Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer Wins Appeal on Sex Offense Case at Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

HOUSTON - Sept. 16, 2014 - PRLog -- Matt Horak, a Houston criminal defense lawyer (http://www.matthoraklaw.com/), won an appeal before the highest state court for criminal matters, the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas. Horak successfully argued that his client could have instant relief after he was convicted in a Montgomery County court on an offense, online solicitation of a minor, which had already been held to be unconstitutional.

“My client and I are very glad that the Court found that when a person has been convicted of breaking a law that is unconstitutional, he or she is entitled to prompt relief, rather than going through more legal wrangling, ” Horak said.

Horak’s client, was convicted in the 410^th District Court of two counts of online solicitation of a minor. He was sentenced to a term of two years in prison for each count.

The offense is based on Texas Penal Code Section 33.021. The law prohibits any person from using electronic communication to solicit a minor with the intent to commit sexual acts. The law contains subsection (b), which prohibits online communication with a minor that is “sexually explicit,” defined as any communication, language, photos, video or other material that describes sexual conduct.

In Ex parte Lo, a 2013 case before the same Court, the Court ruled that the law prohibited certain speech, and while the state has a compelling interest in preventing child abuse, the law was not written narrowly enough to pass First Amendment muster. The law, the Court said, could also prohibit Shakespeare, Venus de Milo and Miley Cyrus twerking.

The client, however, had already been convicted of the charge once the Lo ruling was handed down. Horak argued that his client was entitled to a habeas corpus hearing by the trial court to dismiss the indictment.

The Court of Criminal Appeals agreed. In a concurring opinion, Judge Cathy Cochran wrote that when the law the offense was based upon was found unconstitutional, it “disappeared in a puff of smoke. No one can be convicted for a non-existent crime and no prior conviction based on that unconstitutional statute is valid.”

Cochran wrote that in such a circumstance, a defendant was entitled to prompt relief in whatever way possible, including in a habeas proceeding.

“The Court affirmed that when a criminal statute is unconstitutional, there is no crime that can be based upon it,” Horak said. “If there is no crime, there is no conviction. It is that simple.”

Matt Horak is a Houston sex crime defense lawyer (http://www.matthoraklaw.com/CriminalDefense/SexualOffense...) who represents clients throughout Harris County, Montgomery County and the surrounding areas on any criminal offense.