DALLAS CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAW OFFICE

Sometimes, when a defendant has a very good defense, a skilled lawyer can convince a prosecutor to dismiss the case. This generally happens when the defense can be proved with something other than just the defendant's word, such as with documents or other sources, and when it is a defense that the prosecutor has not already considered adds John Helms Dallas criminal lawyer.   As a top Dal...

The OJ Simpson trial happened over twenty years ago, but it continues to capture the public's imagination. FX recently aired a miniseries on the case, and ESPN aired a five-part documentary in June about the rise and fall of OJ Simpson, added Dallas criminal lawyer John Helms.   “I was a young lawyer during the trial, and I had a case in a nearby federal court in Los Angeles. I was workin...

On April 25, 2016, by a 2-1 decision, the United Stated Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the trial judge's ruling in Tom Brady's "Deflategate" case and reinstated the four-game suspension imposed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, reports Dallas criminal appeal lawyer John Helms.  A lot of people probably think that a decision about the penalty to an NFL quarterback for bein...

I am often asked by people who are unfamiliar with the criminal justice system if they can “just go talk to the judge,” hoping that the judge will dismiss their case or help them with it in some way, says Dallas criminal attorney John Helms. Whether your case is in state or federal court, the answer is, “No.”  Even lawyers cannot talk to the judge about anything substantive about a case wit...

Recently, a Baltimore police officer named Edward Nero was found not guilty of assault in connection with the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. Mr. Gray died of injuries while in police custody during a ride in a Baltimore police van, points out Dallas criminal lawyer John Helms.   The prosecution's legal theory was very unusual. They claimed that the police did not have probable cause to...

Until a few weeks ago, Texas drivers could refuse to consent to a blood or breath test in connection with a DWI arrest, says Dallas DWI lawyer John Helms, except that refusal would usually result in loss of driving privileges under Texas' implied consent law. If you refused to consent, the police would have to get a search warrant to take your blood. A new decision by the United States Su...

On June 20, 2016, the Supreme Court decided a case called Utah v. Strieff. Some commentators have suggested that this decision means that police can stop drivers for no reason just to see if the driver has an outstanding arrest warrant. I disagree with that, says Dallas criminal lawyer John Helms. As an initial matter, the case has to do with whether the government can use evidence agains...

In a prior blog post the four primary ways of getting a sentence reduction in federal drug cases were covered by Dallas drug lawyer John Helms:  1.  Cooperate with the government.    2.  Negotiate a plea to a charge with a lower mandatory minimum sentence. 3.  Negotiate a plea agreement with a maximum sentence cap. 4.  Invoke the "safety valve" provision of 18 USC Section 3553(f). ...

In an earlier post, called “Dallas Drug Possession Lawyer- Getting a Sentence Reduced in Federal Drug Cases,” Federal drug defense attorney John Helms outlined four strategies that a person accused of federal drug distribution can potentially use to get a reduction of their sentence.  These are: 1.  Cooperate with the government. 2.  Negotiate a plea to a charge with a lower mandatory...

In an earlier post, called “Dallas Drug Possession Lawyer- Getting a Sentence Reduced in Federal Drug Cases,” Federal drug defense attorney John Helms described four ways that a person accused of drug distribution in a federal case can potentially get a reduction of their sentence.  This post goes into more detail about how cooperating with the government can potentially do this. In feder...