http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php en bill@billmangelaw.com Copyright 2009 2009-06-26T22:39:51-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/what_the_police_are_not_telling_you/ What the cops aren’t telling you is that you have a choice.  They don’t mention that you have the freedom to choose whether to do the field sobriety tests.  What they do is tell you in a “command voice” (that’s what they call it in the Police Academy) to “come over here and stand with your feet together and your hands at your sides.” And before you know it, they are administering field sobriety tests.  They don’t tell you in plain English that you are free to refuse to give a breath or blood sample.  They don’t tell you that for a first DWI arrest, the only consequence you get for refusing to blow, instead of blowing, is that if your license is suspended it will only be suspended for three additional months than it otherwise would have been if you had blown and the result were .08 or higher.  2009-06-26T22:39:51-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/austin_office_space_rent_lease_virtual_office_near_travis_county_courthouse/ If you are looking to find virtual office space, or you want to lease exclusive office space at 600 W. 13th street, then look no further.  This office space is perfect for any lawyer who needs to cut his costs and expects to go to the courthouse frequently.  Likewise, any lobbyist who needs an inexpensive office from which he can go to the Capitol will find this an excellent match.  Please click on this photo link to see the offices and the floorplan.  This office arrangement is very flexible and can be made to suit your needs.  It can be an executive suites arrangement or an exclusive office.  Either way, you would have the benefit of: (1) a bilingual receptionist who will answer your phones, take messages, and greet your clients; 2009-03-31T22:50:18-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/drivers_license_suspension_victory/ I had an ALR hearing this week, and as I usually do, after it was over I called my client to give him my prediction of the outcome.  “Start getting your insurance card copied and get a copy of your driving record, because I don’t think we won this battle.” My client knew the odds (DPS does, after all, win about 75% of the time) and accepted my prediction.  To my surprise, the Administrative Law Judge ruled in my client’s favor.  I wasn’t surprised because I thought my client was intoxicated.  I don’t – and never have – thought that.  I was surprised because the Department’s burden of proof in a breath test refusal case is so darn low.  2009-03-27T22:55:14-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/how_do_the_fired_us_attorneys_relate_to_the_first_refused_blood_draw_warran/ How Does the Story About the Fired US Attorneys Relate to the First Refused Blood Draw Warrant in Austin, Texas? Here is how the stories are related.  The reported story isn’t the most interesting story.  When President George W. Bush was first elected, it was his right and privilege to nominate lawyers to become United States Attorneys for the various districts in the United States.  The firing of seven U.S. Attorneys for political reasons came later.  It led to an investigation into how such matters were handled.  Skip Davis, a colleague of mine, pointed out once that the real story isn’t that Alberto Gonzales’ Justice Department canned 7 republicans who weren’t republican enough, it was that the rest were passing muster in the eyes of their political monitors.  2009-03-23T22:13:54-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/austin_law_office_space_available_3_blocks_from_travis_county_courthouse/ Here is some exciting news: I am moving my office to 600 W. 13th Street, at the corner of W. 13th and Nueces.  I will move in on February 28, 2009.  If you are a client, please don’t send any more mail to the Northland Address.  My phone, fax, and e-mail addresses all remain the same. If you are interested in leasing space from me, here are some details about renting at 600 W. 13th street.  First, click on this photo link to see the office.  A bilingual receptionist will: (1) answer your phones; (2) take messages; and (3) greet your clients only.  The cost of her services to you is included in your rent.  Cable service will be through RoadRunner.  That will be available to you through a data line hard-wired to your office.  The cost of internet is included in your rent.  A phone system will be in place so that the receptionist can transfer your calls from her desk to yours.  2009-02-24T14:09:15-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/there_are_two_sides_to_every_story/ There Are Two Sides To Every Story This is what happens when policemen take the word of a bouncer and won’t listen to witnesses. Here is the long story short: the police walk up and see my client on top of a bouncer, punching him in the face.  Now, of course the police have to stop the fight.  That’s their job.  But it is also the police’s job to listen to people who know something about what happened before they arrived.  This particular time, they didn’t.  Here is what the police wrote in their Probable Cause Affidavit.  They saw a fight.  They stopped it.  They talked to the bouncer who gave his side.  Now for the rest of the story.  The bouncers started it.  They had a good old time laughing about how they beat the dickens out of MC.  2008-03-28T20:50:30-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/it_is_so_easy_to_accuse_and_convict_when/ It Is SO Easy To Accuse, And Convict, When ... It is so easy to accuse.  Every 3rd grader who had some classmate tell lies about him knows this.  It is especially easy to accuse when you are a lying cop.  The American Statesman reported on March 19, 2008 that James Learmonth, a fired Austin Police Department officer lied in his report to bolster his accusation that a citizen was in possession of drugs and drug paraphenalia.  And it is so easy to convict, when you sit on a jury and choose to believe a lying cop because you think that “no cop would risk his career over this.” Because that possession of drug paraphenalia charge is usually just a Class C Misdemeanor (the same level as a parking ticket).  What did James Learmonth have to gain by lying in his report?  Why in the world would he do that?  If your answer is “I don’t know,” I beg you to think about it some more.  If you still have no answer, talk about it with your friends and family.  2008-03-19T21:41:47-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/austin_criminal_defense_attorney_blogs_get_through_traffic_stop_without_get/ How To Get Through A Traffic Stop Without Getting Shot With A Taser. First let me explain why I offer this blog as a public service announcement.  The Austin American Statesman reported on September 30, 2007 that Austin Police Department Corporal Thomas O’Connor tased driver Eugene Snelling within 45 seconds of ordering him out of his car.  A Taser delivers a shock of up to 50,000 volts.  The device is intended to render a person unable to attack another (or defend himself) and is meant to be an alternative to deadly force.  Surprisingly, Cpl. O’Connor’s immediate supervisor and internal affairs investigators exonerated him of wrongfully using his Taser.  2007-10-07T16:17:20-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/10_commandments_on_what_to_do_on_the_roadside_to_avoid_a_dwi_conviction/ 10 Commandments On What To Do On The Roadside To Avoid A DWI Conviction. If you are stopped by a police officer … 1. Hand over your driver’s license and proof of insurance once you’ve been asked for them. 2. Politely tell the officer that you do not want to answer any questions.  3. Tell the officer that you want to leave.  If you are not allowed to leave, tell the officer that you want to speak to an attorney immediately.  4. If the officer tells you to get out of your vehicle, get out.  5. If the officer tells you to perform some roadside maneuvers, DON’T DO THEM. 6. Do not take a preliminary breath test.  Do not submit to an examination by a Drug Recognition Expert.  2007-10-06T16:15:06-06:00 http://www.billmangelaw.com/index.php/weblog/this_is_why_i_warn_clients_who_call_me_from_the_jail/ This is why I warn clients who call me from the jail: “don’t say anything you don’t want recorded and used against you.” There was a capital murder case in Williamson County I handled once.  The prosecutor gave me a set of CDs that contained recordings of my client talking about her case, what she did, and about me.  “Don’t worry,” the prosecutor said.  “Your client likes you and says you work hard.” Now, there was nothing illegal or unethical about the jail recording those conversations.  There are signs in the jail saying that the calls are subject to being recorded.  Now comes a very different story from Hunt County in which the jail not only recorded the conversation between a client and his lawyer, but then turned that recording over to the prosecutor.  Here is a link to the Dallas Morning News Story.  2007-09-12T17:51:23-06:00