Deadly Conduct Case Dismissed

TEXAS DEADLY CONDUCT LAWYER

We have a statute in Texas called "Deadly Conduct."

Sec. 22.05.  DEADLY CONDUCT.  (a)  A person commits an offense if he recklessly engages in conduct that places another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.

(b)  A person commits an offense if he knowingly discharges a firearm at or in the direction of:

(1)  one or more individuals;  or

(2)  a habitation, building, or vehicle and is reckless as to whether the habitation, building, or vehicle is occupied.

(c)  Recklessness and danger are presumed if the actor knowingly pointed a firearm at or in the direction of another whether or not the actor believed the firearm to be loaded.

(d)  For purposes of this section, "building," "habitation," and "vehicle" have the meanings assigned those terms by Section 30.01.

(e)  An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor.  An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the third degree.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.  Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

If you're acting a fool, but didn't actually hurt anyone, you might get a deadly conduct charge.  In my opinion, some deadly conduct shouldn't be illegal because there is no act that harms anyone or anything.

Although I do not have nearly as many trials under my belt as I would like, I consider myself a trial lawyer.  As a trial lawyer, it is my duty to know my case better than my opponent.  I need to out work my opponent. Moreover, I need to get extremely cozy with my case early on so that I can make a game plan for the entire case, and by that I mean:  What will I tell the prosecutor about the case? What will I tell the prosecutor about my client?  What will I tell the prosecutor about the complainant?  What will I tell the prosecutor about the witness?  What will I tell the prosecutor about the evidence?  

In this particular case, my client was charged with Deadly Conduct for allegedly waving a knife around in a threatening manner while making verbal threats.  One this particular day, she had delivered some groceries to an elderly lady who had trouble getting around.  As my client was leaving the old lady's apartment, she had seen her kids run off with some of the neighbor's kids.   The neighbor (the complainant) runs downstairs and starts yelling at my client.  My client allegedly took out her knife.  The complainant was sleeping with the old lady's husband.  The old lady's daughter lived upstairs with the neighbor.  Several witnesses say just about the exact same thing.  This was some Jerry Springer shit! 

The complainant called the cops.  The cops never found a knife.  All they found was pepper spray.

My client came to my office for a free consultation.  After doing the standard client interview, I had my client draw out a scene diagram.  Next, after my client left and made a down payment, I had her reenact exactly what happened, using the same space constraints as at the actual scene.  Next, I "visited" the scene via Google Maps and took screen shots of the scene. Finally, I spent a significant amount of time researching the background of each witness.  Lo and behold, each witness/complainant had multiple convictions for crimes of dishonesty, aka theft and fraud.

So now that I have all this information what do I do?  In this particular case, I thought it best to not show any of my cards.  Let's see what the prosecutor can come up with.  Will the knife show up? Will the witnesses make different statements to the state?  Should I speak to the complainant?  In this particular case, I chose not to speak to the complainant.  Why?  Because I have dealt with these types of girls before, and usually, they are only more motivated to lie, testify, and prosecute if you speak to them.

So, I show up to our third or fourth setting anticipating that we can resolve the case.  The prosecutor tells me she hasn't looked at my client's 4 month old file yet.  I ask to approach the judge to set the case for trial.  The judge says "give her a chance" and gives us a short two week reset; a reset that requires my client to be hauled back into court.

Guess what I see on top of the file as soon as a pick it up? MOTION TO DISMISS!

I read the RIP call, and apparently the prosecutor called the complaining witness, and the complaining witness said "Nah I ain't doing that shit!" and hung up in response to the prosecutor identifying herself.  There is a good chance I would have had the same attitude, but different response if I was the one that called.

I was very eager to take this case to trial in order to expose just how reckless the police and district attorney can be in charging a member of our community with a crime without conduct a half-decent investigation.  However, I know my clients would prefer a dismissal any day over the stress of trial.

That was one HAPPY CLIENT!

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