on the defendant, and the defendant has a strong chance of being acquitted at trial. Your Houston, TX DWI lawyer can explain the risks and potential benefits of going to trial in your specific case.

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 Posted on February 21, 2025 in Sex Crimes

Prostitution refers to the direct exchange of money for sexual services. Although many prostitutes claim that they are being paid for their time rather than for sex, this argument almost never works. It is often quite clear that when a sex worker is paid for an hour of her time, there is an understanding that she is expected to have sex with the client during that time. The relationship is very transactional, and a sex worker may not see a client more than one time. In "sugar dating," there is a relationship element that is not present in ordinary prostitution cases. However, there is generally an expectation that the sugar baby will offer sex and the sugar daddy will provide monetary "gifts." 

This leaves sugar relationships in a legal gray area. Some sugar daters cross the line into committing the offense of prostitution, while others do not. If you have been arrested for prostitution or solicitation while in a sugar dating relationship, you need an experienced Houston, TX prostitution attorney to fight for you. This type of conviction can destroy your reputation and limit your future career opportunities.

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 Posted on February 13, 2025 in Violent Crimes

When someone is charged with criminally negligent homicide in Texas, it means they are accused of causing another person’s death by acting carelessly or recklessly. This is a serious charge, and a conviction can lead to jail time, fines, and a permanent criminal record.

If your loved one has been arrested for criminally negligent homicide, you need to understand what the charge means, how these cases work, and what legal options are available. An experienced Texas criminal defense attorney can help fight for your loved one’s future.

What Is Criminally Negligent Homicide?

In Texas, homicide means causing another person’s death. Criminally negligent homicide is one of the less severe types of homicide charges, but it still carries harsh penalties. Under Texas law, a person commits criminally negligent homicide when they cause someone’s death by acting with criminal negligence.

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 Posted on February 10, 2025 in DUI/DWI

When you are arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Texas, the consequences can hit you faster than you may realize. Those consequences can extend beyond the criminal proceedings. When you are charged with a DWI, you will get your day in court to defend yourself before you are ever sentenced to jail. However, your driving privileges can suffer beginning at the time of your arrest.

The arresting officer will take your driver's license from you and replace it with a temporary license immediately after your arrest. The process of fighting your suspension can be confusing, and making the wrong decision or dragging your feet can haunt you. That is why the best practice is to hire an experienced DWI defense attorney immediately after you are released. You have a short window to fight for your ability to drive, and once that closes you are out of luck.

Houston, TX DWI attorney Doug Murphy has handled hundreds of these cases and is ready to help you fight the suspension of your driving privileges. You only have 15 days from the date you are given the temporary license to request an ALR hearing on your suspension. Failing to do so within 15 days will cause the administrative suspension to take effect, so time is of the essence.

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 Posted on February 06, 2025 in Drug Crimes

While driving while intoxicated charges routinely involves a driver under the influence of alcohol, the reality is there is a growing trend of drivers operating vehicles under the influence of prescription medication or other controlled substances. From illegal drugs to prescription pills, medication presents a series of challenges that are not present in typical alcohol-related DWIs. Law enforcement has struggled with finding an objective test to determine drug intoxication similar to how a driver's blood alcohol concentration may be used to determine alcohol intoxication. However, many drugs cannot be accurately measured in the human bloodstream that demonstrates a "per se" level of impairment like they can for alcohol. This has led to a number of wins at trial for Texas DWI attorneys. Harris County, TX DWI attorney Doug Murphy has published numerous articles and spoken all over the United States on how to defeat and attack the fallacies of the DRE opinion and protocol.

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 Posted on January 22, 2025 in Drug Crimes

The term "drug distributors" might sound like it should apply to people who are moving bulk quantities of street drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine. However, in Texas, anyone who provides just a small quantity of a controlled substance to another person even once can be prosecuted for drug distribution. This includes sharing a medication that was prescribed to you with another person. Drug distribution is a felony offense that can carry years of prison time. A lot of people who are charged with this offense for sharing a prescription drug are understandably surprised at the harshness of the charges. If you are being charged with drug distribution for sharing a prescription drug, you need an experienced Houston, TX drug crimes lawyer. An attorney may be able to negotiate a reduction in charges.

Sharing Prescribed Controlled Substances is Distribution

It is legal for you to possess and use your own prescribed medications. However, you are the only person permitted to take the medication. However, the second you share even a single pill with another person, you are opening yourself up to a distribution charge.

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 Posted on January 15, 2025 in Criminal Defense

In the past year, at least 18 newborn babies have been found abandoned in Texas. This represents a drastic increase in cases from a decade ago when only seven babies were abandoned in one year. While Texas state law protects parents who safely surrender a baby less than 60 days old at designated safe haven sites, parents can face serious criminal charges for abandoning an infant in unsafe circumstances. If the infant is found alive and healthy, the parent who abandoned the baby can be charged with felony child abandonment. In very sad cases where an abandoned infant is found deceased or has been harmed, the parent can instead be charged with more serious offenses ranging from child abandonment to homicide. If you are concerned about facing charges for abandoning an infant, you need to speak with an experienced Houston, TX criminal defense lawyer.

Charges Brought Against Mothers for Infant Abandonment 

Depending on the circumstances of the abandonment and the outcome for the child, parents who abandon newborns might be charged with a number of serious offenses. When a newborn is found deceased, it is not always clear to law enforcement whether the baby died as a result of its abandonment or had died of natural or unnatural causes before being placed in the spot where he or she was ultimately found.

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 Posted on January 14, 2025 in Drug Crimes

While there is a movement across the country to decriminalize the medicinal or recreational use of some controlled substances, the same cannot be said for their manufacture or distribution. That sentiment is certainly true in Texas. The Lone Star State has some of the toughest laws on the books when it comes to trafficking and distributing controlled substances. If you are charged with either drug trafficking or drug distribution in the State of Texas, you can expect to face the possibility of a lengthy jail sentence, steep fines, and a felony conviction that will follow you for the rest of your life. That said, what is the difference between drug distribution and drug trafficking?

If the terms sound similar, that is because they are often used interchangeably. Texas state law does not have a specific criminal charge known as "trafficking." However, as a broader concept, Texas's prohibition on the manufacture or delivery of controlled substances covers every aspect of the drug distribution process.

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 Posted on January 08, 2025 in DUI/DWI

We all know that feeling you get when you see those blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror. A traffic stop is never fun, but it can become even worse when it turns into a suspected DWI stop. But if you have a child in the car with you, it can be downright traumatic. An arrest for a DWI is frightening for anyone, but it can be terrifying for both of you when your child is there. And there can be long-term consequences. Seeing a parent arrested could be your child's first interaction with the police. No matter their age, this can be a harrowing experience for your child, you, and your entire family. An experienced Houston, TX felony DWI lawyer can help by defending you in court and connecting you with additional resources.

Driving While Intoxicated in Texas 

Under Texas law, you can face a DWI arrest even if your blood alcohol content is below the legal limit. Our statutes define someone as intoxicated in two ways. You can be "intoxicated" if you do not have "the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body, or have an alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more." Tex. Penal Code § 49.01 (2001).

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