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Harris County Grand Jury Defense

Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer James (Jim) Sullivan has a proven record (see below) in getting felony cases no billed (dismissed) by the Grand Jury. When a person is accused of a felony offense, the defense attorney may be able to win his felony case at the Grand Jury level. Depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, this may or may not be a winning option, so it is important to talk to an experienced criminal defense attorney. With this strategy, the person in effect has two chances to win his case before a jury:

(1)    Grand Jury and, if indicted,

(2)    Jury Trial

If the Grand Jury votes that probable cause (i.e. a probability) does not exist to believe that the accused committed the offense, the case is no billed (dismissed). If the Grand Jury votes that probable cause does exist, then the case is true billed (indicted). If a case is indicted, then the accused may have to have a jury trial in order to get the best result. A jury trial is more expensive and involves much more time and legal work.

Prosecutors generally seek to present felony cases to the Grand Jury between the first and second court setting, so it is extremely important to hire an experienced defense attorney right away. Unless a defense attorney requests that the prosecutor hold the case from the Grand Jury in order to prepare a defense packet, the prosecutor will seek an indictment from the Grand Jury soon after the felony charge is filed. Keep in mind that prosecutor will only hold the case for up to two months from the date of the incident, so the defense attorney will have to work fast and prioritize the case. This also means the client will have to be able to pay the full pretrial fee within that two month period.

Once an accused is indicted, this option is no longer available. Therefore, time is of the essence in hiring a defense attorney. If a case is no billed by the grand jury, a client may be able to get their case expunged right away. In other cases, the client may have to wait for the three year statute of limitations to expire before obtaining an expunction.

Since 1994, Houston Criminal Lawyer James Sullivan has worked to get countless felony cases no billed by the Grand Jury. These felony cases include Sexual Assault of a Child, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, Aggravated Assault, Assault Family Member by Impeding Breathing (choking), Forgery, Injury to a Child, Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle and Burglary of a Habitation. The graph below lists over 60 of those felony cases that were no billed since November 2008 when Sullivan started keeping track. Most of the cases that were no billed between 1994 and 2008 have already been expunged.

 

CRIMINAL OFFENSE RESULT CASE #
  ALL CASES DISMISSED BY GRAND JURY OR THE STATE WERE BASED ON DEFENSE PACKETS  
     
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client was accused of threatening to shoot his wife) 1773674
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client was accused of choking his 15 year old son) 1776645
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client was accused of trying to run over his wife with his pickup truck and her son claimed to be a witness) 1758820
Injury to the Disabled DISMISSED BY THE STATE (Client was accused of injuring her abusive ex. The State failed to present the defense packet to the grand jury, but then after reading the packet agreed to dismiss the case) 1705424
Injury to a Child NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client accused of injuring her children by spanking them) 1700889
Injury to a Child NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client accused of injuring her children by spanking them) 1700890
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING DISMISSED BY THE STATE (Client accused of choking his husband during an argument. The State refused to present the defense packet to the grand jury and instead dismissed the felony charge) 1722881
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, a store owner, was accused of attacking and stealing money from a thieving customer when it was just the opposite. The thief repeatedly fed the gaming machines a laminated $100 bill, yanked it back out, and then requested a fraudulent refund from the temporary store clerk who was working alone. When the owner and the clerk confronted the thief at a machine the next day, the thief attacked the owner and the clerk defended him. The thief escaped and claimed the owner had robbed  him of the money he had “honestly won.” The police did a brief and shoddy investigation. The thief actually had the gall to hire a lawyer to sue the store owner) 1721447
BURGLARY OF HABITATION TO COMMIT ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused of trying to force her way into her ex-boyfriend’s apartment to attack his new girlfriend. However, her ex and the new girlfriend lied to the police. Her ex has a lengthy criminal record. 1725410
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused of striking her former roommate with a board. However the former roommate, a large and strong butch woman in the LGBTQ community, was the aggressor and put the client in a chokehold. Client had to fight for her life. The former roommate had bipolar disorder, self medicated with alcohol and drugs, and had a history of stealing and detroying property of other roommates and then playing the victim. The police did a minimal investigation and chose to believe the former roommate over the client, the actual victim) 1703377
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client and his neighbors were tormented for years by an alcoholic neighbor contractor who invited his workers over every Saturday night to get their paychecks and to stay and drink outside for hours on end. The workers blocked driveways, urinated and threw beer bottles in yards. Client asked the contractor to not allow his workers to block his driveway. They did anyway. This was the week of the Black Lives Matter protests when police were preoccupied. Client allegedly fired his gun in the air to get the worker’s attention to move his truck. Since that night, the contractor keeps his workers out of the neighborhood. Client stood up for his neighbors and they are all grateful) 1678322
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING DISMISSED BY THE STATE (Client was accused of choking his wife during an argument. The first prosecutor assigned to the case failed to present the defense packet to the grand jury, but then the next prosecutor agreed to do the right thing and dismissed the case ) 1658050
ASSAULT OF A FAMILY MEMBER AS SECOND OFFENDER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of attacking a younger brother. Client had two prior family violence convictions on his record) 1675128
ASSAULT OF A FAMILY MEMBER AS SECOND OFFENDER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of attacking another younger brother) 1675129
FAILURE TO STOP AND RENDER AID NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of seriously injuring a teenager and leaving the scene) 1654265
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of striking her fiancee in the nose, resulting in him needing nasal surgery) 1652174
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client displayed his pistol to keep a mean drunk from entering his occupied truck outside a bar) 1613730
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client was accused of choking his  girlfriend, however client used a chokehold to defend himself against his then girlfriend who wielded and threatened him with a large knife) 1603718
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY THE GRAND JURY (Client was falsely accused of “road rage” when he brandished a knife to defend himself from another driver who first threatened him with a handgun) 1598352
ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER enhanced with a prior Assault FM case DISMISSED BY THE STATE (Client accused of slapping her boyfriend during an argument. The State failed to present the defense packet to the grand jury, but then agreed to dismiss the case at the next court setting) 1602008
INJURY TO A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client used reasonable discipline against her 15 year old daughter and was accused of abusing her. Her daughter stole her car for a second time, she spanked her with a belt to discipline her and the girl lied to the authorities about the circumstances) 1587642
INJURY TO A CHILD in Montogmery County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused by a passerby at the Catfish Festival of dragging his girlfriend’s 8 year old daughter by her hair after she ran off through a crowd of people) 17-10-12518
INJURY TO A CHILD in Montogmery County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused by a passerby at the Catfish Festival of pulling her daughter’s hair after she ran off through a crowd of people) 17-10-12519
ARSON NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of starting a gas fire in the garage of a house. Client suffers from epilepsy and the fire started during the postictal period of an epileptic seizure) 1559536
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER in Fort Bend County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of threatening her mother with a knife) 17-DCR-079237
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of threatening his girlfriend with a knife and inflicting a serious wound on the back of her head) 1539739
AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD in Galveston County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, a 17 year old teen with autism, accused of forcing his younger special needs brother to give him oral sex) 17-CR-0197
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of suffocating his wife with a pillow) 1535634
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of choking his immigrant wife, however she actually attacked him and tried to provoke him into hitting her. When he refused, she called 911. He believes she did this so she could then claim she was a battered spouse under mmigration law and petition to stay in the U.S. after a divorce) 1537660
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of being the driver in an aggravated robbery) 1523678
INJURY TO A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of causing bodily injury to her 9 year old daughter. The grand jury agreed that her daughter’s injury was the result of being reasonably disciplined) 1522880
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (2° Felony) NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, a disabled vet, shot and seriously wounded a former friend who was high on drugs, broke in his house right after being ordered to leave the premises and attempted to attack him) 1505948
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT in Montgomery County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client shot and seriously wounded a violent felon who was trying to steal his car at nighttime) 16-03-02825
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of throwing a 12 lb glass trophy at his father and hitting him in the back) 1480035
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER (Felony Habitual) NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY AFTER FACING 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON (Client accused of slashing her ex-girlfriend’s face. A witness at the scene supported client’s version that her ex-girlfriend attacked her first with a broken wine bottle and cut her wrist and that her ex-girlfriend was accidentally injured in a struggle over the bottle) 1478883
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of choking his wife during an argument) 1479091
ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER enhanced with a prior Assault FM case NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client used reasonable discipline against his 15 year old daughter and was accused of abusing her. She was being rebellious and he spanked her with a belt to discipline her) 1459744
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of trying to run her baby’s daddy over with her Jeep and with their young son on the front passenger seat and in view of two nearby independent witnesses. In reality, he threw his bicycle in front of her Jeep to cause her to come to a screeching halt and then cursed at her. After she drove off, he lied to the witnesses about what happened) 1467006
INJURY TO A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of causing bodily injury to his 10 year old nephew) 1446872
SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE CLOSED BY THE STATE (16 year old juvenile client and 17 year old adult client were both accused of raping a 17 year old female friend. After reading the defense packet for the grand jury, the State chose to close the file without any charges being filed) CASE NOT YET FILED
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING in Montgomery County DISMISSED BY THE STATE (Client accused of choking his wife during an argument. The State refused to present the defense packet to the grand jury, dismissed the felony and refiled it as a misdemeanor) 14-08-09346-CR
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client shot his brother in the side after his brother stabbed him in the arm. The client’s brother was high on synthetic marihuana) 1443039
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of shooting another guy’s motorcycle twice while the guy was on it after the guy had broken the client’s custom table) 1431964
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of shooting a gun into the ceiling of a restaurant and robbing patrons of their cell phones) 1419975
INJURY TO A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, an officer in law enforcement, used reasonable discipline against his teenage daughter and was accused of abusing her) CASE NOT YET FILED
SEXUAL ASSAULT in Brazoria County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client, an elected official, was accused of sexual assault by his girlfriend) CASE NOT YET FILED
INJURY TO A CHILD in Matagorda County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client used reasonable discipline against her 10 year son and was accused of abusing him after she accidentally slapped him on his side when he was resisting the hand spanking) CASE NOT YET FILED
INDECENCY WITH A CHILD in Montgomery County NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of sexually abusing his 16 year old nephew) CASE NOT YET FILED
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument) 1356656
INJURY TO A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of breaking his infant son’s leg and 3 ribs. The hospital ER physician did not consider other medical disorders as a cause) 1340646
ASSAULT FAMILY  MEMBER/IMPEDING BREATHING NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of choking his wife during an argument) 1336650
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT FAMILY MEMBER NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of intentionally trying to drive into and strike her girlfriend) 1341002
EVADING BY MOTOR VEHICLE NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of evading police in her car when she drove about ½  mile after the officer switched on his strobe lights) 1338389
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of having sex with 16 year old girl who falsely claimed she was 18) 1332791
BURGLARY OF A HABITATION NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused breaking into home while homeowner was home, however client had credible alibi witnesses at the time of the alleged burglary) 1321679
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of intentionally driving into and striking the new girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend) 1302447
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of hitting man in head with beer bottle outside a bar;  client claimed self-defense) 1302814
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AGAINST PUBLIC SERVANT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Police Officer shot at 4 unarmed teenagers in a truck and claimed that client pointed a gun at him) 1291937
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of hitting other woman in head with metal pole) 1281977
ASSAULT FAMILY VIOLENCE 2nd OFFENDER (Felony Habitual) NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY AFTER FACING 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON (Client accused of hitting wife multiple times after both had been drinking) 1281428
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of consensual sex with underage female) 1283460
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of injuring another man, using knuckles) 1275771
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused of using a knife to threaten another man who the client accused of stealing his property from his apartment) 1270564
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of consensual sex with underage female) 1264919
FORGERY OF A FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of knowingly passing a counterfeit $100 bill at store) 1252585
AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of molesting his sister-in-law) 1241754
AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of molesting his sister-in-law) 1241755
SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client accused of consensual sex with underage female) 1231727
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY 1203539
BURGLARY OF A HABITATION WITH INTENT TO COMMIT ASSAULT NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY (Client was accused of breaking into an apartment and attacking the occupants after a drug deal went bad) 1182231

 

Client review of Aggravated Assault of a Family Member

I must say Mr Sullivan is a man of his word. I have a pretty long record so when I had got arrested for Aggravated assault on a family member for my 3rd time, I seriously believed that there was NO hope, but I was wrong. Mr sullivan made sure to make my case a top priority and reassured me that everything would be just fine when I had my doubts, due to my past convictions. My ex girlfriend tried to assault me with a broken wine bottle when i kept telling her i no longer wanted to be with her but when I kept attempting to keep the glass from cutting either one if us, she accidently got hurt in the process. I helped her clean her wound but I asked her to leave as I felt that night had already brought too much drama, and she was highly intoxicated and persistent about gettin aggressive if I didn’t take her back. A month later a warrant was issued for my arrest and I got picked up by the police at my home one morning. I’m forever grateful that I found out about the warrant right before I got arrested because I read about Mr. Sullivan on Google and I decided that he was the man that I wanted to handle my case. My punishment ranges from 2-20 years and I knew for sure with my long record and the seriousness of that crime that the d.a wouldn’t offer me the minimum. Mr sullivan was very down to earth and really cared about gettin this case dismissed for me so that I could get back in school and continue my life as a productive member of society. Several weeks passed because the prosecutor kept delaying the process, and I started to get a bit discouraged but Mr. Sullivan’s confidence and reassurance about my case and all of the evidence he gathered for me helped me so much. Sure enough everything he told me that he would do, he did. He got my case dismissed and I’m back in school just like he said to me. Thank you so much Mr. Sullivan, youre truly a blessing and I don’t know what I would’ve done without you 🙂

Google review posted by Andrea Dunham in 2017

Attorney James Sullivan is an experienced Houston Criminal Defense Attorney serving Greater Houston and Texas since 1994. You can call James G. Sullivan & Associates today at 281-546-6428.