A Royse City man recently plead guilty to stealing horses in Hunt County in 2009. With the guilty plea, indictments against two others suspected of stealing the horses were dropped.
In court in April, the man plead guilty to one count of theft of livestock. Under a plea deal arrangement, the man avoided the maximum sentence of two years in jail and instead was sentenced to five years of deferred adjudication probation. In addition, the arrangement included a $1,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.
If the man completes the five years of deferred adjudication, pays the fine, and completes the community service, he will be able to file a petition for non-disclosure and have the crime removed from his record.
To discuss the steps to take to file a petition for non-disclosure with an experienced attorney, contact the Dallas non-disclosure lawyers of The Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter at 214-651-1121 today.
Over the last year, expungement petitions have increased by more than 200 percent in California. Experts say that the increased interest in expungement has to do with the economy. ”The fact is that it is extremely tough today to find employment, and it becomes exponentially more difficult if you have any type of criminal record,” said one expungement attorney in the state.
There has been an increase in all areas of record clearing including criminal and juvenile expungement, arrest record sealing, certificates of rehabilitation, and probation termination.
In a competitive job market like today’s, having a clear criminal record could be the difference between getting the job and not. Contact the Dallas expungement attorneys of The Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter at 214-651-1121 to learn more about having criminal charges removed from your record.
Last year, a Dallas man was wrongfully accused of and arrested for robbery related to jewelry heists at Stonebriar Centre Mall and The Shops of Willow Bend. The man insisted that the police had found the wrong guy, but officers from an FBI SWAT team arrested him anyways. He spent three months in the Collin County Jail because he could not afford to pay his bond.
After a witness identified the man as the robbery suspect, he was transferred to the Dallas County jail and his bond was increased to $1 million. After another three months in jail, charges made against the man were dropped. In the process, the man lost his job, car, and apartment.
The man reports having difficulty finding a job because employers see the charges on his record. ”With that felony, even if its dismissed, as long as it’s showing on my record, they can’t hire me,” said the man. Fortunately, Dallas prosecutors finally decided to help him have his record expunged and the felony indictment will be cleared.
If you or someone you know has been wrongfully accused of a crime, experienced and compassionate legal representation can help you have the charges expunged from your record. Contact the Dallas expungement attorneys of The Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter at 214-651-1121 today.
Legislators and state officials recommend expungement as a good way to increase job offers and the workforce. ”There are some people who made mistakes when they were teenagers, paid their debt to society, but now they’re in their 30′s and 40′s and they’re still paying for it. They can’t get a job because of that misdemeanor on their record,” said a state representative from South Carolina.
Understanding the expungement and non-disclosure processes is the first step to avoiding consequences related to criminal charges and put you back on the path to employment. Expungement is a good option for individuals with a criminal charge still on their record, despite not being convicted or having the charges dropped. Non-disclosure is a process that allows individuals to have their record sealed after completing a probationary period for certain charges.
If you or someone you know has questions about non-disclosure or expungement, contact the Dallas non-disclosure attorneys of The Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter at 214-651-1121 to learn more about how we can help you.
This week, members of the Texas Senate passed a bill with a 30-0 vote to create written policies concerning criminal lineups in law enforcement agencies in Texas. Currently, only about 12 percent of police departments in the state have written policies on how to conduct a photo or live lineup.
Senator Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, created the bill in an attempt to combat Texas’ reputation for wrongful convictions.Texas has the highest number of convicts exonerated on DNA evidence in the country, with over 40 people being exonerated since 1994.
If the bill is also approved in the House of Representatives, officials at Sam Houston State University will work with police departments to determine the best policies concerning witness preparation before a lineup, documented witness statements, ensuring that a lineup administrator does not know which member of the lineup is the suspect, and how to work with non-English speaking witnesses, suspects or other members of the lineup.
If you have been wrongfully accused of a crime in Dallas and would like to meet with an attorney to learn more about expunction, contact the Dallas expungement lawyers of The Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter at 214-651-1121 today.
Currently, if a teen or child in Texas is caught sexting, or sending explicit photos in a text message, state laws call for the suspect to be treated in the same way as a sex offender. Minors suspected of sexting could legally be charged with a third-degree felony and be listed as a registered sex offender. In addition, with these severe charges, minors could face up to $10,000 in fines or spend 2 to 10 years in prison.
Senator Kirk Watson recently introduced a piece of legislation, Senate Bill 407, to counteract these extreme charges. The bill would make sexting a Class C misdemeanor for minors being charged with their first offense. Also, the bill would require the minor and a parent to attend an “anti-sexting” class. Furthermore, if a minor is not convicted of a second offense, the first charge would be expunged.
Contact the Dallas expungement attorneys of The Law Offices of Mark T. Lassiter at 214-651-1121 today, if you have questions about the expungement or non-disclosure process.
The Dallas police report that crime rates this month are much lower than those of a year ago in February 2010. For the first 6 weeks of 2011, crime rates in Dallas dropped by more than 15 percent. Furthermore, in 2010, Dallas police saw a 10 percent reduction in crime from 2009.
“Every category of major crime is down. Each of the seven patrol stations are all down in crime in double digits, with the south east division leading the way being down 20 percent,” said Police Chief David Brown.
Violent crimes in Dallas were reported to have fallen by 24 percent and property crimes by 14 percent. Motor vehicle theft decreased by 17.1 percent since the beginning of the year.
If you or someone you know has been accused of a crime in Dallas and need to have the charges expunged from your record, contact the Dallas expungement attorney, Mark T. Lassiter, at 214-651-1121 to learn more about expungement in Dallas.
According to the Innocence Project of Texas, Texas currently has the highest number of inmates exonerated on DNA evidence of any state. So far, at least 42 people have been exonerated after filing successful DNA appeals to their convictions. For this reason, State Senator Rodney Ellis of Houston is introducing new legislation to reform Texas’ criminal justice system.
The “Innocence Protection Package” was created by Ellis and will be introduced during Congress’ current session. The package would create four new bills that will fight for criminal justice and hopefully prevent future wrongful convictions. Recording interrogations of people charged with serious felonies, organizing the DNA appeals process, creating a uniform procedure for eyewitness identification and reorganizing the state’s indigent defense task force are issues that the package would address.
If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime and need help having these charges removed from your record, contact the Dallas expungement attorney, Mark T. Lassiter, at 214-651-1121 to set up an appointment today.
Last week, a Pennsylvania school administrator was found not guilty of charges of sexual assault and went trial to have the arrest and charges expunged from his record.
The school teacher, Ryan Thomas Monaghan, was recently accused by a student of molestation 10 years earlier when she was in Monaghan’s first grade class at East Vincent Elementary School. Witnesses testified that the girl’s story did not make sense and that Monaghan would not have been left alone with the girl.
The trial lasted for three days and the jury deliberated for 10 hours before coming to a decision. When Monaghan is granted expungement, all court documents and criminal records about the charges and trial will be destroyed. In addition, he will never have to report being arrested or the charges made against him.
Contact the Dallas expungement attorney, Mark T. Lassiter, at 214-651-1121 today if you or someone you know has been wrongly accused of committing and crime and wants to have the charges expunged from your record.
An innocent Dallas man accused of rape and robbery over 30 years ago recently had the charges and conviction expunged from his record. 51-year old Cornelius Dupree Jr. was released from jail after spending 30 years in prison.
Dupree is one of 265 people in the country who have been exonerated through the use of DNA evidence testing that was not available when the charges were made. Dupree’s conviction and 75 year jail sentence were reversed in a Dallas County courtroom yesterday.
Co-director of the Innocent Project Barry Scheck stated, “Misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions in the United States”. Currently, eyewitness misidentification takes place in 75 percent of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence. Officials believe that if DNA testing had been available at the time Dupree was convicted his case never would have gone to trial.
If you or a loved one has questions about having criminal charges expunged, contact the experienced Dallas expungement attorney, Mark T. Lassiter, at 214-651-1121 to learn more about your rights.
