2023 Videos

45 videos published in 2023 by Board Certified Houston criminal defense attorneys and former prosecutors.

• Houston Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon Lawyer

  Video: A Board Certified Houston unlawful carrying of a weapon lawyer explains Penal Code Chapter 46, the plain view exception, and the Kelly v. State case.

• Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon Charges in Houston, Texas

  Brian Foley, managing partner at Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC, breaks down the two subsections that most often lead to Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon (UCW) charges in Texas.

• Can you get a theft from Wal-Mart case dismissed?

  Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys explain whether a theft-from-Walmart case can be dismissed, and the strategies — challenging intent, analyzing surveillance footage, and mitigation — used to get there.

• Finding the Best Criminal Lawyer in Houston

  Board Certified criminal defense attorney Brian Foley discusses how to find the best criminal lawyer in Houston for your case.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 3.02 — Criminal Actions

  Brian Foley explains Art. 3.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure — a criminal action is prosecuted by the State of Texas against the accused, and why the victim is not a party to the case.

• Texas Penal Code 8.01 — Insanity Defense

  Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys explain Texas Penal Code Section 8.01, the insanity defense — an affirmative defense available when a severe mental disease or defect meant the accused did not know their conduct was wrong.

• Texas Penal Code § 8.06 — Entrapment

  Video: A Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Penal Code Section 8.06, the entrapment defense, the inducement requirement, and Hernandez v. State.

• Will I Lose My Real Estate License Because of a DWI or Other Criminal Charge?

  Video: A Houston criminal defense attorney explains how a DWI or other criminal charge can affect a Texas Real Estate Commission license and how to protect it.

• Texas Penal Code § 7.21 — Corporations, Associations, LLCs

  Video: A Houston criminal attorney explains Texas Penal Code Section 7.21, the definitions governing criminal responsibility for corporations, associations, and LLCs.

• Texas Penal Code 7.22 — Corporate Criminal Law

  Brian Foley explains Texas Penal Code 7.22 — when corporations, associations, LLCs, and other business entities can be held criminally responsible for offenses committed by their agents.

• Texas Penal Code 7.23 — Corporate Criminal Responsibility

  Brian Foley explains Texas Penal Code Section 7.23 — how an individual is criminally responsible for conduct performed in the name of or on behalf of a corporation, association, LLC, or other business entity.

• Texas Penal Code § 7.24 — Defense to Corporate Criminal Law

  Video: A Houston criminal attorney explains Texas Penal Code Section 7.24, the due diligence affirmative defense for corporations, associations, and LLCs.

• Texas Penal Code § 6.04 — Causation: Conduct and Results

  Video: A Houston criminal attorney explains Texas Penal Code Section 6.04, causation, the 'but for' standard, and concurrent causes.

• Texas Penal Code 7.01 — Parties to Offenses

  Brian Foley explains Texas Penal Code Sec. 7.01, Parties to Offenses — how someone can be criminally responsible for another's conduct, and how Texas abolished the distinction between principals and accomplices.

• Texas Penal Code 7.03 — Defenses Excluded

  Brian Foley explains Texas Penal Code Sec. 7.03 — the defenses that are excluded when an actor's criminal responsibility is based on the conduct of another.

• Texas Penal Code § 7.02 — Criminal Responsibility for Conduct of Another

  Video: A Houston attorney explains Texas Penal Code Section 7.02, the law of parties, and criminal responsibility for the conduct of another.

• Texas Penal Code § 8.04 — Intoxication as a Defense

  Video: A Houston criminal attorney explains Texas Penal Code Section 8.04, why voluntary intoxication is not a defense, and how temporary insanity can mitigate a penalty.

• Texas Penal Code § 8.05 — The Defense of Duress

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains the duress defense under Texas Penal Code § 8.05 — when being threatened with imminent death or serious bodily injury excuses criminal conduct.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 3.01 — Definitions

  Board Certified criminal law attorney Brian Foley explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 3.01, why legal definitions matter, and the canons of construction courts use to interpret the code.

• Texas Penal Code § 8.03 — Mistake of Law

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Penal Code § 8.03 — why 'I didn't know it was illegal' is not a defense, and the narrow exception for reliance on an official statement of the law.

• Navigating Legal Challenges in Houston, Texas

  Board Certified criminal law attorney Brian Foley explains the role of a Houston criminal defense attorney, why you need one, and how Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys PLLC can help.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.30 — Reports for Certain Assaultive or Terroristic Offenses

  Board Certified criminal law attorney Brian Foley explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.30 — the reporting requirements and victim information rights for certain assaultive and terroristic offenses.

• Best DWI Lawyer in Houston, Texas — Questions

  Video: Brian Foley answers the ten best questions to ask a DWI lawyer in Houston, Texas — penalties, experience, strategies, trial vs. plea, fees, and board certification.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.28 — Misused Identity

  Board Certified criminal law attorney Brian Foley explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.28 — law enforcement's duties, and a victim's rights to a DPS declaration and expunction, when an arrested person misuses someone's identity.

• Assault Family Member Arrests in Texas — Frequently Asked Questions

  Video: Former Domestic Violence Unit prosecutor Brian Foley answers the most common questions after an assault family member arrest in Texas — bond conditions, no-contact orders, 'dropping charges,' gun rights, and expunction.

• DWI Open Container — Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys

  Video: Houston DWI attorneys explain the open container enhancement under Texas Penal Code § 49.04(c) — the six-day minimum jail term, what counts as 'open,' and how the enhancement is challenged.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.273 — Release of a Child by Law Enforcement

  Board Certified criminal law attorney Brian Foley explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.273 and the checks an officer must complete before releasing a child taken into custody under Family Code Section 262.104.

• Cross Examining a Police Officer on Field Sobriety Tests

  Board Certified Houston DWI attorney Brian Foley explains how to cross-examine a police officer on the standardized field sobriety tests — HGN, Walk and Turn, and One Leg Stand.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.271 — Investigation of Reports of Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation

  Board Certified criminal law attorney Brian Foley explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.271 — law enforcement's duty to investigate reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of residents in care facilities.

• Houston DWI Attorney — Beating a Blood Test DWI

  Video: A Board Certified Houston DWI attorney explains how to challenge a DWI blood test in court, the disconnect theory, and the penalties in Texas.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 2.25

  Brian Foley explains Art. 2.25 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure — the requirement that judges report certain convicted individuals to federal immigration authorities — and the duty to advise noncitizen clients under Padilla v. Kentucky.

• Texas Penal Code § 6.03 — Definitions of Culpable Mental States

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains the four culpable mental states in Texas Penal Code § 6.03 — intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, and with criminal negligence — and why they decide the outcome of a case.

• Illegal Traffic Stops for DWI in Houston, Texas

  A Board Certified Houston criminal defense attorney explains illegal traffic stops in DWI cases through Whren v. U.S., Klare v. State, and State v. Hardin.

• Texas Penal Code § 6.02 — Requirement of Culpability

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Penal Code § 6.02 — the rule that every offense requires a culpable mental state unless the statute plainly dispenses with one.

• Theft Charges in Houston, Texas — a Former Prosecutor Explains

  Video: Former prosecutor and Board Certified criminal defense attorney Brian Foley explains theft charges in Houston, Texas.

• Top Questions About Assault Family Member in Houston, Texas

  Video: Former Domestic Violence Unit prosecutor answers the top questions about assault family member charges in Houston — what counts as bodily injury, who is a 'family member,' enhancement to a felony, and how cases get dismissed.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 1.051 — Right to Representation by Counsel

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 1.051 — your right to counsel, when it attaches, appointed counsel for the indigent, and how a waiver of counsel must be made.

• Is a Criminal Lawyer and Criminal Defense Lawyer the Same?

  A Board Certified Houston criminal defense attorney answers whether a criminal lawyer and a criminal defense lawyer are the same, and explains why Board Certification matters.

• Texas Penal Code Chapter 3 — Multiple Prosecutions

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Penal Code Chapter 3 — what a 'criminal episode' is, joinder of offenses in one trial, concurrent vs. consecutive sentences, and severance.

• Texas Penal Code Chapter 2 — Burden of Proof

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Penal Code Chapter 2 — proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the presumption of innocence, exceptions, defenses, affirmative defenses, and statutory presumptions.

• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 1.04–1.05 — Due Course of Law & Rights of the Accused

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney explains Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 1.04 (due course of law) and 1.05 (the rights of the accused — speedy public trial, confrontation, counsel, and the right not to testify).

• Texas Penal Code Chapter 1 — General Provisions

  Video: Houston criminal defense attorney walks through Texas Penal Code Chapter 1 — the objectives of the Code, territorial jurisdiction, definitions, and how the rest of the Penal Code is built on these sections.

• State v. Hardin — Failure to Maintain a Single Lane

  Video: Houston DWI attorney breaks down State v. Hardin, the 2022 Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision holding that briefly touching the lane line is not 'failure to maintain a single lane' — and why it matters for DWI stops.

• Houston Criminal Defense Attorney — DWI Blood Tests

  Video: Board Certified Houston DWI attorney Brian Foley explains DWI blood test cases — how blood is drawn and analyzed, chain of custody, retrograde extrapolation, and the defenses that beat a high blood result.

• Houston Criminal Defense Attorney — Assault and Assault Family Member

  Video: Former Domestic Violence Unit prosecutor Brian Foley explains the difference between assault and assault family member in Texas — elements, punishment ranges, protective orders, and the defenses that work.