Houston Criminal Defense Lawyers
Harris County Grand Jury Defense Attorney
If you are charged with a felony
offense, you might be able to get your case dismissed at the grand jury
level within one to two months of being arrested. Because State
Prosecutors rush to get their felony cases indicted by the grand jury
within one to two weeks after an arrest, it is important to retain an
experienced Houston criminal lawyer as soon as you are arrested or know
you are under investigation. Your attorney can then sign onto your case
in court and request the State to hold the case from the grand jury in
order to prepare a defense.
Proven Record of Felony Case Dismissals
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer James
Sullivan has a proven record (see below) in getting felony cases
dismissed (no billed) by the Grand Jury. When a person is accused of a
felony offense, it may be possible for his defense attorney to win his
case at the Grand Jury level. Depending on the facts and circumstances
of the case, this may or may not be a viable option, so it is important
to talk to an experienced criminal defense attorney. With this
strategy, the accused in effect has two chances to win his case before a
jury:
(1) Grand Jury and, if indicted,
(2) Jury Trial
If the Grand Jury votes that probable
cause (i.e. a probability) does not exist to believe that the accused
committed the offense, the case is no billed (dismissed). If the Grand
Jury votes that probable cause does exist, then the case is true billed
(indicted). If a case is indicted, then the accused may have to have a
Jury Trial in order to get the best result. A Jury Trial is more
expensive and involves much more time and legal work.
Once an accused is indicted, this option
is no longer available. Therefore, time is of the essence in retaining
an experienced defense attorney. Most criminal defense attorneys are
not familiar with this process, so it is important to hire an attorney
with a proven record.
Since 1994, Houston
Criminal Lawyer James Sullivan has worked to get dozens of felony cases
no billed by the Grand Jury. These felony cases include Sexual Assault of a Child, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, Aggravated Assault, Assault Family Member by Impeding Breathing (choking), Forgery, Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle, Injury to a Child and Burglary of a Habitation.
The graph below lists 34 of the 50+ felony cases that were either no
billed by the Grand Jury or dismissed by the State based upon the
defense packet since November 2008.
CRIMINAL OFFENSE | RESULT | CASE # |
---|---|---|
ALL CASES DISMISSED BY GRAND JURY OR THE STATE WERE BASED ON DEFENSE PACKETS | ||
ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER enhanced with a prior Assault FM case (3° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of injuring his 15 year old daughter. She was being rebellious and he spanked her with a belt to correct her) | 1459744 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of trying to run her baby's daddy over with her Jeep and with their young son on the front passenger seat and in view of two nearby independent witnesses. In reality, he threw his bicycle in front of her Jeep to cause her to come to a screeching halt and then cursed at her. After she drove off, he lied to the witnesses about what happened) | 1467006 |
INJURY TO A CHILD (3° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of causing bodily injury to his 10 year old nephew) | 1446872 |
SEXUAL ASSAULT (3° Felony) | CASE CLOSED BY THE STATE (16 year old juvenile client and 17 year old adult client were both accused of raping a 17 year old female friend. After reading the defense packet for the grand jury, the State chose to close the file without any charges being filed) | CASE NOT YET FILED |
ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING (3° Felony) IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY | DISMISSED BY THE STATE (Client accused of choking his wife during an argument. The State refused to present the case to the grand jury, dismissed the felony and refiled it as a misdemeanor) | 14-08-09346-CR |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client shot his brother in the side after his brother stabbed him in the arm. The client's brother was high on synthetic marihuana) | 1443039 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of shooting another guy's motorcycle twice while the guy was on it after the guy had broken the client's custom table) | 1431964 |
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY (1° Felony) IN HARRIS COUNTY | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of shooting a gun into the ceiling of a restaurant and robbing patrons of their cell phones) | 1419975 |
INJURY TO A CHILD (3° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, an officer in law enforcement, was accused of abusing his teenage daughter) | CASE NOT YET FILED |
SEXUAL ASSAULT (2° Felony) IN BRAZORIA COUNTY | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, an elected official, was accused of sexual assault by his girlfriend) | CASE NOT YET FILED |
INJURY TO A CHILD (3° Felony) IN MATAGORDA COUNTY | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of causing bodily injury to 10 year old son by striking him on his side) | CASE NOT YET FILED |
INDECENCY WITH A CHILD (2° Felony) IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of sexually abusing his 16 year old nephew) | CASE NOT YET FILED |
ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING (3° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument) | 1356656 |
INJURY TO A CHILD (1° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of breaking his infant son’s leg and 3 ribs. The hospital ER physician did not consider other medical disorders as a cause) | 1340646 |
ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING (3° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of choking his wife during an argument) | 1336650 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of intentionally trying to drive into and strike her girlfriend) | 1341002 |
EVADING BY MOTOR VEHICLE (3° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of evading police in her car when she drove about ½ mile after the officer switched on his strobe lights) | 1338389 |
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of having sex with 16 year old girl who falsely claimed she was 18) | 1332791 |
BURGLARY OF A HABITATION (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused breaking into home while homeowner was home, however client had credible alibi witnesses at the time of the alleged burglary) | 1321679 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of intentionally driving into and striking the new girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend) | 1302447 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of hitting man in head with beer bottle outside a bar; client claimed self-defense) | 1302814 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AGAINST PUBLIC SERVANT (1° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Police Officer shot at 4 unarmed teenagers in a truck and claimed that client pointed a gun at him) | 1291937 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of hitting other woman in head with metal pole) | 1281977 |
ASSAULT FAMILY VIOLENCE 2 nd OFFENDER (Felony Habitual) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY AFTER FACING 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON (Client accused of hitting wife multiple times after both had been drinking) | 1281428 |
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of consensual sex with underage female) | 1283460 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of injuring another man, using knuckles) | 1275771 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused of using a knife to threaten another man who the client accused of stealing his property from his apartment) | 1270564 |
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of consensual sex with underage female) | 1264919 |
FORGERY OF A FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT (3° FELONY) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of knowingly passing a counterfeit $100 bill at store) | 1252585 |
AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD (1° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of molesting his sister-in-law) | 1241754 |
AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD (1° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of molesting his sister-in-law) | 1241755 |
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of consensual sex with underage female) | 1231727 |
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY | 1203539 |
BURGLARY OF A HABITATION WITH INTENT TO COMMIT ASSAULT (1° Felony) | NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused of breaking into an apartment and attacking the occupants after a drug deal went bad) | 1182231 |
Attorney James Sullivan is an experienced Houston Criminal Defense Attorney serving Greater Houston and Texas since 1994. Contact James Sullivan and Associates at (281) 546-6428 to discuss your case.
James Sullivan attended the Trial
Lawyers College founded by Legendary lawyer Gerry Spence and was invited
to join The National Trial Lawyers organization. Sullivan has a proven
record of defending people from all walks of life, faiths and countries
in courts throughout Texas. Sullivan is also Board Certified in
Juvenile Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Contact James Sullivan & Associates for a free initial consultation at (281) 546-6428 about your felony charges in Harris County (Houston), Montgomery County (Conroe), Fort Bend County (Richmond),
Brazoria County (Angleton), Galveston County (Galveston), Matagorda
County (Bay City), Waller County (Hempstead), Washington County
(Brenham), Liberty County (Liberty), Chambers County (Anahuac),
Jefferson County (Beaumont) and throughout Texas.