Houston Homicide Defense

Houston Criminal Lawyer James Sullivan represents people charged with all kinds of criminal offenses, including murder. Sullivan has tried several murder and many other first degree felony cases to a jury.

James (Jim) Sullivan is an experienced Houston Criminal Defense Attorney. For over 25 years, Sullivan has successfully fought the government in Jury Trials on behalf of clients in criminal and juvenile courts.

James Sullivan attended the Trial Lawyers College founded by Legendary lawyer Gerry Spence. Sullivan has a proven record of defending people from all walks of life, faiths and countries in courts throughout Texas.

If you need a Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer, call James Sullivan at 281-546-6428 for a confidential consultation.

Texas Penal Code, Section 19.02 – Murder

CHAPTER 19. CRIMINAL HOMICIDE
§ 19.02.  MURDER.  (a)  In this section:
(1)  “Adequate cause” means cause that would commonly produce a degree of anger, rage, resentment, or terror in a person of ordinary temper, sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool reflection.
(2)  “Sudden passion” means passion directly caused by and arising out of provocation by the individual killed or another acting with the person killed which passion arises at the time of the offense and is not solely the result of former provocation.
(b)  A person commits an offense if he:
(1)  intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual;
(2)  intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual; or
(3)  commits or attempts to commit a felony, other than manslaughter, and in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempt, or in immediate flight from the commission or attempt, he commits or attempts to commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual.
(c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.
(d)  At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether he caused the death under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony of the second degree.