Southlake Criminal Defense Attorneys: Have You Been Charged With a Crime in Southlake, TX?

We Protect Your Reputation and Your Rights

Have you been contacted by a Southlake police detective about a criminal investigator or recently arrested for a crime arising out of Southlake, Texas? If so, you are facing a serious situation that demands the attention of an experienced and aggressive team of criminal defense lawyers that will protect your rights, your freedom, and your good reputation.

Are you a first-time offender looking at a DWI arrest or other misdemeanor of felony charge? It is an overwhelming experience to be arrested by a Southlake police officer for a crime you did not commit. What do you do next? After you bond out of jail, what should you expect? Do you go to court in Southlake, Texas or will you be required to attend a Tarrant County court? These are the questions we will help you answer in this article.

If you are reading this and you or a loved one is facing a Southlake criminal charge, you need to hire a criminal defense attorney and educate yourself on the criminal justice system so that you are treated fairly. Let us start with a few frequent questions you need answers for.

Will My Southlake Criminal Case Be In Southlake, Texas Or In Tarrant County, Texas?

This is a common question we receive from Southlake citizens facing a crime. The answer depends heavily on whether you are facing a Class C misdemeanor charge or a more serious Misdemeanor or Felony crime.

If you are facing a Class C Misdemeanor crime, you will be attending court at the Southlake Municipal Court. Common Class C Misdemeanor crimes include public intoxication, Assault by Contact, Minor in Possession, Minor in Consumption, Disorderly Conduct, and other traffic-based misdemeanor offenses. Under Texas criminal law, all offenses classified as a Class C Misdemeanor will have jurisdiction in a local municipal court. As a result, if you were arrested for a public intoxication or other Class C misdemeanor in Southlake, you will be required to attend court in Southlake Municipal Court.

However, if you were arrested for a Southlake DWI or shoplifting or other more serious misdemeanor or felony charge, you will be attending court at the Tarrant County courthouse. More specifically, any crime involving the possibility of jail time is required to be heard by a county criminal court (misdemeanor crimes) or criminal district court (felony crimes).

Do you need a criminal attorney for a Class C misdemeanor in Southlake, Texas? It depends. If you have been charged with a crime that could affect your criminal record and limit your potential for future employment opportunities or career advancement, it becomes critical that you work with a criminal attorney that has experience and knowledge of how to deal with the Southlake Municipal Court and court prosecutors.

Generally speaking, there are three ways you can resolve a Southlake misdemeanor case that will allow you to be eligible to clear your criminal record:

  1. Dismissal for lack of evidence – hiring a criminal attorney will give you the advantage of obtaining all of the evidence associated with your case to analyze whether the Southlake prosecutor can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. If your lawyer is able to determine that there are factual or legal concerns, your case may be negotiated for a dismissal prior to charge.

 

  1. Conditional Dismissal – if you are a first-time offender, many times an experienced criminal defense lawyer can prepare a mitigation packet showing that you are not only a first-time offender but also someone who is low risk to re-offend. Couple this with possible community service and/or classes that address those allegations, your criminal lawyer may be able to persuade the prosecutor to dismiss your charges conditioned upon the completion of these items

 

  1. Not Guilty Verdict – you have a Constitutional right to a jury trial. If you find that the prosecutor on your case is unreasonable and unwilling to look work toward a reasonable resolution, your criminal defense attorney can demand a jury trial. At the trial, the prosecutor will be required to prove every element of the crime by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. All material witnesses will be required to be present for trial. If a witness fails to appear or they fail to remember the facts or provide inconsistent statements, you could receive a not guilty verdict from a jury. Remember, a jury verdict must be unanimous. It takes all of the jurors to convict you of a crime, but it only takes one juror to stop a jury verdict of guilt!

What Should You Do If A Southlake Detective Has Called You About A Criminal Investigation?

If you have been contacted by a Southlake police officer or detective and learned that you are the subject of a criminal investigation, it is critical that you know your legal rights and act carefully in making your decision whether to cooperate with the Southlake Police Department.

Southlake police officers are trained to reach out to a suspect and invite them to tell their side of the story. Many times, they use the good cop approach by saying they only want to hear your side of the story to clear things up and then they will dispose of the criminal case. Beware! That is rarely the truth. In fact, if you make the decision to meet with the detective, you will never be given an opportunity to tell your side of the story. Instead, the detective will interrogate you and confront you with information the detective believes incriminates you.

What if you are innocent? Shouldn’t you show up and prove your innocence to the Southlake police department? NO!! Think about it! How can you possibly prove your innocence if the detective will not allow you to tell your side of the story? The biggest risk of meeting with a detective when you are innocent is that you will be confronted with so-called evidence that has been interpreted or manipulated to make you appear to be guilty. What if you do not have a good explanation for something that is not true? What if you are shocked by what you are hearing coming from the Southlake detective and are at a loss for words? In this situation, the detective is writing down everything you are saying, and all of the responses could be interpreted as evidence of guilt by the police department.

However, if you choose to hire a Southlake criminal lawyer, you will have exercised both your 6th Amendment right to a lawyer and your 5th Amendment right to remain silent. Everything your criminal attorney says to the Southlake police department is hearsay and cannot be used against you. However, everything you say to the detective can and will be used against you in court! Even if you do not have the resources to hire a criminal defense attorney to assist you, always invoke your 5th Amendment right to remain silent – you do not have answer the detective’s questions!

The Hampton Law Firm Stands Ready To Fight Your Southlake Criminal Charges

If you have been arrested for a misdemeanor or felony charge out of Southlake, you need an experienced and aggressive team of criminal defense attorneys with a proven track record of success dealing with Southlake criminal case. You do not want an inexperienced lawyer defending you that is not familiar with the courts of the Southlake Municipal Court and the Tarrant County criminal courts.

At The Hampton Law Firm, our team of Former Tarrant County Prosecutors have successfully defended almost every type of criminal charge under Texas law. Our team of criminal attorneys with over 85 years of criminal law experience stand ready to defend you from the government. We have a wide variety of experience in a vast range of criminal charges, including:

It may be possible that you do not see your criminal charge listed above. If so, rest assured that our team of Southlake criminal attorneys have handled every type of Texas criminal offense and we stand ready to help. Call our office and we can put you in touch with one of our experienced criminal defense lawyers and they will explain your options and start preparing your legal defense.

The Best Criminal Defense Law Firm In Southlake – The Hampton Law Firm

If you are facing a criminal charge that can affect your freedom, your future, or your good name, it is important to understand that not all criminal defense attorneys will provide you a strong defense. Some lawyers have a bad reputation for taking someone’s money and forcing them into a plea deal at the first court setting. Even worse, we have heard horror stories of citizens hiring a criminal lawyer and never being able to review the evidence against them prior to trial or a plea setting in court.

The best way to maintain your freedom and protect your reputation in Southlake is to hire an experienced and aggressive Southlake criminal law firm that will put your interests first and protect your rights. Our team of former prosecutors promise to get your evidence from the government, review it, go over it with you and get your feedback and talk through a customized defense strategy to prepare you for success.

For example, the best Southlake criminal attorneys know that after thoroughly reviewing the evidence on a criminal case, you can formulate winning strategies for their clients. A few of the defense strategies we have used in the past include:

  • Miranda rights violations leading to confessions being thrown out in court
  • Violation of 4th Amendment rights – a failure by the Southlake police department to execute a legal search. As a result, the evidence obtained was thrown out in court, resulting a dismissal of criminal charges.
  • Illegal traffic stops – Southlake police department failing to establish reasonable suspicion with a traffic violation
  • Inadmissibility of evidence due to improper lab testing, chain of custody violations or improper collection or contamination of forensic evidence

As former prosecutors, the team of criminal defense attorneys at The Hampton Law Firm has established a comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system and a deep understanding of the processes and procedures of the Tarrant County District Attorneys’ Office and Southlake Municipal Prosecutors office. We put our knowledge and expertise to work for you to ensure no stone is left unturned with your criminal defense.

Our achievements include:

National Trial Lawyers

  • Top 100 Trial Lawyers (2014-2022)
  • Top 40 Under 40 (2014-2017)

Avvo

  • 10/10 Rating
  • Top Attorney DUI & DWI (2020-2022)
  • Top Attorney Criminal Defense (2020-2022)

Lead Counsel

  • Lead Counsel Rated (2021-2022)

Fort Worth City Magazine

  • Top Attorney in Fort Worth (2016-2021)