Patrick J. Mclain's Answers

What are the procedures for a cilivian to sue an active soldier?

Hire an attorney with expertise in the field of law covered by your complaint. Normally, you would sue the soldier in the county in which the offending conduct occurred. If the military defendant lives elsewhere, your attorney ought to know how to serve that person. Very briefly, the court documents are sent to the legal office on the base where the military defendant lives and works, and there is a process server there who ensures delivery. This happens all the time, on military bases all...

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Can a military-prosecuted DUI be removed from your record in Texas?

No. Convictions cannot be expunged or "sealed" in either Texas or in the military system. Furthermore, expunctions in Texas are for case dispositions other than conviction. If you think that you were erroneously convicted in the military justice system, then you should do a petition to the Board for the Correction of Naval Records. Be aware that petitions filed more than three years after disposition of the case will ordinarily be regarded as untimely and may, therefore, be denied.

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Under TX law can i sue in civil court the person that stole my debit card

Yes. You need a civil attorney, not a criminal defense attorney, so re-submit your inquiry.

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Appeal federal sentence

If you have not yet hired an attorney to advise you on this matter, I would advise you to seek an attorney who does federal habeas corpus work. You can use those terms to do a search on the web; I am sure that there are several who do federal habeas corpus work in Austin. Pay for a consultation, bring all court documents to the attorney that you have available to you. The consultation should tell you whether or not it is a wise expenditure of your funds to hire that attorney to seek relief...

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Criminal

As you have been told, there is no such thing as "misdemeanor injury to a child". The only way that your question would make sense under the Texas Penal Code (TPC) is that your attorney arranged it such that: 1) you were charged with negligent injury of a child or reckless bodily, "non-serious" bodily injury of a child under section 22.04 of the TPC and 2) you were punished in the range of punishment for a class A misdemeanor (confinement up to a year and a fine up to $4,000) under...

Criminal Defense, dazed and confused

Though the District Attorney's office can lawfully pursue this prosecution if the assistant district attorney assigned to the case believes that the evidence gives rise to probable cause that you committed the crime charged, it is unlikely that the prosecution will go forward if your former boyfriend freely and voluntarily signs an unequivocal affidavit of non-prosecution. You are entitled to the assignment of a public defender or court appointed attorney only if you establish that with...

Food Stamp Fraud

First, get an attorney; apply for a court appointed attorney if you are truly indigent. Stop the excuses and get this done. Second, Mr. Kase is correct; it is often possible to resolve these cases with probation and restitution, sometimes without even having to have a conviction on your record. Ask your attorney about deferred adjudication. Get moving, I suspect you have been dithering too much and need to take action now. Semper Fi, Patrick McLain

Welfare fraud

First, at this point, don't call your attorney anymore. Take the day off, go to his office, and sit there until he meets with you. I say that as an attorney. Resolve the problem, or get a new attorney. I hope you have paid him because if you have not, that may very well be your issue. Once you hire him and pay for his services, the attorney will look at the case file in the District Attorney's office, and figure out what the charge is. He can then tell you the range of possible...

Selling alcohol to minor

If you are accused of this crime, hire an attorney. There is no other acceptable answer. If you are being philosophical and want to think of ways of reducing the incidence of alchol sales to minor, the answer is also simple. Lower the legal age. There is no other realistic answer. It offends me that a young man or woman can be 18, 19, or 20 years old, fight and die for his or her country, but would be considered a criminal if he or she consumes a beer in public. Alcohol is not the...

Pornography

I would be very concerned if I was you. First, in twenty years of dealing with these case, I do not think that there is such a thing as safe surfing for porn. My experience with porn sites as an attorney tells me that those sites are run by unscrupulous folks (not surprisingly) who will seek ways of slipping in child porn to attract those who may potentially be susceptible to wanting to pay for such images. Second, once you are caught with child porn, it can become a matter of guilty until...