Due process is your constitutional guarantee that the government must follow fair rules before it can take your freedom. If you were just arrested, you may be replaying the stop, the questions, and the hours in a holding cell, wondering whether anyone followed those rules. That worry is reasonable, because every step after an arrest comes with legal requirements that police and prosecutors have to meet.
At Garcia, Garcia & Mullen Criminal Defense & Injury Lawyers, we hold the State to those requirements and challenge every shortcut that puts your liberty at risk. You can talk with our team about what happened and which protections apply to your case.
The Fifth Amendment's due process clause bars depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and the Fourteenth Amendment imposes the same limit on every state. These protections apply to state prosecutions and federal criminal cases.
Texas adds its own guarantee on top of the federal one. The state constitution's due course of law clause says no citizen may be deprived of life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities except by the "due course of the law of the land." The Code of Criminal Procedure repeats that guarantee word for word.
According to the Constitution Annotated, federal due process breaks down into two categories. Procedural due process concerns which legal procedures the government must follow, while substantive due process asks whether a law can be applied at all. When you are facing charges, procedural due process is where the fight happens: Every warning, hearing, disclosure, and evidence ruling is a chance to hold the State accountable.
The first hours after an arrest are when your protections start working for you. They are also when rushed decisions and missed steps are easiest to overlook.
Under Article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the person holding you must bring you before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours after your arrest. A magistrate is a judicial officer who handles early steps such as warnings and bail. The magistrate must cover the following points in clear language:
Each of these warnings is a checkpoint we review when we take on your case.
Article 1.051 entitles you to a lawyer once your case reaches the formal, adversarial stage, including the right to consult privately with counsel early enough to prepare for each proceeding. If you cannot afford counsel and the case could end in confinement, you are entitled to an appointed lawyer. Once you request one at that stage, the court or its designee must appoint counsel as soon as possible and within one to three working days of receiving the request, depending on county size.
When you hire our team, we review the arrest, the warnings, and the evidence from the start.
If something about your arrest or your first hearing did not feel right, call Garcia, Garcia & Mullen at (214) 214-1000 so we can review the timeline with you.
Your right to due process does not stop at the jailhouse door.
Article I, Section 10 of the state constitution guarantees a speedy public trial by an impartial jury, plus the right to demand the nature and cause of the accusation and receive a copy. You cannot be compelled to give evidence against yourself, and you have the right to be heard by yourself, your lawyer, or both. You also have the right to confront the witnesses against you and to compel testimony, meaning you can have the court order favorable witnesses to testify.
For example, if the prosecution relies on an absent witness's written statement, the confrontation right may give us grounds to object. We use these trial rights to test the State's case in front of the judge and jury.
A due process violation occurs when the government fails to follow the rules that protect you. Common due process violations in a criminal case include a missed magistrate warning, an unlawful search, or the State's failure to share favorable evidence.
Under Article 38.23 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, evidence obtained in violation of the constitutions or laws of the state or the United States generally cannot be admitted against you at trial. When the evidence raises an issue about how it was obtained, the jury must be instructed to disregard it if jurors believe, or have a reasonable doubt, that it was obtained unlawfully.
Article 1.06 protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures and bars any warrant issued without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation. Probable cause means facts strong enough to create reasonable grounds for the search.
In cases built on a vehicle or home search, including many drug charges, we file a motion to suppress, a written request asking the judge to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence.
Under Article 39.14, the State must disclose exculpatory, impeachment, or mitigating material in its possession, custody, or control that tends to negate your guilt or reduce the penalty. Exculpatory evidence points toward innocence, impeachment evidence undercuts a witness's credibility, and mitigating evidence can support a lesser sentence. That duty continues before, during, and after trial, and newly discovered material must be disclosed promptly.
For example, a prior inconsistent statement from the State's key witness is impeachment material, and we demand it early.
When we review a case for due process problems, our work follows these steps:
This process is how our Irving criminal defense lawyer team keeps the pressure on the prosecution.
It means the government must follow fair, established rules before it can take your freedom. We check every step of your case against those rules.
The Fourteenth Amendment says no state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. We hold state police, prosecutors, and courts to that limit in your case.
Yes, because Article 15.17 requires a record of the magistrate hearing, and defense counsel may obtain a copy. We request it as part of our review.
Yes, because Article 39.14 requires the State to disclose exculpatory, impeachment, or mitigating material in its control that tends to negate guilt or reduce the penalty. We demand it and track every disclosure.
Generally, no, because Article 38.23 bars admitting evidence obtained in violation of state or federal law against the accused at trial. We file motions to suppress when a search was unlawful.
Yes, if you cannot afford counsel and the case could result in confinement, Article 1.051 entitles you to an appointed lawyer. If you hire us instead, we start by reviewing your arrest and warnings.
If the State skipped a step between your arrest and your first court date, that gap belongs in your defense. Attorney Lukas Garcia is a second-generation state and federal criminal defense attorney who has practiced criminal defense for his entire legal career.
We review every stage of your case, from the arrest report to the magistrate record to what the prosecution has and has not disclosed. When we find a due process violation, we raise it aggressively and explain how it may affect your options.
Our Irving office serves clients facing charges throughout North Texas, and you can start with a free case evaluation. Call (214) 214-1000 or contact us online to start protecting your due process rights today.
Phone: (214) 214 1000
Phone: (214) 214 1000
