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Kick Off the New Year With a Valid Driver’s License

2019 occupational license graphic

Another year has come and gone and regardless of whether it’s just something you have been meaning to do or simply something you have been avoiding, it’s time to address your invalid driver’s license situation. Start this year regaining legal driving privileges by fixing your invalid or suspended driver’s license.

Maybe you have never had a valid driver’s license at all, make this year the year you obtain one for the first time.  Whatever your situation may be we are here to help you start the year off on a good note. This can be the year that you finally don’t have to worry about always looking over your shoulder when driving due to your invalid, revoked, or suspended driver’s license. You deserve the freedom and peace of mind driving legally.

Your Initial Stepping Stone:  An Occupational Driver’s License

An occupational driver’s license can restore your driving privileges quickly. Even if you have never had a driver’s license an occupational license in most cases will serve as a valid license.  No matter how messy your driver’s license situation may be, an occupational license can give you a fresh opportunity to resolve the underlying issues causing your license to be invalid, not eligible to be issued, or renewed.  Many times when one’s driver’s license gets suspended or is denied renewal additional issues will arise.  Most common are additional suspensions and surcharges which may eventually result in a cycle of ongoing issues.  If left unaddressed this can prevent your license from becoming valid sometimes for years and years at a time.

Let Us Help

The start of the year is the perfect time to tackle your driver’s license problems, whatever those may be.  Let us help you start 2019 off right by putting your driver’s license problems behind you once and for all.

Whether you have already been busted or just have a big mess on your hands we can help.  Whether that’s helping you obtain your initial occupational license or renew a revoked or expired occupational license. If you have already been arrested with driving while license invalid we can also aggressively defend you against those charges.

We wish you a successful and prosperous New Year and we are here to help you get your driver’s license issues handled once and for all.  Don’t wait any longer, setup your free personalized consultation today. Drop us a line, give us a call, or book an appointment online

 




Stepped Up DWI Enforcement for the Holiday Season

Houston DWI LawyerJust as in past years citizens should expect to see more officer’s out during this year’s holiday season specifically targeting intoxicated drivers. There will be a concerted effort by different police agencies to specifically target drivers who are suspected of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence.

Statewide stepped up enforcement efforts where announced by The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) yesterday for essentially the remaining portion of this year. [Press Release] Efforts by the DPS last year seem to have been frutiful as they made nearly 1,500 arrests during the 2014 holiday season in part to their stepped up efforts during the holiday season last year. [Press Release]

Stepped up enforcement efforts can also have potentially negative effects because officer’s tend to be more inclined to presume intoxication because (more…)




Houston City Council Approves HPD Body Cams

HPD Body CameraIn a follow up to a previous post, Houston City Council last week approved the purchasing of body camera’s for roughly 4,000 Houston Police Officers.  This is a big win for the citizens of Houston; body cameras create accountability for police officers when interacting with citizens.  At the same time they can also protect the officer against allegations by citizens – this is a win-win for both officers and citizens.

More importantly, it’s not just making the purchase of the cameras, the content and more importantly the enforcement of the department’s body camera policies will be  crucial for them to be successful in the field. (more…)




Possible life in prison for marijuana brownies? Are Texas drug laws too harsh?

A Round Rock, Texas man has been charged with a first Marijuana Brownies – Matthew Gallagher Houston Drug Lawyerdegree felony for allegedly making and selling marijuana brownies and cookies. Marijuana-Brownies-300x225
If convicted on that first degree felony charge he will be facing a possible punishment range of 5 years to life in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system – the same punishment range a first degree murder charge in Texas carries.

According to KEYE-TV a man recently accused of murder in the same county was recently sentenced to 20 years after being convicted of murder. There is a huge difference between making and selling some marijuana brownies and cookies, and committing a  murder, yet in Texas they can carry the same penalty range unfortunately.

The mistake this Round Rock man made was using what is known as “hash oil” in the brownies and cookies in (more…)




White Collar Crime Penalties

The possible penalties for white collar crime  in Houston strikes fear in those who have been arrested on these charges. That is because a majority of people charged with these types of offenses have never been arrested or seen the inside of a courtroom before. The first thing that anyone in this situation needs to do is protect their rights by hiring a Houston criminal defense attorney.

White collar crime penalties encompass more than just criminal punishments. In some cases, the government or the victims of the illegal act will file civil lawsuits against the accused. However, a criminal lawyer can help the accused address all of these issues.

What Is a White Collar Crime?

A white collar crime is a non-violent offense that the (more…)




Is Jury Nullification Affecting Texas Marijuana Possession Laws?

Laws concerning marijuana use and possession have been evolving rapidly in many U.S. states. Medical marijuana is legal in several states now, and Colorado recently made it legal to use marijuana for recreational purposes. Texas is one state that has not budged an inch on the matter, but that could be changing soon. The Lone Star State has some of the toughest marijuana laws in the U.S., but a few state legislators and several others are seeking to change that.

Texas’s Tough Marijuana Laws

Just as many states have relaxed or even eliminated many laws concerning the use of marijuana, Texas continues to throw the book at people for (more…)




How Domestic Violence Affects Children

Domestic violence is not a comfortable condition for anybody even slightly involved in the situation, and children are not immune from this impact. Many of these effects occur relatively quickly after the domestic violence has occurred, while others are seen years down the line.

Since children tend to imitate what they see, oftentimes they will learn that violence is acceptable and part of a normal relationship and will become abusive in their own relationships with others. These relationships can include those that occur while he or she is still young as well as when they are an adult.

Some of the behavioral disturbances that can occur in children who witness this violence include aggression towards or withdrawal from others, low self-esteem and an increased level of anxiety.

Later in life, somebody who has witnessed these conditions during childhood is more likely to (more…)




Justin Bieber & DWI Law in Texas

Justin Bieber’s freedom to drive would be in serious jeopardy in the Great state of Texas if he’d been arrested for drag racing and driving under the influence like he was in Florida. Matthew Gallagher,
Attorney at Law, supports the The State of Texas’ has a ZERO TOLERANCE LAW policy for minors and alcohol; this means drivers younger than 21 years old can’t operate motor vehicles with ANY amount of alcohol or drugs in their systems. Period. Texas takes this seriously.

Justin Bieber – performance star power and all – could be facing a License suspension not to exceed 2 years and up to a $500 fine. He would have to attend an Alcohol Education Program for at least 12 hours with an additional 180 days of license suspension if he didn’t complete the Alcohol Education program.

Per Texas Department Motor Vehicles, minors could potentially get slapped with 90 days of license suspension if the judge were to award him community service in lieu of some of the license suspension time, which might bo good for him right about now. He would have to jet around town in his rented Lambourginis with an ignition interlock device – more on this later.

Judges tend to be hard on minors with hopes that it makes an impression. Remember, it’s not just YOUR life, it’s those in the car with you, those on the streets around you as well as the cars on the street with you. It just isn’t worth it.

If you are a minor like Mr. Bieber, give Matthew Gallagher – a call. We’ll talk through what WILL happen, what NEEDS to happen, and start making plans for your future.




HPD outfits officers with body cameras in a new pilot program

Last week the Houston Police Department announced that on December 9, 2013 the department launched a pilot program that outfitted 100 officers with body cameras.   Each camera costs $2,500 and HPD-officer-sleeve-300x188
has the ability to record both audio and video.HPD

There are many benefits to any officer wearing a body camera to all parties involved in a police encounter.  Although there are differing opinions as to who benefits more the officer or the citizen, the citizen ultimately has the most to gain by there use.  When encounters are electronically recorded there becomes less of a question as to what really happened and limits the possibility of fabrication as to all parties involved.

The Houston police department should be applauded for giving this program a trial run and will hopefully implement body cameras across the department after the trial period is concluded.  If body cameras are deployed department wide that implementation should be in addition to the dash cameras already in place and not a replacement for them.

If you or someone you know has been arrested or charged with a criminal offense in Texas you should immediately contact Attorney Matthew Gallagher.  He can be reached by phone at (713) 893-4350 or by e-mail at [email protected].




Lt. Governor Dewhurst orders Senate to review intoxication manslaughter punishment

Last week Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst issued a directive to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice to study sentencing in intoxication manslaughter cases.

Lt. Dewhurst notes that he has a personal interest in intoxication manslaughter cases, but this is also likely in direct response to the widely publicized case of a Texas teenager who recently killed four people in an accident in which he was intoxicated who received probation.

As the law currently stands the trial court judge or jury has complete discretion (within the relevant penalty range) to determine the punishment of someone facing intoxication manslaughter charges. Probation is option available to the judge or jury under most circumstances. It should not be the legislature’s job to second guess trial court’s decisions or to establish mandatory minimums irregardless of the underlying circumstances of each case that the trial court is in the best position to know.

You can read the entire story here.

If you or someone you know has been arrested or charged with an intoxication related offense you should immediately contact Attorney Matthew Gallagher.  He can be reached by phone at (713) 893-4350 or by e-mail at [email protected].