Challenging Family Violence Allegations In Texas: What To Do When You’re Accused And How To Fight Back

From Prosecutor To Defender: What Drew Me To Criminal Defense Law

For nearly a decade, I served as a prosecutor, first in Bexar County, San Antonio, and then for over six years in Tarrant County, Fort Worth. During that time, I handled countless cases, from misdemeanors and DWIs to high-stakes felonies such as aggravated assault, robbery, sexual assault, and even murder. Each case was different, and that’s a major aspect of what drew me in. The challenge, the nuance, and the reality that no two situations are ever the same were absolutely thrilling for me.

But over time, I began to notice something that didn’t sit right. Two prosecutors could look at the exact same set of facts and come to wildly different conclusions. One might push for probation, while another would demand prison time. The difference? Often, it had less to do with the law and more to do with their personal interpretation of justice. That inconsistency is what led me to criminal defense.

I saw the power prosecutors wield and the consequences of using that power without accountability. I also saw how police reports could be flawed, how evidence could be stretched or misinterpreted, and how life-altering decisions were sometimes made with too little scrutiny. I realized that good people, people with families, careers, and futures, were getting swept up in a system that doesn’t always reward fairness.

As a Board-Certified Criminal Law Defense Attorney, a distinction earned by less than 1% of Texas attorneys, I now use my insider knowledge to protect the rights of those who are accused. I know how prosecutors think, how police operate, and how judges make decisions. And this gives me a significant edge, allowing me to evaluate whether an offer is truly fair, whether evidence should be challenged, and whether a case should even be in court to begin with.

Hard Lessons From The Front Lines

Early in my career, I handled hundreds of family violence cases. What I saw then still shapes how I defend my clients today. In case after case, alleged victims would come forward after the fact and say they wanted to take back their original statements. They’d admit they lied to the police. Or they’d say the officers pressured them into saying something they didn’t mean.

Sometimes, it was clear the allegations were false. Other times, the truth was murky. But the pattern was unmistakable: people were being arrested, charged, and prosecuted, sometimes with no physical evidence and no way to defend themselves except their word against another’s.

In some cases, false allegations were made out of revenge. In others, they were used as leverage in a family law dispute, such as a divorce or custody battle. And while some prosecutors approached these cases with care, others were focused only on conviction rates. Dismissing wasn’t in their vocabulary.