Homicide Crimes Lawyer In Orange, TX
Texas homicide offenses are separated by one thing above all: what the person was thinking, or failing to think, when the death happened. That mental state decides whether the charge is a state jail felony or carries up to life, and this page explains each offense and the felony process in the county.
What Are Homicide Crimes In Texas?
Criminal homicide in Texas means causing the death of an individual with a culpable mental state. Penal Code Chapter 19 grades the offenses by that mental state: murder for intent or knowledge, manslaughter for recklessness, and criminally negligent homicide for failing to see a serious risk. Intoxication manslaughter in Chapter 49 covers deaths caused by intoxicated drivers.
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Homicide Crimes?
Chapter 19 of the Texas Penal Code defines criminal homicide as causing the death of an individual with a culpable mental state. The same death can be charged as several different offenses, and the difference between them is not what happened but what the state can prove about the person's awareness.
Manslaughter under § 19.04 requires recklessness: awareness of a substantial and unjustifiable risk, consciously disregarded. It is a second degree felony. Criminally negligent homicide under § 19.05 requires only that the person should have perceived that risk and did not. It is a state jail felony.
The Penal Code grades a death by the mental state behind it:
- Intentionally or knowingly causing a death is murder under § 19.02
- Recklessly causing a death is manslaughter
- Causing a death through criminal negligence is criminally negligent homicide
- Causing a death while intoxicated and operating a vehicle is intoxication manslaughter, which needs no mental state at all
A death caused by driving has no statute of its own in Texas. The page on vehicular manslaughter sets out the four statutes used instead, including intoxication manslaughter under § 49.08.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Homicide Crimes In Texas?
Every homicide offense in Texas is a felony. The ranges below are statutory limits, not predictions of what will happen in any one case.
- Capital murder, § 19.03
- Capital felony. Life without parole or death for a defendant who was 18 or older at the time of the offense.
- Murder, § 19.02
- First degree felony. Five to ninety-nine years or life and a fine of up to $10,000. Second degree felony punishment if sudden passion is proven at the punishment phase.
- Manslaughter, § 19.04
- Second degree felony. Two to twenty years and a fine of up to $10,000. No statute of limitations.
- Intoxication manslaughter, § 49.08
- Second degree felony. Two to twenty years, and a judge cannot grant community supervision.
- Criminally negligent homicide, § 19.05
- State jail felony. 180 days to two years in a state jail, or two to ten years with a deadly weapon finding under § 12.35(c).
- Deadly weapon finding
- When a vehicle or firearm caused the death, the state can seek this finding. It limits community supervision and delays parole eligibility.
A conviction for any of these offenses is a permanent public record. A death case can also bring a separate civil wrongful death claim, which runs on its own track.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Homicide Charges In Texas?
Is every death caused by another person a crime?
How does causation work?
Can a homicide charge be lowered?
What is sudden passion?
Does a homicide investigation end quickly?
Possible Defenses
How Can Homicide Charges Be Defended?
A homicide charge rests on more than the death itself. The state has to prove the mental state, that the accused's conduct caused the death, and that the conduct was not legally justified.
An attorney evaluates each part separately, because weakness in one can change the charge or remove it. No result can be promised.
Justification and causation are in the Penal Code.
Section 9.32 allows deadly force when a person reasonably believes it is immediately necessary against another's unlawful deadly force or to prevent certain violent crimes. Once the evidence raises it, the state must disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Evidence issues include statements, searches of phones and vehicles, forensic testing and the medical cause of death.
Mental State
Can the state prove intent, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, or only some lower state of mind?
Causation
Did the accused's conduct cause the death, or did another cause stand alone?
Self-Defense
Does the evidence raise justification, and can the state disprove it?
Statements
Were statements voluntary, warned and accurately recorded?
Forensics
Do autopsy, ballistic, DNA and toxicology results support the state's account?
Lesser Offenses
Would the facts support a lower homicide offense or none at all?
Local Process
How Does A Homicide Case Move Through Orange County?
After arrest and booking at the Orange County Correctional Facility, a magistrate sets bond. The Orange County District and County Attorney's Office then presents the case to a grand jury, and the Texas Constitution requires a felony to be prosecuted by indictment unless the accused waives it.
Arrest And Magistrate
A magistrate explains the charge and the person's rights and sets bond.
Grand Jury
The prosecutor presents the case, and the grand jury decides whether to indict, and on what offense.
Arraignment And Discovery
In district court the defense can obtain the state's evidence under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 39.14.
Plea Or Trial
The case ends in dismissal, a plea, or a trial by judge or jury, with punishment decided by the judge or jury.
- Where it is heard
- After indictment, one of the county's three district courts: 128th District Court, 163rd District Court, and 260th District Court, in the Orange County Courthouse at 801 W Division St.
- Who prosecutes
- The Orange County District and County Attorney's Office.
- Who makes the arrest
- Orange Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Vidor Police Department, Bridge City Police Department, Pinehurst Police Department, or West Orange Police Department.
- Where you are booked
- The Orange County Correctional Facility at 205 S Border Street, run by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont. A death sentence goes directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
When a vehicle or firearm caused the death, a deadly weapon finding limits community supervision and delays parole eligibility under the rules explained on the 3g offenses page. Murder is on the 3g list by name.
Next Steps
What Should You Do If You Are Investigated For Or Charged With Homicide?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Stay Silent
Decline to answer questions and ask for a lawyer.
Do Not Discuss It
Do not talk about the event with friends, family or on social media.
Preserve Evidence
Do not delete or alter phones, messages, photos or vehicles.
Write It Down
Record your memory for your attorney only.
Keep Every Paper
Save bond papers, warrants, summonses and court notices.
Call Early
Contact a lawyer before charges, if you know an investigation exists.
Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about a homicide investigation or charge in Orange County. Calling early can keep more options open.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 19: Criminal homicide
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 49: Intoxication manslaughter
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 6: Culpable mental states and causation
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 9: Justification, including self-defense
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment for felonies
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12: Limitation periods
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550: Duties after a collision
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Orange trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Homicide Charges
Homicide Charges We Handle In Orange
Manslaughter
Recklessly causing a death. A second degree felony with a 2 to 20 year range and no statute of limitations.
Vehicular Manslaughter
Texas has no statute by this name. A death caused by driving is charged under one of four other statutes, from state jail felony to second degree.
Criminally Negligent Homicide
Causing a death through criminal negligence. A state jail felony, raised to third degree punishment with a deadly weapon finding.
Common Questions
Homicide Charge Questions People In Orange Ask
What are the different homicide charges in Orange, TX?
Texas Penal Code Chapter 19 sets out four homicide offenses graded by mental state: capital murder, murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Intoxication manslaughter, in Chapter 49, covers a death caused by an intoxicated driver or operator and requires no mental state as to the death. A fatal crash can also be charged under the failure to stop and render aid statute when the driver left the scene.
What is the punishment for murder in Orange County?
Murder under Penal Code § 19.02 is a first degree felony, carrying five to ninety-nine years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. If the defendant proves at punishment that the death was caused under the immediate influence of sudden passion from adequate cause, it is punished as a second degree felony. Capital murder under § 19.03 carries life without parole or death for an adult defendant.
Where is a homicide case heard in Orange County, TX?
Every homicide offense is a felony, so the case is presented to an Orange County grand jury by the District and County Attorney's Office. An indicted case is assigned to the 128th, 163rd or 260th District Court in the Orange County Courthouse. An appeal goes to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont, except that a death sentence is appealed directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
How does self-defense work in a homicide case in Orange, TX?
Penal Code § 9.32 justifies deadly force when a person reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect against another's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force, or to prevent certain violent crimes such as murder, robbery or sexual assault. Once the evidence raises self-defense, the state carries the burden of disproving it beyond a reasonable doubt, and the jury is instructed on it.
What should I do if police want to question me about a death in Orange, TX?
A person has the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer before questioning. Statements about what a person knew or intended are often the center of a homicide case. Anyone contacted by investigators can politely decline an interview and talk to an attorney first, whether or not an arrest has been made.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
A homicide investigation can run for months before a grand jury hears it. Call or request a consultation to go over the case from the start.
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