When you walk into a store, the employees and owner of that shop likely don’t expect that you’re going to try to take something without paying the asking price. Unfortunately, some businesses regularly deal with people trying to steal from them. Shoplifting is a serious problem for some stores.

There are many different things that constitute shoplifting. The key point between all of these is that someone tries to take merchandise from the store without giving the store what it’s due. This might be done by trying to conceal the items or by changing the price tags on them. Interestingly, merely concealing merchandise, even if you aren’t caught trying to walk out of the store is considered shoplifting.

The value of the merchandise is what determines the charge and penalty you’re facing in Texas. Some cases are misdemeanors, others are felonies.

• Up to $100: Class C misdemeanor, up to $500 fine
• $100 up to $750: Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in jail, up to $2,000 fine
• $750 up to $2,500: Class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail, up to $4,000 fine
• $2,500 up to $30,000: State jail felony, 180 days to 2 years in jail, up to $10,000 fine
• $30,000 up to $150,000: Third degree felony, 2 to 10 years in prison, up to $10,000 fine
• $150,000 up to $300,000: Second degree felony, 2 to 20 years in prison, up to $10,000 fine
• More than $300,000: First degree felony, 5 to 99 years, up to $10,000 fine

As you can see, shoplifting can be a very serious crime. You should consult your attorney to find out what defense options you have against these charges.

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Burglary is different from any other kind of theft crime because it involves someone attempting to hide their activity from the intended victim. A burglar will often try to break into a home or business when the owner or operator is not present in order to avoid conflict or potential violence. Some even have special tools to help them open locks or overcome electronic security systems. 

However, you do not have to force your way into a business to face allegations of burglary in Texas. Instead, you merely need to be present in a business without permission while intending to steal something.

Some burglars hide in businesses to have access after employees leave

Believe it or not, some people will sneak into a back room, hole up behind a merchandising display or hide out in a bathroom at a store and then wait for hours until the business closes and employees leave for the night. 

They can then proceed to walk freely around in the space and potentially steal thousands of dollars worth of merchandise or even take money if the story doesn’t secure its cash reserves and registers after business hours. 

Hiding in a business or otherwise accessing it when you do not have permission to do so and then taking property from said business absolutely constitutes burglary and could easily lead to criminal charges, especially if there are security cameras. Anyone accused of burglary or similar theft offenses needs to carefully explore their options to defend against those charges or risk serious criminal consequences.

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One reason that people sometimes give when they unexpectedly get a DWI is that they were not drinking alcohol at all — at least, they didn’t know they were. They claim that someone must have spiked their drink. They never even thought they were under the influence, or they thought they just had one drink when they really had the equivalent of many more. 

People do spike drinks, and one way to avoid having this happen to you is to understand why. You always want to be very careful when drinking, especially around people that you do not know very well. 

One of the biggest reasons is sexual assault. Someone may spike your drink in order to take advantage of you or to make it more likely that you’ll engage in a romantic relationship with them. Cases like this often include drinks being spiked with drugs other than alcohol, which can amplify the effects — which could be why you get pulled over when you don’t think you’ve had more than enough to drink. 

The second biggest reason is that some people see it as a prank. Maybe you’ve never had alcohol before, your friends thought it would be funny to get you drunk, and they slipped some alcohol into your soft drink. You didn’t notice and tried to drive home, but no one told you. That’s why you are blowing a BAC that is over the legal limit, despite insisting you have never even consumed alcohol in your life. 

If you are facing charges due to something that was out of your control, you need to understand your legal options. It’s important to defend your rights and your future, whatever the charges you’re facing.

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There is substantial and complicated overlap between addiction and criminal behavior. Some people even compare the correlation between crime and addiction to a chicken-and-egg situation because it’s often difficult to tell which one really came first.

Thanks to laws prohibiting the possession, distribution and use of many substances, people dealing with addiction can become criminals solely because of their addiction issues. Even if they have sought help, they could still wind up charged with a crime and incarcerated. Many people who commit crimes might do so in order to gain access to drugs or to money in order to support an addictive habit or chemical dependence.

Unfortunately, the criminal justice system focuses more on punishing addicts than on helping them. Criminal convictions for drug offenses often create a lack of social mobility because of the criminal record they create. That, the emotional damage of prison and the stigma attached to addiction all contribute to recidivism or repeat offenses involving those with substance abuse problems.

Many people don’t actually get sober in jail

Just like the outside world, most correctional facilities have thriving unregulated markets where people can purchase anything from single cigarettes to prohibited narcotics. Although some people are able to go dry while incarcerated and then maintain their sobriety, others may find that prison merely feeds into their cycle of addiction.

Many of the people in prison suffer from some form of substance abuse. Researchers have found that as many as 65% of inmates report symptoms that would result in the professional diagnosis of addiction or substance abuse conditions. Sadly, only 11% or so receive addiction support and counseling while in state or federal facilities for drug-related crimes or offenses stemming from addiction.

Staying out of jail could help people clean up their lives

Sometimes, getting arrested and charged with a drug offense is exactly what someone struggling with addiction needs to make drastic changes to their life. Seeking substance abuse therapy, going through mandatory rehab because of drug court and having the courage to ask for help can make a big difference for someone trying to move on from addiction after criminal charges.

Fighting back against those charges can also help set someone up for a brighter future, rather than one defined by addiction.

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There are multiple ways to defend yourself against criminal charges. Proving that you weren’t the person involved is one strategy. Challenging evidence is another way that people can assert their innocence.

Many people think that driving while intoxicated (DWI) charges often stem from bulletproof evidence. However, it is often possible for individuals to challenge chemical breath tests in DWI criminal proceedings. Let’s look at three different ways in which you could potentially challenge breath test results in court.

You might challenge the results themselves for being inaccurate

Chemical breath testing has recently come under increased legal scrutiny for inherent inaccuracies in the process. If the results of the breath test don’t reflect the amount of alcohol you believe was in your system, you may be able to challenge the test based on how it was administered or how the testing equipment itself was maintained and calibrated.

You might challenge whether the officer had grounds to perform the test

If you believe that the officer did not have probable cause to conduct a traffic stop or if you suspect that personal prejudice or profiling might have led to the traffic stop or the request for a field sobriety test and chemical breath test, you may be able to challenge the traffic stop and all the evidence gathered during the stop.

There might be issues with how police handled the evidence

Prove regarding the chain of custody is critical for the validity of chemical and physical evidence in a criminal case. If officers don’t properly label evidence or if other people had access to it, it may be possible to challenge the evidence and have the courts prevent its inclusion in criminal proceedings.

Discussing your situation in depth with an experienced attorney can give you a better idea of whether any of these strategies might work for your case.

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Your personal right to freedom ends when your decisions impact other people. For example, you aren’t free to just pick something if it clearly belongs to someone else, just like you aren’t free to use physical violence to get what you want from another person.

Those who touch someone else without permission or who cause bodily harm to another person could easily find themselves facing assault charges under Texas law. However, some situations that might seem like assault on the surface actually involve the justified use of physical force. When do you have the right to use physical force under the law in Texas?

You have the right to use force to protect yourself, someone else or your property

Generally speaking, you do have the right to use physical force in situations where you fear for your own safety or for the safety of other people. You can also use physical force to stop someone from stealing your property.

It’s important to note that if you intend to claim self-defense, you could not have been the one who initiated the physical aggression. The other party must threaten you or make contact with you first before your physical force constitutes self-defense.

You may have to go to court to prove you acted in self-defense

In some cases, self-defense will be obvious to law enforcement because of security camera footage or witness statements that your actions were clearly self-defense or intended in the defense of another person. In those situations, you may not face charges.

However, in scenarios where the other party claims that you started the altercation or where there isn’t objective documentation of what occurred, you may need to go to court and use self-defense claims as an affirmative defense against pending assault charges.

Gathering evidence, controlling your narrative and getting good advice can all go a long way toward the success of a self-defense defense strategy in Texas.

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If you’re like most older Americans, you’re probably on a couple of different prescriptions. In fact, it’s estimated that about 75% of adults 50 years of age and older take at least one or two kinds of prescription medication — and the percentage gets higher as people age. You may even have a couple of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that are part of your regular arsenal of medicines.

Well, watch out: You could end up with a charge of driving under the influence — even if every drug you are on is perfectly legal. Those OTC meds and your regular drugs can (together or alone) cause a variety of symptoms that make it unsafe for you to drive.

Some of the biggest “problem drugs” when it comes to driving include:

• Narcotic painkillers, like oxycontin or Vicodin
• Sleeping aids, including drugs like Ambien or NyQuil
• Antidepressants, including common ones like Prozac
• Antihistamines, like Benadryl or Claritin
• Decongestants, including many OTC cold remedies
• Cough medications, whether they’re prescription or not

Many of those drugs come with warning labels that advise people not to operate heavy machinery until they know how the drug affects them — and that includes any motor vehicles.

But what if you don’t realize that a drug is making you disoriented or drowsy until you’re pulled over by a police officer for missing a stop sign, driving too slowly or weaving over the yellow line? First, it’s important to remember one thing — you don’t want to tell the police officer that you just took some medication. That’s not an excuse: That’s a confession. Your admission may be all it takes to convict you of driving under the influence.

If you’ve been charged with a DUI due to a medication you took, talk to a defense attorney about your options.

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An impartial witness who watched a crime take place should be able to give an accurate account of what happened, right? They were not involved, so they have nothing to gain and nothing to lose. They were simply watching for at least part of the time, and they can remember what happened perhaps better than someone who was involved, due to the lower level of stress. If they determine who was at fault, that can win a case for the prosecution.

That’s certainly how a lot of jury members look at it, but the truth is that you can’t trust eyewitnesses nearly that much. They are often wrong and unreliable. Some of the mistakes they have made over the years have drastically impacted people’s lives.

Let’s take a quick look at false convictions. These are usually convictions where DNA evidence, or something equally compelling, has proven that the person who was initially convicted actually wasn’t to blame. Some of these people have been behind bars for years or even decades before they get cleared and released.

Regardless, in three out of four of these cases, or 75%, a major role was played by an inaccurate eyewitness. The statement that the witness gave, blaming the person who was then convicted by a jury, was wrong. It’s as simple as that.

So, while witnesses do sometimes get it right, stats like this show that we probably put a bit too much faith in them. If you have been accused of a crime and you are concerned about being wrongfully convicted, make sure you know exactly what steps to take during your case.

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You had a horrible headache while you were at work. Your boss decided to let you head home early, so you went to the break room and gathered up your things. On your way out, a coworker stopped you and handed you a small bottle. She told you that there were a few Vicodin pills inside that you could have. She had them leftover from her ankle surgery.

You were happy to have something stronger to treat the pain than ibuprofen, so you took one and started the drive home. On the way, you ended up getting drowsy and nodded off. You were able to correct your vehicle before leaving the roadway, but an officer saw you serve and decided to pull you over. 

After seeing that you were unsafe to drive, the officer asked if you had taken any drugs. In your haze, you admitted that your coworker gave you a bottle of Vicodin. Now, you’re facing prescription drug charges. 

It is illegal to share prescription medications

What your co-worker did was actually illegal. At the same time, it’s also illegal to have possession of any drugs that were not prescribed to you. There are many reasons why these rules are in place, but you should know that if you get caught, you could face charges.

In your case, you have multiple pills of a controlled substance that don’t belong to you, and that doesn’t look good to the court. Even with a good reason, like treating a medical condition, you shouldn’t have any drugs that aren’t yours in your possession.

Your attorney can help you by looking into different defenses, challenging the legality of the traffic stop and negotiating a plea that will keep you out of jail. Mistakes happen, and you should defend yourself against unfair penalties for drug charges — especially if you made an innocent mistake.

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Chemical breath tests have recently come under increased scrutiny from the public because of mistakes and errors they produce. Compared with the potential for false positives or wholly inaccurate results during chemical breath testing, blood tests may present a better option for law enforcement in Texas.

If officers pull you over because they suspect you are driving while intoxicated (DWI), they will ask you to perform a chemical breath test and a field sobriety test. If you fail those tests or if you refuse the chemical breath test, officers may attempt to draw blood in order to establish the presence of alcohol in your system. When do you have to allow the state to draw your blood in Texas?

If you give consent

The simplest way for officers to get a blood sample from a person allegedly involved in an impaired driving offense involves getting permission from that person. Some individuals will readily consent to a blood test because they know the breath test was inaccurate and a blood test will exonerate them. Others, possibly including those already under the influence, may not consider the consequences when they give their permission.

If you cause a crash that kills someone

In the event that someone whom officers believe drove while under the influence causes a crash that kills someone, officers can demand a blood draw. It’s important to note that regardless of the circumstances that lead to a chemical blood test, police officers themselves will not be the ones that perform the blood draw. A medical professional with proper training will do so. However, officers may assist in restraining an individual accused of impaired driving in order to facilitate a blood draw in some cases.

If the officers can secure a warrant quickly enough

Your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) may change dramatically in the hours after an arrest. Those who had several drinks right before getting behind the wheel might experience increased intoxication, while others may experience a notable drop in BAC.

Officers have a very small window of time in which they can gather blood evidence to use to prove impairment. Provided that they can secure a warrant from a judge during that window of time, officers can compel an individual to submit to a blood draw regardless of consent.

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