Broden & Mickelsen Criminal Defense Law Firm Dallas

Many people hear that a crime is “aggravated” and wonder what that means. What distinguishes a robbery from an “aggravated” robbery, for example? Is one worse than the other? The short answer is that, yes, an aggravated crime is a more serious charge that carries more severe penalties upon conviction. Generally speaking, to be charged with an aggravated crime, a defendant must have done s...

Should a teenager be sentenced to life in prison? It’s a question that has resonated throughout the criminal justice system in recent years. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional. In 2016, the Court elaborated on its ruling by holding that its 2012 decision should apply retroactively....

Just a few years ago, the FBI admitted that serious flaws in investigatory practices used by its forensics unit led to nearly every examiner giving inaccurate testimony in almost every single trial over a 20-year span. According to the Washington Post, “…[O]verstated forensic matches…favored prosecutors in more than 95 percent of the 268 trials…” It’s terrifying to think that the nation’s...

Beginning September 1, 2017, Texas joins a handful of states that have enacted so-called “Blue Lives Matter” laws, which make attacks on law enforcement officials, including judges, a hate crime. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the legislation, known as H.B. 2908, into law in June 2017. The new law in Texas is actually an amendment to existing law that instructs a judge during a crimina...

The Bill Cosby sexual assault case has dominated headlines over the past year. The case is complicated, as it involves thorny questions about statutes of limitations and whether Cosby previously admitted or acknowledged that he engaged in some of the behavior the plaintiffs accuse him of. When the case ended in a mistrial in June 2017, many people had questions about what exactly that mea...

Everyone has heard the term “bail,” but do you really know what it means? In most jurisdictions in the country, when you’re arrested and charged with a crime, the court has the option to set bail. This is a specific amount of money you pay to the court to obtain your release from jail while you await the next step in your case — usually a court proceeding, such as a trial. Courts set the ...

Getting pulled over for drunk driving is a scary experience and a criminal offense with potentially serious consequences. But what if you’re pulled over with a minor in your car? DWI with a child in the car in Texas takes that already very serious criminal offense and ratchets it up considerably. Not only do you face enhanced penalties for having a minor passenger in your vehicle, but you c...

Stand your ground laws occasionally make headlines when a homeowner or property owner prevents an intruder from entering their home. Because laws vary from state to state, and even the names for these laws can be different depending on the jurisdiction, people sometimes wonder what rights they have when it comes to defending themselves and their property. About half the states in the U.S....

For many people, their worst nightmare is the idea of being locked up for a crime they didn’t commit. Sadly, wrongful convictions happen — and more often than you might think. In 2015, there were 149 exonerations in the United States. In 2014, there were 139. Furthermore, the average time in prison for exoneration individuals is 14 years. Studies shows that about 1 in 25 people on death row...

When you’re a criminal defendant, it’s normal to feel frightened about the outcome of your case. In a federal criminal appeal, however, the stakes are much higher. You’re asking the appellate court to overturn the lower court’s decision. It takes a skilled and experienced federal criminal appeal lawyer to convince the appeals court that the lower court’s decision was incorrect says Mick Mic...