Law Office of Efrain Sain PLLC

12/31/2020

“No Way Out - COVID Behind Bars”

The Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice has done a terrible job with COVID in the prisons. That includes protecting the workers and the inmates. They are way underfunded. It seems like they have always been so.

This is a short powerful video of COVID in our Texas prison system, the largest in the country. The issue is one I have to deal with, as my clients who end up going to prison will have to deal with it. For awhile, as a response to COVID, TDC was not taking any new prisoners from the county jails. However, they are now.

I remember one first-time offender/client, who appeared could have problems with COVID due to his weight, had gotten pneumonia while waiting to plea. I got him quite a few extensions but he finally had to go to court and plea to 6 years prison time. He had recovered, relapsed, and then recovered from pneumonia but he still did not look too healthy on the day of the plea. I tried one last request to the judge in open court but he, understandably, said no, since there had already been so many continuances. I hope he will be OK.

I searched through the list, at the end of the video, of the inmates who had died from COVID. I did not see any former clients on the list. Again, one can see the racial disparity of the effect of COVID as one sees the African-American jail guards and prisoners profiled and the list of Hispanic names in the people who have died.

Prisons are prime incubators for disease, as social distancing and basic contagion protections are largely impossible behind bars. An investigation by WFAA a...

02/22/2019

This is a short TED talk by Lindsay Malloy, a developmental psychology professor and researcher, on why and how teenagers are more susceptible to false confessions. Good presentation.

I deal with these kinds of situations and clients. A person who is 17 is considered an adult under Texas' criminal law. As Ms. Malloy points out, that is incongruent with the fact that they are not considered mature enough under other parts of the law. A teenager's mind is still developing. The issues she talks about are true not only for confessions but for young people, in general.

I will get a 17 or 18-year-old year who has never been in trouble until they get arrested for a high-level crime, like aggravated robbery. Under those circumstances, most district attorneys will not offer probation, although the suspect is so young and has never been arrested. Many times, we have to go to a jury and show them that this is a young person worth saving. Sending such a person to prison for 10 or 15 years will only create another life-long criminal.

Why do juveniles falsely confess to crimes? What makes them more vulnerable than adults to this shocking, counterintuitive phenomenon? Through the lens of Brendan Dassey's interrogation and confession (as featured in Netflix's "Making a Murderer" documentary), developmental psychology professor and....

11/11/2018

I should post more on my law firm page to engage others. I forget to do that. However, here is some of what has been going on at our firm in the last several weeks. While these are results we have received for clients recently, we have been working most of these cases for a much longer period of time to get these results. One of the DWI’s is a 2015 case (it took a long time for them to get the right dash-cam video). On the other hand, the last case was just 2 months old as we convinced the State to dismiss the case soon after it was filed.

1. We have 2 DWI’s that are being dismissed (or changed) so the clients can plead to obstruction of highway charges. One is in Dallas, set for trial next week and another, in Denton is set for trial the following week. A DWI conviction triggers surcharges up to $6000 over 3 years from DPS. Changing a DWI charge to Obstruction allows one to avoid the surcharge and also to do deferred probation. The deferred disposition avoids a conviction. When we set a case for a jury trial AND get ready for trial, it forces the State to also prepare to trial. Many times, they will then see that their case is not a strong enough case to try or they may find that they will have other difficulties, such as getting a crucial witness.

2. In a juvenile case, our kid, who was on probation, was getting it revoked because the State said he committed aggravated assault against his mother. This is a very serious charge. We got the state to abandon that claim and continue his probation. His mother is an addict, unstable, and lost custody of him to his grandmother several years ago. The mother lied about the assault. His grandmother and aunt were very appreciative when our client got to go home after being in detention for a couple of months.

3. A defendant, due to his criminal history, including attempted murder, was facing a 1st degree family assault charge. He was facing up to life in prison. I was the third attorney on his case, appointed after the case had been set for jury trial. I discovered that the original prior assault family violence conviction was not, in fact, family violence. A clerk had not noticed that the judge had scratched out such language from the order. Thus, the plea was erroneously entered. Subsequently, when his probation was revoked, no one looked at the original judgment and he was judged to have been guilty of family violence. As a result, all subsequent entries in any criminal records showed there was a finding of family violence on his original case. Without an original finding of family violence, one could not enhance his misdemeanor charge. Like a house of cards, his 1st degree charge fell apart. Instead of facing up to life in prison he was now facing up to a year in the county jail. The DA did the right thing and gave him time served for a misdemeanor assault. He had been in jail for a year already on this case.

4. In this next case, my client was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She has given me permission to talk about the case and I may post more at another time. Her ex claimed that she threatened him with a knife and attacked him with her hands. The reality is he tried to have s*x with her and she fought him off. He spoke some English while she speaks no English. I find, frequently, that if there is an English speaking complainant and a non-English speaking person with a different version of the facts, the non-English speaking person gets arrested. In addition, he had visible injuries from her fighting him off while her injuries were not visible to the police.

Fortunately, I was able to get her phone and find a trove of text messages from the evening of the arrest. Since they broke up, about a month before, she was wanting her truck back and he was resisting. Further, for almost an hour he continued to text her if she was going to comply (have s*x) to him like a woman should. He was in the living room and she was locked in the bedroom with her kids. When she walked out to confront him he attacked her, trying to r**e her. She fought him off and then went to the truck to get the insurance so he would not have that if he got the truck. That is when he called the police.

We gave a packet with all copies of the text messages and affidavits to the DA. At the last minute, he decided to not present the case to the grand jury but to send it to misdemeanor. I told my client, who was in jail, we no longer had to worry about getting 20 years prison time but she was still facing up to a year in jail as a misdemeanor. I told her she would probably get time served and be able to get out of jail but then she would have a conviction for something she did not do. I advised that we set it for trial right away. A trial may be a longer wait in jail but it would be worth it to fight it. She had been in jail for 2 months and wanted to get out to be with her 3 young kids again.

This is a corrosive effect of people detained in jail. They will take deals that they would never contemplate if they were free. I convinced her to let me start with the trial tactic. Last Monday, three days after I told the misdemeanor DA we wanted a trial right away, the State dismissed all charges.

08/02/2017

Most officers are good honest people but they are human and in any section of humanity one will find those who are dishonest. The problem is that the consequences can be so much greater for an individual when it is a cop who is dishonest. This instance of trying to frame innocent people goes beyond basic dishonesty, though.

The cases relied on testimony from officers seen in a video that appeared to show one of them planting evidence at a crime scene.

04/27/2017

Yesterday was Professional Administrative Assistant's Day. Unfortunately, I was in Tarrant County and Denton County courts all day and did not get to post my appreciation for my great assistants. They are the ones that make the office run and help me in every way to fight for my clients.

I feel very fortunate to have Karen and Genoveva working with me. They are great with the clients, care about their work and the outcomes of the cases. They are both very fluent in Spanish.

It is a real pleasure to work with them every day.

04/17/2017

Last week we went to trial on a Denton DWI case that had the following circumstances:

1. The client had blown a .157, double the legal limit,
2. The police were behind her and video recorded as she did not take the turn in the turn only lane but drove straight and plowed over the curb, busting 2 tires and a wheel, and
3. She did not do well on the sobriety tests.

You might wonder, why one would take such a crazy case to trial? We did it to get a lighter sentence than we felt we could get from the DA's office. Prosecutors and judges generally have a limited range of options in a DWI case, partly because they do not want to be perceived as being soft on DWI's by the electorate.

On the other hand, a jury can and will look at the particular facts of the defendant in front of them; such as the fact a person has never been arrested before, the fact he or she was cooperative with the police, the great cost the person has already paid (mentally, physically, psychologically and financially) from dealing with the arrest and court case. The punishment a sympathetic jury can give a remorseful first-time offender can be surprising.

However, we never got to the punishment phase in this trial because the jury could not agree that our client was guilty. We had one juror who agreed with us that there was reasonable doubt about 1) the breath machine, and 2) the reasons for my client's performance on the sobriety tests at 4am after a big jarring accident. This juror could see that my client had just moved to the area and was lost because she was not familiar with the city, not because of alcohol.

So what happens? The trial is reset. However, in many cases, the defense now has more negotiating power and more time to resolve the case to the client's satisfaction.

I applaud my client, who was willing to take this to trial. When one sets a case to plea, generally only one thing happens: the plea. When one sets a case for trial, a lot of things can happen and, usually, only one of them is bad, i.e., a guilty verdict. But that conviction, on a DWI, would have happened anyway on a plea. Since a first DWI is a conviction and cannot be resolved with deferred adjudication, why not go to trial in that situation?

03/06/2017

Jury deliberations should not remain private if evidence emerges that the discussions were affected by racial or ethnic bias, the justices ruled.

02/13/2017

I keep seeing that people are visiting my law firm page and that I am supposed to add content. Well, here is an update from us for the last 3 weeks, i.e., good things that have happened for our clients in that time frame.

1. A young man who was charged with s*xual assault was no-billed by the grand jury in Tarrant County after we gave them a GJ packet. My investigator went above and beyond by finding an important witness, driving to AK to get his statement and driving back in one day so we could include that in the packet. The DNA results also further clouded the State's case. The no bill means my client is no longer facing the charge.

2. We got a Not Guilty on a Dallas DWI where my client had an accident on the tollroad, had a BAC (2 hours after the arrest) of .98, and had ma*****na on him.

3. Denton County dismissed a DWI without requiring my client to plead to another charge. I felt we had a very strong case, but one never knows what a jury will do. Quite simply, it pays to be ready for trial.

4. My first candidate for the Veteran's Program in Denton is progressing through the application process. This relatively new program for veterans charged in Denton County appears to be a very good option. My client is a veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope he benefits from the program. He deserves it.

5. My first client is being accepted into the new Drug Court program in Denton. The criminalization of a disease, addiction, has been a weakness in our criminal justice system. I am hopeful for my client. She is actually getting the help she needs instead of just taking a bed in the prison system. Warehousing human beings comes at great cost to Texas and our people.

6. The State finally offered to reduce a weak child abuse case to injury to a child. Why would anyone take such an offer if they are innocent? The level of beyond a reasonable doubt in these cases is much lower. A jury can be too easily influenced by a child, even in the face of doubts of the child's veracity. The risk of going to trial is very high.

There are other great things that have happened in our clients' cases in the last 3 weeks but these quickly came to mind. We are always busy fighting for our clients. It is sometimes good for us, here at our law office, to stop, take a breath and see what we were able to accomplish in the last week or so.

All praise to God.

11/28/2016

Here are 2 of my most recent reviews on avvo.com. The difference in clients is quite striking. The latest one, from yesterday, is from someone who made a mistake in high school and had a full scholarship to college. He comes back, 9 years later, to thank me. A pleasant surprise. I presume that he is now a professional in a good job.

"Great Lawyer

My senior year of high school in 2007 I got charged with theft 50 but under 500 dollars. I had a full ride scholarship and could not afford to lose it. Efrain Sain was the lawyer I hired and he did a phenomenal job. He got my case dismissed and expunged. I am very grateful for his service and would surely recommend him to a friend. Thank you again Efrain Sain 9 years later."

The second review is from someone who has a long misdemeanor and juvenile record. He was declared indigent and I was appointed to his case in Denton county. He had a tough upbringing and communicates in very short sentences. As is obvious from his review, he does not have good writing skills. But I love every word in his review, whether it is spelled correctly or not. He was angry about the case, for good reason. He is lacking in social skills. I was worried that, during the plea, the judge might get on his case because he tends to look down and not directly at someone when in conversation. Yes ma'am or yes, your honor, were not phrases that would easily fall from his tongue. One can also tell, from his review, that he knows the lingo and has been around the criminal justice system.

"Best court appointed lawyer ever!!!!!

I had a cs charge pg under 1 over 4..which is a 3rd degree felony ..he actually watched my arrest video seen things that wasnt right ... and he got me a 1244b yea a 1244b i heard of it before but never taught i would get one..that means knocks a felony down to a misdeameter.....so i do not Have a felony on my record......i thank him cause he accutly worked on my case even tho he was my court appointed lawyer..so thanks"

Both of these reviews are very rewarding. It can be a tough job sometimes but it is always worth it.

04/17/2016

Our client, a 21 year old young man, who is deaf, was charged with s*xual assault of a 14 year old girl, who is also hearing impaired.

We had already worked quickly to get a bond set so he could get out of Lew Sterrett as soon as possible. He takes seizure medicine and did not have that medication available to him, at first, while in jail. He was having violent seizures and no one at the jail knew sign language to communicate. The DA was understanding and worked quickly to get the PC affidavit to hurry the process.

When we did get the PC affidavit, the DA and I realized that the girl had told several markedly different stories to different people about what happened the afternoon of the alleged s*x assault. These different versions even involved different assailants Our client steadfastly maintained his innocence.

Last week, the grand jury no billed our client. That means they decided that there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case, i.e., they refused to indict him.

The family was ecstatic. I was ecstatic. This is a family of little economic means. I think they had to borrow money to bond their son out. Fighting these s*x assault cases is expensive. I am glad that they were not going to have to face those financial issues to keep their innocent son from receiving a lengthy prison sentence.

He was set to go back to the School for the Deaf in Austin when he was arrested. He already had a high school diploma but he was to take the course load to help prepare him to be self-sufficient. Unfortunately, because of the timing of this charge, he will have to wait until the next year for that opportunity.

So many of our victories are bittersweet because, even if the case is won or dismissed, the client has already paid such a high price in all areas of his or her life due to being arrested.

04/17/2016

A client came to us who was in her 40's and in the 6th year of 2 concurrent 10-year deferred probation sentences for 2 first-degree charges relating to drugs. She was charged with violating her probation because she allegedly assaulted her teenage daughter. She was now facing up to life in prison for this violation.

Her daughter had come to live with her several months before because her daughter was too much to handle for her ex-husband (the girl's father.)

We were able to convince the DA that the assault charge was bogus. The police even withdrew the charge. Our client and her daughter have started family counseling and also counseling for the daughter.

Last Tuesday, the DA and probation department withdrew the probation violation charge. Such a simple act of withdrawing the revocation cleared the very real possibility of our client having to go to prison for a significant period of time (years), although she had been a model probationer. She had previously paid all her fees and costs and completed all her classes, including intensive rehab conditions. Yet, this new allegation had put her freedom in danger

It was very rewarding to see our client smiling, no, beaming all that morning as we were finishing up the details in court.