Blog

Spring Break: 11 things you should know, legally

• By Phillip Goff
• 28 Feb 2019
• 0

That sweet time finally has come after a dreary winter: Spring Break.  Countless thousands of partying college students will flood beaches from South Padre Island to Port Aransas to Galveston.  Try your best to stay safe while you have a good time. While you’re at it, try not to regret it the rest of your […]

Expunction and Nondisclosure FAQs and Concerns

• By Phillip Goff
• 10 Feb 2019
• 0

The information on this post has now moved to a new FAQ page.

Brooks County, Texas: Ground Zero

• By Phillip Goff
• 10 Feb 2019
• 0

Brooks County, Texas, is a sleepy rural county with more than its share of poverty.  You’d never suspect it was a hotbed of activity, but it is.  Federal law enforcement there boasts the nation’s busiest Border Patrol checkpoint.  It leads the nation in apprehension of undocumented migrants.  It seizes illegal drugs at a record pace.  National […]

Grand Jury: Constitutional Protection, But Easily Manipulated

• By Phillip Goff
• 15 Jan 2019
• 0

You have a right to a grand jury.  Yes, you really do. Really.  It’s right there in The Fifth Amendment of our country’s Constitution.  It’s important.  It matters.  Seriously, it does.  Grand juries are fundamental to freedom. They stretch back at least 800 years and appear in the Magna Carta, one of the most important […]

“They Didn’t Read Me My [Miranda] Rights.” And?

• By Phillip Goff
• 8 Sep 2018
• 0

Reading Your Rights To You After Arrest Is Not Required Miranda Is One Of The Best-Known U.S. Supreme Court Case Names “They didn’t read me my [Miranda] rights.” Sometimes Miranda is named; sometimes it’s not.  The Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona is so ingrained in the popular mind many people can actually name it […]

Best Lawyers? The Top Lawyers? Buyer Beware*

• By Phillip Goff
• 16 Aug 2018
• 0

Have you been looking for a lawyer to handle your case? Would you like to find the best lawyers, the top lawyers? Wouldn’t it be great to hire a lawyer who has been named “Top X” (X is whatever number sounds impressive)? Mega? Nationally ranked? Premiere? Elite? Best?  Some other catchy, impressive title on a […]

6 Things Which Don’t Win Your DWI (By Themselves)

• By Phillip Goff
• 30 Jul 2018
• 0

Your DWI May Have Some Great Defenses, But These Usually Aren’t In some ways, these topics might be woven into your overall defense strategy, but it’s not as simple as people think.  To win your DWI case, your lawyer should use whatever is available. 1) “They didn’t read me my rights.” Most people mean Miranda […]

Should You Plead No Contest?

• By Phillip Goff
• 15 Jul 2018
• 0

Few criminal law concepts are as simple and as misunderstood as the term “nolo contendere”, otherwise called “no contest”.  The two terms say the same thing in different languages, so I’ll just use “no contest” in this piece. In my practice, I’ve encountered many people who seem to have the misguided notion they shouldn’t or […]

BIG BROTHER Is Watching at All Times

• By Phillip Goff
• 4 Jul 2018
• 0

On this Independence Day, Big Brother is no longer fiction. Sophisticated, sensitive recording devices surround you virtually everywhere you go. Enemy spies are everywhere (not really, but they might as well be). They are all carrying sophisticated surveillance devices.  These same spies dutifully report the most mundane of events in public and private life. Big […]

We Need Personal and Societal Reform

• By Phillip Goff
• 2 Jan 2017
• 0

Today is January 1 of a new year.  It’s important to remember personal and societal progress are not inevitable.  Change, whether slow or rapid, will occur.  We can regress without diligent, intelligent, responsible decisions and actions.  Improvement requires our conscious attention. Our core beliefs and cherished rights as a free nation are not self-executing.  We […]