Posted on April 29, 2025 in Family Law

When child custody is at stake, anything that raises questions about a parent's behavior or judgment can become an issue — especially involvement in the criminal justice system. In Texas, family law courts are required to make decisions that prioritize the best interests of the child. That means criminal charges, whether pending or resulting in conviction, can impact your custody rights.

A Fredericksburg, Texas family law attorney who understands both child custody and criminal defense can provide essential guidance when these legal areas overlap.

What Happens to Your Custody Rights If You Are Charged With a Crime?

Being charged with a crime does not automatically mean you will lose custody or visitation rights. The court will look at the nature of the charge, your criminal history, and whether the alleged offense affects your ability to care for your child safely and responsibly.

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 Posted on April 14, 2025 in Criminal Defense

Drug crimes, such as drug possession, can carry hefty consequences in Texas, especially if you have an existing criminal record. If you are facing drug possession charges, a Llano, TX drug crimes attorney is your best available option for challenging the allegations and evidence against you. Your defense strategy will be the result of careful investigation into the details of your case, but some common defenses may suit your circumstances.

What Are Some Common Defenses Against Drug Possession Charges?

There are many ways to fight a drug possession charge. Some common and effective methods include:

• Illegal search and seizure: You have a constitutional right that protects you from unlawful search and seizure. If the police secured the evidence that led to your charges and did not have probable cause or a warrant, you can argue to suppress the evidence.

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 Posted on March 19, 2025 in Family Law

When parents who are not married raise a child, it typically takes a lot of effort for everyone to work together. If one parent violates the custody order, it can be challenging both emotionally and logistically for the other parent. If this happens to you, you should know that you have options available, including the possibility of taking legal action to have your custody order enforced. A qualified Llano, TX family lawyer can explain your rights and advise you on how you may want to proceed.

How Do Custody Orders Work in Texas?

In Texas, child custody is often referred to as conservatorship. A conservatorship order outlines each parent's rights and responsibilities, including parenting time schedules, decision-making authority, and child support obligations. If one parent violates the terms of a custody order, the other parent has legal options to enforce it.

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 Posted on March 05, 2025 in Criminal Defense

When facing criminal charges, people often try to claim they are innocent and did not do what they are accused of doing. However, sometimes, defendants admit that they committed the actions in question but do not deserve to be penalized. Since intent is a major component of a criminal conviction, if you committed a crime against your will, this could be grounds for getting charges dismissed or reduced. 

Duress can be a defense if you did something illegal under threat of harm. Proving duress can be challenging, and you need to demonstrate that you had no reasonable alternative but to commit the crime because of an immediate threat of serious injury or death to yourself or a loved one. If this is relevant to your case, speak with a qualified Texas criminal defense lawyer to understand your options.

Key Elements of Duress

To successfully claim duress as a defense, you need to demonstrate several things:

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 Posted on February 18, 2025 in Family Law

For unmarried parents who do not have full custody of their children, visitation can be crucial in maintaining their relationship. However, parents who are convicted of a crime might have limitations imposed on their time with their children. In some cases, the court can order supervised visitation, which allows the parent and child to spend time together but another adult must be present during the visit.

While it may feel like a burden not to be able to enjoy quality time with your child in private, some consider supervised visitation a beneficial compromise that still enables convicted parents to stay involved in their child’s life. To learn more about this, speak with a qualified Texas family law attorney.

When Does a Judge Order Supervised Visitation?

Under certain circumstances, a court will order supervised visitation. Some examples include:

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 Posted on February 03, 2025 in Criminal Defense

Scientific evidence has been critical for both securing convictions and exonerations for many years. However, it is not always reliable, properly preserved, or interpreted correctly and can therefore result in wrongful convictions. Texas is one of many states where questionable scientific evidence in criminal cases can be challenged in court. If you are facing charges and believe that faulty scientific evidence was used, speak with a knowledgeable Texas criminal defense lawyer who can explain your options.

What Makes Scientific Evidence Questionable?

In recent years, the reliability of some forensic methods has been questioned. Some of these methods include:

• Bite mark analysis: There have been increasing doubts about this technique’s credibility because it lacks sufficient scientific basis and can be quite subjective. Several wrongful convictions in Texas and elsewhere in the country have been linked to faulty bite mark comparisons.

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 Posted on January 20, 2025 in Family Law

Several matters that are addressed in the Texas legal system can be handled through litigation in the courts or through mediation. Many people who are trying to navigate divorce and child custody issues in particular find that mediation is a good option for them. However, how do you know if you can trust and rely on a mediator to remain impartial and truly help you and your spouse reach productive agreements that will serve your best interests?

In Texas, mediators typically complete training, education, and practical requirements set by the certifying organization before they can be assigned to a case.  At Law Office of Russ Alan Baker, PLLC, you have the benefit of working with a qualified Texas divorce lawyer who is also a certified advanced mediator and can draw on his extensive experience to explain why mediation may or may not be a good choice for your case.

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 Posted on January 06, 2025 in Criminal Defense

Thankfully, America is currently experiencing a period of awareness regarding mental health issues. Although it used to be a taboo subject in the past, mental health concerns are quite common throughout all parts of society.

This awareness has brought with it several benefits; people feel less shame about it than they used to in the past, there is access to various services and assistance programs, and mental health issues can even be used in criminal defense as mitigating factors that could impact sentencing. To learn more about whether your mental health issues might be helpful in your case, speak with an experienced Marble Falls, TX criminal defense lawyer.

How Is Mental Health Relevant in a Criminal Defense?

The term "mental illness" covers a wide variety of disorders and conditions that can affect someone in different ways. However, one common trait among most mental health issues is the ability to impact a person’s behavior. When that behavior leads to criminal charges, the mental diagnosis becomes relevant to the case.

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 Posted on December 26, 2024 in Family Law

Divorce can take a toll on families, especially when it comes to parenting schedules. In Texas, what is commonly referred to as child custody or visitation is officially called conservatorship, possession, and access. When parents get divorced, they are typically given a court-ordered schedule for when their children will spend time with each of them. 

The parenting schedule might make sense at the time the divorce is settled, but change happens all the time and what worked then might not work best for your family now. If you want to modify your parenting arrangement so you can have more time with your children, speak with a qualified Llano, TX family law attorney to review your options.

How Does a Standard Possession Order Work?

When parents in Texas get divorced, courts typically use a Standard Possession Order (SPO) as a starting point for working out a parenting time arrangement. The SPO outlines when each parent has time with the child, including during weekends and holidays. This guideline works for many families but it may not suit everyone. If you do not think you have enough time with your children, you can request a modification.

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 Posted on December 13, 2024 in Criminal Defense

People facing criminal charges in Texas who were victims of abuse in the past might be sentenced differently than others. While the extent of how this type of history can impact sentencing for criminal charges depends on several factors and can be calculated differently for each defendant, it is certainly a mitigating factor to be considered. However, there is no guarantee that an abuse history will automatically help you get a more lenient sentence. To learn more about how your personal background can impact sentencing, speak with a skilled Marble Falls, TX criminal defense lawyer.

How Do Mitigating Circumstances Affect Texas Sentencing?

Texas courts are authorized to review mitigating factors during a criminal case and decide whether they can be used to reduce the sentence. Some examples of mitigating factors that impact sentencing include:

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