When you are under investigation or charged with a crime, depending on the seriousness of the offense, you really do stand to lose your freedom, job and, in some cases, your family. The life you have built stands to no longer exist. The consequences are real, and sadly you don’t have to be guilty to be convicted. The prosecution has the full resources of the State of Texas in prosecuting you. The prosecution should be looking as hard for evidence of your innocence as they are for evidence of your guilt. After all, the prosecutions job is to seek justice, not a conviction. However, this doesn’t always happen. Therefore, it is up to you to find and hire the most experienced criminal trial lawyer you can afford. If you were having a life-altering surgery, you would want to choose the most experienced Doctor you could find.
Being charged with a crime is no different. Don’t rely on a lawyer’s website. Call the lawyer, set up a time to meet them, and ask them about their criminal law experience. Ask them how many felony jury trials they have handled as the first chair lawyer. Ask them what types of cases they have tried before a jury. In other words, how many times has that lawyer stood up, looked a jury in the eye and argued their case. How many times have they cross-examined expert witnesses in crime scene reconstruction, DNA evidence or mental health?
If you are charged with a crime, this is the most important thing you are currently facing in your life. It’s imperative you do your homework and find the right lawyer. As a criminal law attorney in Tyler with a 23 year history of successfully trying to a jury many of the highest profile cases in East Texas, Matt Bingham would love to meet with you and discuss your case. As the former Elected District Attorney and the longest serving prosecutor in Smith County history, Matt has handled tens of thousands of criminal cases and tried before a jury over 150 felonies, including over 25 murder, capital murder, and death penalty cases. If you are charged with a crime in Tyler, Texas, elsewhere in Smith County, or the greater East Texas area, we cannot stress enough the importance of having a lawyer that is aggressive, experienced, and prepared to represent you.
To hire a highly experienced and dedicated criminal lawyer to represent you in your criminal case in Tyler, Texas, call The Law Offices of D. Matt Bingham, PLLC. If you live in Tyler or Smith County, we are available to speak with you twenty-four hours a day about your criminal law case. We know that a successful resolution of your case only happens by a thorough investigation of the facts and aggressive preparation and representation of you and your case.
Matt Bingham has been a criminal lawyer for over 25 years. He has litigated many of the most challenging, complex and high-profile cases in the Tyler area over the past 23 years. His reputation historically as one of the most successful prosecutors in Smith County was due to his thorough preparation, ability to cross-examine witnesses and connect with the jury in closing arguments and throughout the trial. Now as a criminal defense attorney, Matt utilizes that experience and ability as a trial lawyer in every case he defends. Matt will carefully evaluate every detail and aspect of your case, get to know and learn about you and develop the most vigorous defense on your behalf.
It is really this simple. Not all lawyers are created equal and not all lawyers have the same jury trial experience. Get the most qualified and experienced lawyer, that you feel the most comfortable with, to handle your case. You have been accused of a crime. Get the best lawyer you can to fight for you and with you.
Schedule a consultation with Attorney Matt Bingham today to learn about your options and find out the best defense strategies available for your case.
Schedule ConsultationMatt has tried many of the highest profile criminal homicide cases in East Texas over the past 23 years. He has tried to a jury over 150 felony jury trials, including over 25 murder, capital murder and death penalty cases. Matt taught other lawyers about capital murder litigation at the Center for American and International Law in Dallas, Texas. If you are charged with murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide, it is absolutely imperative that you hire a lawyer with extensive trial experience handling these types of cases.
Any time one individual causes the death of another, it falls under the legal category of homicide. However, not all homicides are criminal. To be a crime, the person causing the death of another must have acted with the requisite intent to cause the death. If they did, then the question is whether the actor has an affirmative defense, such as self-defense, which the defense can argue legally excuses the conduct.
It goes without saying that the person charged may not have caused the death of the alleged victim at all. Just because you have been accused and the prosecutors say you did it, does not mean you did. However, you can almost always count on the prosecutors to aggressively pursue the case.
You are in a fight for your freedom, your family, and your life against an opponent with tremendous resources. It is essential that you hire a skilled and experienced criminal homicide lawyer in Tyler, TX to investigate your case, challenge every aspect of the prosecutor’s evidence and aggressively defend you. Click below to read more about the possible consequences and defense strategies available for your homicide case.
Schedule ConsultationIn Texas, violent crimes can refer to any number of possible crimes that result in bodily injury, or serious bodily injury of another person, or are committed with a deadly weapon. These include, but are not limited to, robbery, aggravated robbery, arson, assault, aggravated assault, and many more.
These cases are aggressively prosecuted and can result in very harsh prison sentences. Even if the case is a misdemeanor Assault Family Violence, if convicted, the defendant will lose, for life, his 2nd Amendment Right to possess a firearm.
It is essential to hire an experienced criminal trial lawyer who will get to know you, learn everything about the facts of your case and aggressively fight for you, your rights and your freedom through aggressive preparation and representation of you throughout your case.
Schedule ConsultationDrug cases can be some of the most complex cases to handle. Any lawyer you hire should have vast trial experience handling these types of cases. The legal issues in drug cases begin at the stop and continue through the search, the seizure, and ultimately the testing of the alleged controlled substances. The legal analysis of these issues can be very complex, but can never be overlooked. Sometimes challenging the stop and search by police can result in the evidence being excluded, which makes the prosecution of the case impossible. Additionally, your lawyer should have an understanding of how the drugs are tested, and if the protocol for testing was in fact followed. If they are not, then the results of the testing can be unreliable and therefore inadmissible.
With Possession of Controlled Substance cases, getting to know and learning about your client’s life is imperative. This can be the difference, in many cases, between probation or incarceration. People who use drugs do it, many times, because they are dealing with an underlying life problem. No one wants to be a drug addict. Jurors can understand that if the defense lawyer takes the time to really get to know their client and develops the testimony to show the jury why the accused finds himself in this place.
You need not only a qualified and experienced criminal defense lawyer, but a lawyer who genuinely cares about you and learning about your life experiences. Learning about and getting to know your client results in a better defense. Attorney Matt Bingham in Tyler, TX will get to know you, challenge all aspects of the prosecutor’s case and present an aggressive defense on your behalf.
Schedule ConsultationDWI cases can be challenged on many defensive fronts. The following is a very quick overview of the biggest issues in DWI case defense. It starts with the question of whether there was a reasonable suspicion for the officer to stop you in the first place. The officer must be able to articulate what event gave him the reasonable suspicion to stop you. The stop will usually be the result of a traffic violation. The officer will approach your car and ask for your driver’s license and proof of insurance. The officer is watching you to see how you act. Are you fumbling to find your license, or is your speech impaired? He is looking for indicators of intoxication. You can count on the officer throwing out the usual – red and blood shot eyes. The officer is also looking for the odor of an alcoholic beverage and if there is an open container in your vehicle. The officer may start asking you questions about where you have been, where you are going and if you have been drinking. He may ask you if you have ever been arrested before or if you are on probation. He is trying to establish probable cause to have you perform Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST). The SFST include the nine-step walk and turn, the one-leg stand and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. The officer must be able to articulate what factors gave him probable cause to order you to perform the SFST. The SFST are based on standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and must be administered in accordance with their standards. This is an area that a defense attorney should closely evaluate, to see that the officer demonstrated and administered them correctly. Then if the officer does arrest you, without obtaining an arrest warrant from a judge, he must be able to articulate what gave him the probable cause to arrest you. If he cannot, and he did not obtain an arrest warrant, your 4th Amendment rights have been violated.
Understand that you do not have to do anything. I cannot remember ever seeing someone submit to the SFST and the officer say, “you look good, your free to go”. Most often, regardless of how well you do on the SFST, you are going to be arrested. It begs the question, why do them? If stopped, you must be polite, provide your driver’s license and proof of insurance. However, you ALWAYS have the right to remain silent, whether you have been stopped, are not under arrest, and when you are under arrest. You do not ever have to answer questions, and you can always refuse to perform the SFST. Moreover, you do not have to submit to the Intoxilyzer 9000 breath test. The officer can obtain a warrant for you blood, but he will have to articulate in the warrant what probable cause he had to believe you were driving while intoxicated.
Click below to see some of the many possible penalties you may be facing, and the many defenses attorney Matt Bingham can present on your behalf.
Schedule ConsultationIn Texas, theft occurs when one person unlawfully appropriates property from the owner with the intent to deprive the owner of the property. Very simply, a person took something not belonging to them and did not intend to return it. Whether a theft is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depends on the value of the property that was taken.
The bad thing about a theft conviction is it is a crime of moral turpitude, which means, if convicted, the law considers you to be inherently dishonest. It does not matter if you were convicted of a Class C misdemeanor or first-degree felony. This is a label that will follow you for life, and come up every time you apply for a job. There are many employers who will not hire someone who has been convicted of theft.
Another important aspect of theft, is that a new theft case can be enhanced with a previous theft conviction.
If you have been charged with or are under investigation for theft call an experienced criminal defense lawyer to help you get the best resolution possible. Matt Bingham is a Tyler, TX attorney ready to navigate this very important problem in your life.
Schedule ConsultationFraud occurs when someone takes money or property from another person through some form of deceit. Examples of criminal fraud charges are forgery, credit card abuse, and insurance fraud. Even though it is similar to theft, it is a different criminal offense. In some cases, depending on the facts of a case, you can be charged with both a fraud and theft. Click below to learn more about the statutory difference between theft and fraud, possible punishments for fraud, and how your case will benefit from hiring an experienced defense lawyer.
Schedule ConsultationThe crime of endangering a child occurs when a person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence (culpable mental states), by act or omission, engages in conduct that places a child younger than 15 years in imminent danger of death, bodily injury or physical or mental impairment. The statute is not this simplistic, but what is always true is that these cases are aggressively prosecuted, can result in prison time and you need an experienced and aggressive lawyer to represent you. I can guarantee you there will an experienced and aggressive lawyer prosecuting you.
However, these cases are defensible if they are thoroughly investigated and the evidence challenged. For example, CPS will often refer cases to the DA’s Office because they had the hairs of a child and his parents collected and tested during the course of a CPS case. Say, for example, the hair of the child showed exposure to a controlled substance sometime over the past 90 days. If the parent’s hair shows any exposure to the same substance, CPS will refer the case for prosecution. It is very difficult, from a hair strand test alone, to show that the parents exposed the child to drugs. It is very possible for the collection and testing of the hair to be successfully challenged and the evidence excluded. The collection and testing of hair is extremely complex. Without going into the protocols for collection and testing, in cases such as this, if you do not hire a defense attorney experienced with this type of scientific testing, you may miss the opportunity to have the evidence challenged and suppressed.
Whether a criminal defense attorney is experienced in the litigation of complex criminal cases really does matter. Learn as much as you can about a lawyer’s criminal law experience before you hire him. Meet with the lawyer and ask questions about their trial experience. Call Matt and ask him about his jury trial experience handling these and other complex criminal cases. Matt is available to meet with you anytime.
Schedule ConsultationThese types of crimes include sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault, possession of child pornography, continuous sexual assault of a child, and more. Sexual related crimes, especially against children, are some of the most aggressively prosecuted.
If you have been charged with committing a sex crime in Texas, you cannot afford to hire an inexperienced lawyer. Not only can these cases result in severe prison sentences, but if convicted, also mandate registration as a sex offender. These cases require thorough investigation, preparation, and the development of a trial strategy based on years of experience handling sexually related crimes.
Matt was licensed in 1993 and has handled many of the highest profile cases in East Texas over the past 23 years. He has successfully tried to a jury over 150 felony jury trials, including over 25 murders, capital murder and death penalty cases. Matt’s success as a trial lawyer has been a result of his detailed preparation, intense cross-examination skills and ability to connect with a jury.
Click below to learn more about Matt Bingham and how he can utilize over 25 of criminal law experience representing you.
Schedule ConsultationAddress: 2203 Oak Alley, Tyler, Texas 75703
Phone: (903) 565-2084
Fax: (903) 600-6818
Hours: Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM
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Fax: (903) 600-6818
Address: 2203 Oak Alley
Tyler, Texas 75703