Jay Karahan Law

06/22/2025

Still safe in Houston - head down, laying low, staying frosty.

04/12/2022

Here are some people we actually know, who have become refugees fleeing from Russian bombardment in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Please keep them in your prayers, and consider a contribution to this GoFundMe which we have organized for them. Thank you.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is very personal to me, it is far worse… Cynthia Doerr needs your support for Ukrainian friend and her family need your help!

03/03/2022

My friend Oleksandra and her family are struggling in Ukraine against the Russian invasion. I am raising more money to help her and her family and friends, Western Union is still transferring money which she needs to buy food for the neighborhood. Thank you for your consideration, I am Ukraine Strong!

My friend, Oleksandra, and her husband, young son, and their dog, cats,… Cynthia Doerr needs your support for Ukrainian friend and her family need your help!

06/10/2020

I just learned today that Texas’ highest criminal appeals court affirmed the judgment in my last significant case while serving as the presiding judge of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 8. This was a writ of habeas challenge of a DWI conviction in Court 8 alleging that a lab tech’s simple clerical error and her reassignment by her supervisor to fix it should have been disclosed by the State for impeachment purposes at trial. I ruled that under the facts of the case and current law disclosure would not have likely resulted in a different verdict and was therefore not required. The lower appellate court ruled that it should have been disclosed, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously agreed with my ruling apparently following my habeas findings of fact and conclusions of law in arriving at this decision.

05/07/2020

I am happy to report that new rules for Title IX university / college misconduct investigations and adjudications will soon provide accused students and educators a more level playing field. New Department of Education rules announced on May 6, 2020, become final on August 14, 2020.

Before this rule change Title IX investigations and hearings often favored the accuser while limiting the accused’s investigations, fact-finding and due process. Beginning August 14, 2020, schools and universities may not impede the accused’s investigations, and they must permit cross-examination by the accused’s advisor or attorney. Cross-examination, which was not permitted before the rule change, is essential to reveal bias, motive, flawed investigations, credibility and other perception issues. The rule change also now permits schools to choose to apply at hearings either the current “preponderance of the evidence” standard (when the allegation is confirmed by evidence that amounts to only the greater weight of the credibile evidence - basically only 50 percent plus a feather) or the higher, more stringent clear and convincing standard (when the allegation is confirmed by evidence that shows that the allegation is highly and substantially more probable to be true than not - and the decision maker has a firm belief or conviction in its factuality), a standard previously denied to the accused. We are hopeful that schools will wisely choose to apply this higher evidence standard, especially in cases involving s*xual misconduct allegations.

These new rules and procedures now make it even more important for those accused of Title IX misconduct in an educational setting, to employ counsel and independent investigators early in the process to gather facts, interview witnesses, investigate allegations and prepare for hearings where a meritorious defense can be convincingly presented.

Jay Karahan Law PLLC has extensive experience in successfully defending many of these claims under the old rules, and with these new rules in place the accused’s chances for success are now enhanced. Please contact our office immediately after you or your family member receives any Title IX investigation notice so that we can start working on your case today.

11/04/2019

This is why is it very important to hire experienced knowledgeable counsel when charged with DWI or alcohol-related traffic crime. We take a deep look at the forensic evidence - including breath and blood testing machines - in these cases. JayKarahanLaw.com

The Dräger Alcotest 9510 in Coppell. Alcohol breath tests — a bedrock of the criminal justice system — are often unreliable, a New York Times investigation found.

04/15/2019

The time for public comment for the new proposed Title IX regulations has ended. The US Department of Education received over 100,000 comments and will review them before new campus conduct regulations and administrative procedures are applied at our schools. The changes were offered to increase protection of both accusers and the accused in campus misconduct cases, including greater due process for the accused.

Attorneys can be very helpful in guiding students through these challenging, administrative proceedings beginning with the student’s first notice of a Title IX investigation. I now have some experience with Title IX cases.

Here’s what we know so far about the rule’s future and how universities will be expected to comply.

03/26/2019

https://jaykarahanlaw.com/title-ix-infractions-and-their-repercussions/

Jay Karahan Law PLLC is currently working on a Title IX case with another prominent Houston attorney involving a university’s recent expulsion of a college student accused of misconduct. Title IX is part of the Education Act of 1972 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of s*x in any federall...

03/14/2019

Excellent essay - SCOTUS should never be allowed to become the White House’s satellite office with “court-packing.” Keep our judiciary independent!

Ideas, like clothes, come in and out of fashion, and we seem to be living in a moment of ideological retro chic. President Trump has brought back isolationism and industrial policy; the left has hauled socialism out of the attic and is busily trying it on to see how it fits.

03/07/2019

I favor passage of House Bill 63 for the very good reasons stated by the article’s two Baker Institute writers. In my letter of support to the Jurisprudence Committee, I also recommended amending the bill to require driver’s license suspension for under-age (ages 17-20) possession of ma*****na just as there is driver’s license suspension for under-age possession of alcohol, which is consistent with Texas’ public policy discouraging those under age 21 from possessing or using intoxicants.

No matter where you stand on this bill, please contact your legislators today to let them know your position on it.

Since 1989, possession of fewer than two ounces of ma*****na has been aClass B misdemeanor in Texas, with possible penalties of 180 days in state jail, a $2,000 fine and, most damaging, a criminal record.

03/07/2019

The State Bar of Texas has APPROVED my new website jaykarahanlaw.com!