The Law Office of John Bickham is dedicated to making tough and stressful situations as simple as possible. We work diligently to help you achieve solutions in the following areas of law:
Criminal Defense Attorney
Providing criminal defense representation in all aspects of a criminal charge.
- Pre indictment/post indictment representation
- Bond reduction proceedings
- Personal bond proceedings
- Plea bargain negotiations
- Examining trials
- Arraignment
- Pre trial motions
- Trial
Post judgment reduction of sentence hearings- It may not necessarily be over once you have received the final judgment in your criminal case. There are certain provisions under Texas statutes that may allow you to petition the court to have your jail sentence lowered, have your community supervision period lowered in your criminal case, have your probation period lowered in your criminal case, or have your deferred adjudication period lowered in your criminal case.
Felony and Misdemeanor Offenses
- Intoxication offenses
- Drug offenses
- Assault
- Assault family violence
- Unauthorized use of motor vehicles
- DWI
- Theft Offenses
- Probation revocation/probation violations
- Traffic tickets
- Crimes against person
- Crimes against property
Family Law Attorney
Divorce-you can always get a divorce from your spouse regardless of whether they want a divorce or not. What to expect when filing for a divorce. Residency requirements must be met. In other words can you file for divorce in this particular county or a different county. Other issues that arise during a divorce are child custody ,child support, paternity, and division of property are all issues to be litigated in a divorce. After a final order for divorce is signed by the judge, this order will specify how the property between the spouses will be divided. Put generally this means who will own certain community property of the marriage after the divorce. Texas is what's called a community property state. There is a major distinction between separate property and community property when dealing with a divorce. Separate property is property that is strictly that persons which the court cannot order a division to the other party. Community property is the property that the court can divide between the parties under the case by case circumstances. In a Texas divorce the judge is to order a "just and right" division of the community property. What is "just and right" is up to the discretion of the judge within the parameters of the law at that particular time. A just and right division is not necessarily a 50/50 division of community property. Case law though says that a just and right division is not a 50/50 split but what the judge deems a just and right division under specific articulate circumstances that exist at the time of divorce. As you can see there are many reasons why having an attorney who understands the law can help you in your divorce proceeding. There are many grey areas and arguable points in the law to advocate for certain outcomes depending on the facts of your particular divorce.
- Child Custody-original and modifications
- Child Support-original and modifications
- Paternity-admission of paternity and denial of paternity- genetic testing
- Enforcement of Divorce Decrees/property divisions/ child visitation orders
- Grandparent intervention in child custody matters
- Termination of parental rights
Landlord/Tenant
Evictions/lockouts/utility cut offs/constructive evictions/deposits/conditions hazardous to health/title disputes/forcible detainer/landlord retaliation
It may be the case that basically you failed to pay your rent and will be evicted. But what if that isn't the case? There are certain rights you have as a tenant or in other words someone who is paying rent to live somewhere that may effect the outcome of your eviction. There must be certain procedures followed for an eviction to be effective by court order. If your landlord has done something that he was not allowed under the law to do then you may be able to fight your eviction or do something more than just show up to your eviction hearing and be evicted. For example if your landlord has cut of your utilities or there is a condition effecting your health then these are just some of the reasons depending on your particular case that there may be some remedies for you to advocate for on receiving a certain outcome different than just showing up to your eviction hearing to be evicted.
You Have Rights as a Tenant.