 If you've been accused of, have a warrant,
or are under investigation for:
 Call us to speak with an expert
HARRIS COUNTY FAMILY VIOLENCE DEFENSE ATTORNEY
CARL D. HAGGARD
The Haggard Law Firm JUSTICE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN
Carl Haggard's sterling reputation for integrity makes him one of Harris County’s most-respected criminal defense attorneys.
Clients rely on Carl Haggard’s expertise:
Former Harris County District Court Chief Prosecutor Nationally Certified Mediator-Arbitrator - Triple CertificationNationally-Known Author and Speaker on Civil Rights Washington, DC Speech-Maker on Constitutional Issues Licensed to Practice in the United States Supreme Court Honors Graduate from Law School - Cum Laude Former UH Adjunct Professor of Law Thousands of Cases and Trials Since 1973
 RESULTS ARE WHAT COUNT
Houston Domestic Violence and Family Assault Crimes Defense Attorney Carl Haggard is at the forefront of Harris County Criminal Defense Attorneys with a proven track record of winning results for clients charged with Domestic Violence, Assault on a Family Member, Violation of a Protective Order and related Family Offenses.
SAMPLE HARRIS COUNTY FAMILY VIOLENCE CASE VICTORIES*
 Case Synopses and Testimonials included with some of these cases; clients have given written permission for use of Testimonial.
Actual Dismissals only are listed, not “Dismissals” granted after Deferred Adjudication.
Dismissals and “Not Guilty” verdicts may be verified for accuracy using the listed case numbers through the County Clerk’s office except for those noted as expunged in civil actions filed by Mr. Haggard.
DID YOU KNOW...? An Affirmative Finding of Domestic Violence [As defined by Section 71.004 of the Texas Family Code]- i.e., if you plead GUILTY to a Family Assault charge, even if you take Deferred Adjudication and receive a subsequent "Dismissal" - renders you ineligible for a Non-Disclosure Order [sealing your record], whether Felony or Misdemeanor. The below cases are TRUE Dismissals and thus would be eligible for an Expunction, all other requirements being met.
FELONY ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1161036 - Leonard L.
DISMISSED WHILE ON FELONY PROBATION FOR
PRIOR FELONY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Leonard was on felony probation for domestic violence when was charged with his third family violence case. He and his wife got into an argument during which he accidentally injured her. Leonard had struggled for years with substance abuse and it was his intoxication at the time of this incident which led to the confrontation. All concerned felt he needed treatment for his underlying addictions; his wife had military insurance that would cover outpatient treatment. We further enlisted the aid of Leonard's pastor who agreed to serve as mentor during his outpatient program. Mr. Haggard was able to get the charges dismissed and his felony probation reinstated with some amendments to his conditions.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1669152 - Michael J..
DISMISSED Aug. 31, 2010
This case never should have been filed as a Family Assault since Mike and the Complainant were only friends; nevertheless she successfully lied about this and many other aspects of the case, such as that Mike pummeled her till she bled. Our several witnesses testified that Complainant had a severe alcohol and drug problem, that she was bi-polar and psychotic and had exhibited this type of malicious behavior towards others as well; this laid the foundation for our defense and the impeachment of her credibility . We also had fact witnesses who corroborated Mike's testimony that he never hit her. The incident involved a drunken rampage in Mike's house after they and friends had been at a bar at which Complainant had had way too many shots... Mike only tried to protect himself from injury when she flew at him and to protect his property, which she was zealously destroying, from damage while at the same time trying to eject her from the premises as delicately as possible under the circumstances. She reported injuries to police who took photos of her bloody arm, bleeding ears and swelling of her face and head. Mike refused to answer the door to police but later after a warrant was issued did give a sworn statement; unfortunately it was full of evasive replies and a lot of "I don't remembers". Nevertheless, we fought this case long and hard for a full five months refusing to give up and at last obtained our Dismissal. "Mr. Haggard is honest and a very good mediator and has a good team in his office. We need people like this to help us when it comes to law. Honesty will work for me!" ~ Michael J. BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1700242 - Miguel G.
DISMISSED BY OUR FIRST COURT APPEARANCE Aug. 20, 2010
CLIENT ALSO ON DWI PROBATION - MRP ALSO DISMISSED Aug. 20, 2010
Miguel was a young, professional electrical engineer who unfortunately got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend after having become intoxicated. Due to his state of intoxication, he did things he normally would never have done - such as throwing his girlfriend onto the sofa in a fit of anger. She ran into a bathroom and called police. Miguel's roommate - witness was problematic in that he did not observe the entire incident. In typical fashion, Miguel's girlfriend asked police not to arrest him but to make him leave and police refused. Complicating the situation was the fact that Miguel was on DWI probation which caused this case to be filed in the same court as his DWI court; a Motion to Revoke his probation had been filed. After Miguel retained HLF, we went to work on the case and prepared our defenses. Mr. Haggard drew on his years of experience, superior argumentation skills and knowledge of the law to obtain a double Dismissal of both the Assault and the MRP on our first court appearance.
"I was all set to go to jail but Mr. Haggard's aggressive defense got a Dismissal
of both cases on the first court setting." ~ Miguel G
"My son was set to go to jail. Carl Haggard was able to get him released. His
probation was not revoked. Now he will be able to get the help he needs and turn
his life around. We will be eternally grateful." ~ Miguel's Father ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1645126 - Kevin M.
DISMISSED Jan. 7, 2010
Kevin's 17-year-old daughter was the Complainant in this case. She was out of control, using drugs, drinking, skipping school, concocting fantastic lies and was bipolar, ADHD and depressive but refused to take her meds. When Kevin took her cell phone [actually - his - he pays for it] to check her messages, she went berserk and hit him in the mouth then bit him on the shoulder drawing blood in both places. Kevin's response to this aggression was to spank her, aiming for her backside but inevitably landing some blows on her back. She later went to police with outrageous lies of what he had done to her and 'proof' via bruises although in places he never touched her. After charges were filed, CPS investigated Kevin and their home life. Eyewitness testimony of Kevin's wife aided us as well as photos of the injuries inflicted by Complainant. We battled CPS to show on the part of Complainant a pattern of lies, drug and alcohol abuse and severe mental and emotional disturbance and portrayed Kevin in his true light of a good father but one who had been pushed to the limit by his daughter's crazed aggression, which resulted in CPS dropping their case. We used the CPS case dismissal to argue for a Dismissal of the criminal charge against Kevin.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1510310 - Christopher C.
DISMISSED WHILE ON FELONY PROBATION
Chris' girlfriend actually assaulted him, not the other way around, while she was high on marijuana and intoxicated. She managed to convince police otherwise, however, as she did have a small mark on her face. We had several eyewitnesses on our side as well as a host of evidence incriminating Complainant's character and testimony. This Domestic Violence case was tried in the felony court of Chris' probation case and received a "Not Guilty" verdict. The trial victory was hard-won as the State had a light burden of proof [they only needed to prove a preponderance of the evidence] in order for our client to be found guilty of the misdemeanor assault and have his felony probation revoked. Winning this Domestic Violence case paved the way to a second victory in which we got Chris reinstated on his felony probation and saved him from jail. "I was facing some serious prison time but Mr. Haggard saved me. He did a great job on cross-examination of the Complainant and bringing out all the good points from both the cops and my own testimony." ~ Chris C.
"As a former Law Enforcement Officer I hired Mr. haggard to represent my son on his Assault and Violation of Probation charges. Mr. Haggard is the best of the best." ~ Client's Father, Richard L. C. ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1564669 - Daniel P.
"NOT GUILTY" TRIAL VERDICT
Complainant had a history of mental illness including stalking our client and vandalizing his property. On the day on the alleged assault, she came to Dan's house and began destroying his property. Dan merely defended his property which included restraining Complainant from further action. She grossly distorted and misrepresented his actions to police. She did have visible injuries, photographed as evidence, resulting from Dan's restraint, in part – but also from her own violent behavior. A seasoned police veteran happened to witness the incident and served as our star witness. Prosecutors' hotly contested his testimony at Trial, even going so far as to accuse the officer of perjuring himself due to alleged conflicting statements. Mr. Haggard, a seasoned trial veteran, was unperturbed, skillfully countered the accusation, and proceeded to a victory.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1596414 - Nicholas R.
DISMISSED 12.04.09
In a typical sordid spousal vengeance case, complete with extramarital affairs, a pending divorce suit, protective orders, incriminating emails, blogs, alibis and lies, Nick's wife filed charges on him for allegedly pulling her up by the hair several times three weeks prior; a friend/witness was present during this argument and testified that she was the one that went berserk, assaulting Nick as well as slapping him [the witness] in the face, and that all Nick had done was to restrain her hands. The only "evidence" of physical injuries was the wife's statement that she continued to lose large amounts of hair. We skillfully traced out and presented the lies and vengeance motives to the prosecution, then followed up with our star witness testimony and the pathetic "evidence" to knock this one out prior to Trial.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1592702 - Maricon R.
DISMISSED
Maricon and her husband were having an argument on the emotional subject of finances. He decided to leave to help calm things down but she tried to grab the keys out of his hand. After this struggle she made dangerous attempts around the car to prevent his leaving which led him to call police. After interviewing both parties, police observed bleeding scratches on her husband's arms and face and arrested his wife despite his pleas not to.
TWO COUNTS OF ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case Nos. 1579513, 1565291 - Shannon C.
BOTH CASES DISMISSED
A veritable SWAT team of officers arrived when Shannon’s husband called the police only to make her leave after a heated argument. Both were highly intoxicated. Police aggressively peppered her husband with leading questions taking advantage of his confused state to twist the facts and make him appear to say what he never intended. They blew a small and accidental mouth injury entirely out of proportion and distorted it in the Offense Report saying she hit him in the mouth with an open hand. [We vigorously contested these & the other errors in the O.R.] With an overblown sense of responsibility police said they had “no choice” but to arrest her because they’d be responsible if anything happened. After a Protective Order had been filed, Shannon and her husband had another fight. Again, alcohol was the culprit and there were visible but accidental injuries to her husband. The focus of our defense was the underlying cause of the stress on the marriage – alcohol - as well as finding an appropriate rehab facility for Shannon.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1552990 - Brenda S.
DISMISSED
Brenda hired Mr. Haggard to substitute in for another attorney whom she didn't feel was fighting for her. Mr. Haggard immediately set the case for Trial and began preparing our trial defense while continuing to fight for a pre-trial Dismissal. At the time of this incident, Brenda was under the care of a psychiatrist for ADD and a rheumatologist for Lupus; our position was that her medications, esp. Adderall - an amphetamine - literally made her go crazy while eating dinner with her husband one evening in their upscale neighborhood. Her aggression toward him caused him to have recourse to a choke hold from which she maintained the only relief was to bite his arm. In another incident, she claimed he threatened to kill her with a pair of scissors. We focused on the medical issues - the deleterious effects of these medications - as well as their demonstrated commitment, through a protracted term of marriage counseling, to working through her problems together. Mr. Haggard negotiated a Dismissal just before going to trial. "You stood up to everybody for me." ~Brenda S ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1524220 - Shofela M.
DISMISSED Nov. 20, 2009
We were hired to substitute in for another attorney whom our client didn't feel could get the job done: Shofela needed this case dismissed; he was a citizen of the U.K. working in the U.S. as a software consultant. The case involved an altercation with his wife which escalated into a physical fight. Shofela left before police arrived. We were able to get the case dismissed and protect his immigration status.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1499466 - Sylvia C.
DISMISSED
Tending to the needs of relatives temporarily staying in her home resulted in Sylvia’s neglect of her husband's seizure medication. He had a seizure and exhibited it's attendant childish behavior. Jealous over being "neglected" by his wife, he told police the bizarre story that she hit him on the head with a hammer. A hammer was recovered but his injuries were not consistent with his allegations. Using extensive medical documentation as well as sworn witness testimony, Mr. Haggard was able to win a Dismissal after much fighting with Prosecutors - and even despite Sylvia's extensive criminal history.
"Mr. Haggard fought for us from beginning to end with golden gloves." ~ Sylvia C.
TWO ASSAULTS ON FAMILY MEMBER] / FELONY VIOLATION OF A PROTECTIVE ORDER
Case Nos. 1488798, 1486953, 1139039 - Fahad H.
ALL THREE CASES DISMISSED
After Mr. Haggard won two prior cases involving this same ex-girlfriend, our client related in his Testimonial how she had said he must marry her or she would ruin his life. True to her word, she got three new charges filed against Fahad several months later, telling more lies of abuse such as kicking, stalking ad nauseum. Once again we compiled videotaped evidence supporting our client's alibis and other witness evidence to convince the Family Crimes Special Prosecutor of Fahad's innocence. After obtaining three Dismissals, we went one step further and worked with the Chief and the Family Crimes Prosecutors to set up roadblocks to prevent the Complainant, who obviously knew how to work the system, from further attempts at ruining Fahad’s life.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1375559 - Ryan B.
DISMISSED WHILE ON PROBATION
In a typical scenario, the girlfriend was the aggressor and our client was warding off blows, yet he was the one charged with assault. In a double victory, Mr. Haggard was able to get not only our client’s Assault case dismissed, but also the Motion to Adjudicate Guilt filed on him after he was arrested for Assault. Our client was on probation for Resisting Arrest/Search at the time of the fight with his girlfriend. Had Mr. Haggard not gotten the underlying Assault charge dismissed, which paved the way for the dismissal of the Motion to revoke our client’s probation, our client would have been facing jail time. "I was very anxious about hiring an attorney after having a bad experience in a previous case. During our interview with Mr. Haggard he used the phrase "God is good," and I smiled. I knew I had come to the right place. His personality and easy smile puts you at ease while handling your case with professionalism. At no time did he make us feel that he wasn’t committed to getting the best possible results." ~ Client's Mother INTERFERING WITH 911 CALL
Case No. 1549039 - Lawrence W.
DISMISSED
Lawrence was a NASA engineer who trained astronauts in Mission Control. Subject to background checks and security clearance, as clean a record as possible was one of his top priorities. Although legal separation papers had been filed, Lawrence was still living with his wife at th time of this unfortunate argument during which he jerked the phone out of her hand when she tried calling police. The police ultimately were called and as usual misconstrued the whole situation, putting words in our client's mouth - and in the police report - that he never said.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER / INTERFERING WITH 911 CALL
Case Nos. 1392595; 1392596 - Esteban S.
BOTH CHARGES DISMISSED AT FIRST COURT SETTING
Our client had an argument with his pregnant wife. Police took photos of the bruises on her arm, leg and forehead which, our client maintained, were accidental. Our client prevented his daughter from calling the police, who later videotaped the daughter’s statement. Mr. Haggard was able to get both charges dismissed by his first court appearance.
INTERFERING WITH 911 CALL
Case No. 119623-Fort Bend - Irene L.
DISMISSED
BURGLARY [DOMESTIC VIOLENCE] / VIOLATION OF A PROTECTIVE ORDER Case Nos. 1114230, 1457399 - Fahad H.
BOTH CASES DISMISSED
This case was filed as a Felony Burglary but was in actuality a Family Assault case in which our client’s former girlfriend, as she had said she was going to do, managed to get two charges filed against him. Using videotaped evidence, rock-solid and well- documented alibis, witness evidence and other legal techniques, Mr. Haggard was able to get both cases dismissed after a long and difficult battle. "I dated a crazy girl who was out to get me. She told police all kinds of lies such as that I had burglarized her house and that I had been stalking her after she had filed a protective order against me. I am married now but she told me I must marry her or she would ruin my life. She tried but thanks to Mr. Haggard she didn’t succeed. He aggressively fought my cases and would not back down from the Prosecutors until he got them dismissed. Or, he would have gone to Trial. Other attorneys tell you you just have to plead –not Mr. Haggard. His retainer was also reasonable in light of his background and outstanding track record. I appreciated the fact that he was the only attorney was able to document using case numbers several pages of cases he had recently beat in Family offenses." ~ Fahad H. ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1453458 - Mark S.
DISMISSED
This case involved a fight with our client’s teenaged son with whom he had been having serious disciplinary problems: prolonged truancy, theft from his parents, assaults on his siblings. On the day in question, the son stole his father’s truck and wrecked it. This led to what is termed under the law "mutual combat" in which our client’s son struck first. Mr. Haggard utilized evidence of the son’s disciplinary problems and witness statements regarding how and why the fight began and proceeded, among other legal defenses, to prove the mutual combat defense and obtain a Dismissal, and this in spite of the fact that our client had a prior felony record, including several years in TDC.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1338183 - James V.
DISMISSED
Our client had a prior charge of Domestic Violence. The State had several problems with their case, including that the Complainant had lied to police and that our client had an eyewitness in his favor. Using the evidence and our eyewitness, Mr. Haggard was able to prove Complainant’s motivations in lying to police (money and visitation) and to obtain a Dismissal without having to go to trial.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1218099 - Jack L.
DISMISSED
This case was dismissed on Mr. Haggard’s Motions. Our client’s ex-wife had a long history of emotional problems, drug abuse, and other problems. Mr. Haggard was able to use this history, among other things, to prove that our client had never assaulted her and to get the case dismissed.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1173544 - Greg G.
DISMISSED
Our client’s ex-wife claimed he assaulted her. Using eyewitness testimony of our client’s girlfriend, among other legal tactics, Mr. Haggard was able to get the case dismissed.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1194988 - John M.
DISMISSED
In a painful situation, our client, a caring and good father, was falsely accused of assaulting his own son. He was very grateful to Mr. Haggard for winning the case and helping to restore the father-son relationship.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1049438 - Gilbert P.
DISMISSED
Our client, a good and religious man, felt his stepdaughter needed discipline and spanked her with a belt. The punishment was witnessed by the child’s mother, who also did not find the spanking too severe. "I prayed about what lawyer I needed and God directed me to Mr. Haggard. I’m very glad I chose Mr. Haggard; I made the right choice. He got my case dismissed." ~ Gilbert P. ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1175569 - John B.
DISMISSED
An ex-girlfriend accused our client of assaulting her violently; at the time, our client had a severely injured back. Medical records enabled Mr. Haggard to prove there was no way he could have done what the Complainant alleged he had done in assaulting her.
ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. [Expunged by Mr. Haggard] - Joel P.
DISMISSED
"I had a domestic argument with my wife and she filed assault charges. Mr. Haggard got the D.A. to do an informal case dismissal. He even got the case deleted from all records." ~ Joel P. ASSAULT, BODILY INJURY - FAMILY MEMBER
Case No. 1043332 - David D.
GRATEFUL
Not all of our clients are innocent and not all want to contest the charges against them. In this unusual case, our client hit his grown stepson with a baseball bat, injuring him severely. After Mr. Haggard handled this serious case with compassion, and negotiated a very fair deal for our client from the Prosecutors, he sent Mr. Haggard this unsolicited letter, which speaks for itself: "Thank you for being there for me. I needed intervention and … although our association was short compared to one’s lifespan, your deeds will not be forgotten. I was trapped with no answers…anger was a last resort. You see, Sir, there is not much help for men. Men are perceived as tough, able to manage their problems on their own. My relief from the lies, deceit and hatred soon ended with your help. Ironically, I’m happier now, back to my old self. Thanks for giving me that chance to be that person again." [Edited for brevity.] ~ David D. *Evidence of prior performance should not be taken as a guarantee of future success. All cases are unique and must be handled on an individual basis. Tactics, strategies, and defenses will vary. This is not a comprehensive career-long (since 1973) listing within this category of charges but is intended as a recent and representative sample only.
Note: Clients have given their permission for any testimonials presented here.
|
PCS, Case No. 814167
DISMISSED ON BRIEF ON
SEARCH WITHOUT WARRANT
"My husband is a police officer and I was a licensed security officer and he’s the best attorney trying cases we’ve ever seen. He’s a great trial lawyer. We call Mr. Haggard "The Hammer". ~ Pamela B.
Case 857865 Aggrav Assault on Public Servant
Houston Attorney Carl Haggard
Featured in Texas Monthly
In a July 2008 ruling, the Court of Criminal Appeals held, regarding the use the Character Evidence: the Rules of Evidence generally forbid character evidence during the guilt phase of trial. Read more...
WARNING – A conviction in some offenses triggers an automatic suspension of your TDL. Call us to find out if yours is one. DWI’s: You have 15 days to save your TDL. Call us to learn your ALR options and what will guarantee a Dismissal to save your TDL.
Screen shot of Houston Criminal Defense Attorney Carl Haggard defending Houston surgeon charged with child molestation. [CDH - on right; July 2009]
Amount | Offense Level | Punishment Range
Amount | Offense Level | Punishment Range
Did you know....?
The Harris County Probation Department uses a qualitative EDT urine test which is capable of detecting any alcohol consumption within up to 80 hours. As it is qualitative, and not quantitative, trace amounts of alcohol will be detected.
Recent press conference of Houston criminal defense trial lawyer after his initial appearance in court for Houston orthopedic surgeon charged with pedophilia; Harris County Criminal Justice Center. [July, 2009]
Screen shot of Houston Criminal Defense Trial Attorney Carl Haggard in recent Harris County TV news case; defending Houston surgeon charged with child molestation.
|
![Houston's Top Criminal Defense Attorney Carl Haggard [Right] - Screen Shot of Local TV News Coverage in Child Molestation Case - Houston Surgeon Charged](http://www.haggardlaw.com/images/Image3.jpg "Houston's Top Criminal Defense Attorney Carl Haggard [Right] - Screen Shot of Local TV News Coverage in Child Molestation Case - Houston Surgeon Charged")
![Recent [July 2009] TV news conference, Carl Haggard, Harris County Criminal Defense Attorney Defends Houston Doctor Charged with Child Molestation](http://www.haggardlaw.com/images/Image5.jpg "Recent [July 2009] TV news conference, Carl Haggard, Harris County Criminal Defense Attorney Defends Houston Doctor Charged with Child Molestation")
