Short Marketing Tip: Earn Trust by Focusing

Originally published by Cordell Parvin.

A few years ago, Seth Godin posted a blog titled: “The Law of the Little Shovel.” It is short and well worth reading. He begins by saying:

If you want to dig a big hole, you need to stay in one place.

That means it is important to focus on one group, or one event to earn trust.

What are the main points for lawyers?

1. If you are marketing to everyone, you are marketing to no one. Identify your target market and become visible and credible to that market.
2. Focus attention on existing clients before going after new ones.

The post Short Marketing Tip: Earn Trust by Focusing appeared first on Cordell Parvin Blog.

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Proving Intent in Criminal Cases: A Prosecutor’s Burden

Originally published by The Martinez Law Firm.

A person’s mental state makes up the largest part of how criminal trials transpire. Prosecutors have the burden that an individual’s state of mind was fully aware of the actions about to take place, had planned those actions in advance, and knew what the consequences would be. This is called “criminal intent,” or
mens rea.

How Mens Rea Works

To illustrate the difference, let us take, for example, involuntary manslaughter versus murder. What these two offense have in common is that one person caused the death of another person. However, the very definition of involuntary manslaughter means that the individual acted recklessly or negligent, such as improperly handling a motor vehicle, and killed another.

Murder, on the other hand, is “the unlawful killing of another with malice aforethought.” The keywords here are “malice aforethought,” which means that the person committing the crime had every intention of carrying out the killing before setting out to do the deed.

The Role of the Prosecutor

A prosecutor must prove that “beyond any reasonable doubt,” that the accused person had planned a deliberate attempt to commit a crime. Without proving this, prosecutors will not be able to secure a criminal conviction for a wrongdoing.

Most cases are not this cut and dry, though. There may be instances where the accused person mistakenly believed something else, which caused him or her to commit the crime. Here is one example: you are driving, and you believe that the other driver is aware of your presence and motions for you to make your maneuver. You mistakenly misinterpret the signal, and the cars collide, killing the other driver. Because the circumstances of the situation appeared accidental, you may have a defense available to you.

Bear in mind, however, that such defenses would not be valid in civil cases, such as if the other party chooses to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover the damages.

Accused? Call a Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer!

If you are facing criminal charges of any sort, know that there is hope. There may be a valid defense to help preserve your reputation and prevent you from accumulating a criminal record. Hiring a knowledgeable defense team is the first step. A good defender knows how to seek out advice from leading experts and makes thorough investigations—that is precisely what we do at The Martinez Law Firm.

Start your case today and call to schedule your free consultation with us today!

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Texas Attorney General Played Dubious Role In Hunt Estate Battle

Originally published by Gerry W. Beyer.

Ken Paxton, the embattled Texas Attorney General with a recent felony indictment, is now facing questions about his conduct while serving as a guardian ad litem. The issue arises from the estate of Tanner Hunt, son of billionaire Ray Hunt,…

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An Ambiguous Agreement is Still an Agreement

Originally published by Carrington Coleman.

In re Lauriette
Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-15-00518-CV (August 20, 2015)
Justices Francis, Myers (Opinion), and Schenck

Kelli Hinson

An agreement is enforceable even if the parties can’t agree on what it means. The Dallas Court of Appeals granted mandamus to require the trial court to determine “the parties’ true intentions.”

In this divorce proceeding, Sharon and Samy Lauriette entered into a mediated settlement agreement, which provided in part that Samy would pay Sharon $7,500 per month for 72 months and that the payments would terminate only if, at some point, Samy became the Sole Managing Conservator of their child under the agreement. The agreement also provided the formal divorce decree would be prepared “consistently with the Texas Family Law Practice Manual form.”

During the drafting of the divorce decree, a dispute arose between the parties as to whether the decree should state the monthly payments would terminate upon Sharon’s death—a detail that has substantial tax consequences for both parties. Sharon argued they had agreed the payments would terminate only upon the one identified condition, while Samy argued the Texas Family Law Practice Manual form they had agreed to use dictated the payments should cease upon Sharon’s death. After a hearing, the trial court determined the settlement agreement contained an ambiguity that could not be resolved and vacated the agreement.

The Dallas Court of Appeals conditionally granted Sharon’s petition for mandamus, finding the trial court abused its discretion in vacating the agreement. The Court held an alleged ambiguity is not a valid ground to set aside the agreement. Instead, following the Texas Supreme Court’s guidance in Milner v. Milner, it concluded the trial court had a duty “to resolve ambiguities in the agreement by determining the parties’ true intentions.” The Court also concluded mandamus was appropriate to correct this abuse of discretion because forcing the parties to litigate a dispute that had already been settled would deprive the parties of the benefits of a mediated settlement agreement.

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Texans coach avoids controversy about reducing preseason schedule

Originally published by John McClain.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien doesn’t try to hide his enthusiasm for joint practices. He prefers two each preseason, but he won’t get involved in any controversy over reducing the preseason schedule for additional practice sessions with opponents.

In light of season-ending injuries to players like Green Bay receiver Jordy Nelson, O’Brien stresses that health is the most important thing for a team.

O’Brien has held out defensive end J.J. Watt, nose tackle Vince Wilfork and cornerback Johnathan Joseph from the preseason games against San Francisco and Denver.

“The health of your team is the most important thing you can think about,” O’Brien said after practice Tuesday. “The games don’t count. I’m a strong proponent of joint practices, especially on the road.”

College teams don’t need preseason games to be ready for the season. Why do NFL teams considering players stay in such good shape? O’Brien was asked if he favors a reduction in preseason games in favor of more joint practices.

“I’m not getting into that,” he said. “I do like joint practices, even though ours at Washington didn’t end well (because of fights). I especially like them when we can go on the road, stay in a hotel (like road games) and prepare for the practices.

“I like the competitiveness of joint practices.”

O’Brien coached two years at Penn State before coming to the Texans, so he’s been on both sides of the issue.

“Those are two different discussions,” he said. “There are college guys and professional guys.

“Times have changed. I was impressed with the level of their conditioning, at least 98 percent of them, when they came back.”

O’Brien used Wilfork as an example.

“He’s (33) years old and in his 12^th year,” O’Brien said. “Passed the conditioning for a man that’s clearly not under 300 pounds.”

 

 

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Bankruptcy schedule = judicial estoppel of FCA claim

Originally published by David Coale.

Johnny Long, a former bankruptcy debtor, sought to bring FCA claims against his former employer.  The defendant successfully obtained dismissal on the ground of judicial estoppel  because the claim was not listed on Long’s bankruptcy schedules.  After reminding that judicial estoppel, as a flexible and equitable doctrine, does not automatically compel dismissal in such a situation, the Fifth Circuit affirmed.  The elements are that “(1) the party against whom judicial estoppel is sought has asserted a legal position which is plainly inconsistent with a prior position, (2) a court accepted the prior position, and (3) the party did not act inadvertently.”  The specific issue was the third element, and whether Long had a motivation to conceal.  The Court noted three advantageous features the payment terms in Long’s Chapter 13 plan, which disclosure could have endangered — and further noted that after judicial estoppel was raised, Long sought to reopen his case so “he may pay interest to his creditors” if he recovered on his FCA claim.  United States ex rel Long v. GSD&M Idea City, LLC, No. 14-10999 (Aug. 13, 2015).

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Ben Trachtenberg, "No, You ‘Stand Up': Why Prosecutors Should Stop Hiding Behind Grand Juries"

Originally published by John Steele.

Article. Abstract: This Essay argues that prosecutors should not allow grand juries to consider indicting defendants whom the prosecutors themselves believe should not be indicted. To illustrate the problems with this practice, this Essay uses the example of St. Louis…

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