Since 1994, Attorney James G. Sullivan has represented more than 3,000 clients in criminal and juvenile courts in Harris and surrounding counties. The following criminal and juvenile cases are exceptional and should not be considered as typical. Certainly, each case is different. Similar results may not be obtained in your case and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Note that these are only examples of the cases Sullivan has handled.
The cases listed below that were no billed (dismissed) by the grand jury were based on a written defense packet prepared by Sullivan. When a case is thereby dismissed by the grand jury, that means that the grand jury voted there was no probable cause to believe that the accused committed the offense.
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| Charge | Accusation | Result |
| Aggravated Assault | Client, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, accused of pistol whipping one of two men who cornered him in the dark after he left a bar. | Not guilty |
| Aggravated Assault | Client, a disabled veteran, shot a former friend who was high on drugs and broke in his house right after being ordered to leave the premises and attempted to attack him. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault | Client shot a violent felon who was trying to steal his car outside of his apartment at nighttime. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault | Client accused of shooting another guy’s motorcycle twice while the guy was on it after the guy had broken the client’s custom table, injured him and refused to leave his property at nighttime. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault | Juvenile client ran over drug dealer to save friend’s life. The complainant suffered a broken hip. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault | Juvenile client accused of attacking an older boy with a handmade weapon after the older boy came over to his house to kill him. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Assault | Juvenile client accused of threatening to stab a classmate with a pair of scissors. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault | Client hit a man in the head with a beer bottle outside a bar. Client claimed self-defense. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault | Client accused of hitting another woman in the head with a metal pole. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault | Juvenile client was accused of participating in his parents’ attack of a man over a parking space in their apartment complex. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Assault | Client allegedly brandished a knife and threatened another guy who had stolen his property | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client shot his brother in the side after his brother stabbed him in the arm. The client’s brother was high on K2. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of slashing her ex-girlfriend’s face. A witness corroborated client’s version that her ex-girlfriend attacked her first with a broken wine bottle and cut her wrist and that her ex-girlfriend was accidentally injured in a struggle over the bottle. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of threatening his girlfriend with a knife and inflicting a serious wound on the back of her head. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client with mental illness stabbed his girlfriend in the arm and upper back with a steak knife. State only offered prison time. | Deferred Adjudication after PSI Hearing |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of threatening her mother with a knife in Fort Bend county. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of trying to run her baby’s daddy over with her Jeep and with their young son on the front passenger seat and in view of two nearby independent witnesses. In reality, he threw his bicycle in front of her Jeep to cause her to come to a screeching halt and then cursed at her. After she drove off, he lied to the witnesses about what happened. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of threatening to kill his wife and family with a handgun. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of intentionally trying to drive into and strike his girlfriend. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of intentionally driving into and hitting the new girlfriend of her ex-boyfriend. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault – Family Violence | Juvenile client accused of threatening her mother with a steak knife. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer | Police Officer shot at 4 unarmed teenagers in a truck leaving an underage drinking party and claimed that client was pointing a gun at him through the window. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer | Client tried to stab an HPD officer at a grocery store. | Not guilty by reason of insanity |
| Aggravated Robbery | Client accused of 2 separate armed robberies, including a home invasion across the street from South Houston PD. The chief of police and another officer testified that they positively identified client as one of the three armed robbers who fled on foot from the scene. Client’s vehicle was left behind at the scene. After the jury returned a not guilty verdict, the prosecutor dismissed the other aggravated robbery charge. Client was a habitual felon and faced 25-99 years imprisonment. | Not guilty |
| Aggravated Robbery | Client accused of robbing a teenage girl in her home after they both skipped school in Waller county. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Robbery | Client accused of using a firearm to rob several restaurant patrons of their cell phones after firing a round into the ceiling. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Robbery | Client accused of being the driver in an aggravated robbery. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Robbery | Client accused of crime spree, robbing 12 drug stores over a 3 month period to support his drug habit. | Reduced to robbery, 7 years TDC |
| Aggravated Robbery | Juvenile client drove 2 guys on a crime spree–robbing several people at knifepoint in a short period of time. One guy got away and the other who was 17 received 3 years at TDC. | 3 years probation |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Juvenile client accused of molesting his 2½ year old niece and his 4 year old nephew was an alleged witness. The niece did have injuries documented in a medical exam, but a thorough defense investigation uncovered severe credibility issues with the children and their mother, the outcry witness, and other reasonable explanations for the injuries were not investigated by law enforcement. | Not guilty |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Client was accused of molesting his 13 year old sister-in-law. | No billed by grand jury |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Client and her boyfriend were accused of molesting her 12 year old daughter. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Client was accused of molesting his 14 year old half-sister over a two year period. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Client accused of sexually abusing his adopted daughter. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Juvenile client accused of raping his 14 year old male cousin during a sleepover. Law enforcement failed to interview the accused’s parents, failed to visit the alleged crime scene and failed to investigate the complainant’s father, a registered sex offender with a lengthy history of abusing children, as a possible perpetrator in Montgomery county. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Juvenile client was accused of having consensual sex with a 12 year old girl in her bedroom while two teenage friends allegedly listened in the adjoining room. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Juvenile client was accused of fondling a 2 year old girl at his home. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child | Client, a 17 year old teen with autism, accused of forcing his younger special needs brother to give him oral sex in Galveston county. | No billed by grand jury |
| Arson | This is rare, using epilepsy successfully as defense. Client accused of starting a gas fire in the garage of a rental house to defend his wife from a violent former tenant, the son of a police officer. Client suffers from epilepsy and the fire probably started during the postictal period of an epileptic seizure. | No billed by grand jury |
| Arson | Client accused of trying to destroy his ex-girlfriend’s apartment by setting her bed on fire. | Reduced to misdemeanor criminal mischief |
| Arson | Juvenile client accused of setting two porta potties on fire in his neighborhood. | Dismissed |
| Arson | Juvenile client accused of setting fire to a house while using drugs. | Dismissed |
| Arson | Juvenile client accused of setting his neighbor’s fence on fire with fireworks. | Dismissed |
| Assault | Clients, husband and wife, were accused of attacking a man over a parking space in their apartment complex. Their teenage son was accused of aggravated assault in the same incident. His juvenile court case was dismissed after the not guilty. | Not guilty |
| Assault | Client allegedly attacked another student at his high school and captured on video. Client claimed self-defense, | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Assault | Client accused of punching other driver in the face after a vehicular accident. | Not guilty |
| Assault on a Police Officer | Juvenile client accused of striking undercover officer with his vehicle while fleeing from a large brawl. | Hung jury then dismissed |
| Assault on a Public Servant | Juvenile client was accused of injuring his behavioral adjustment class teacher by slamming a door into her. This case was covered by the Houston Press in 2000. | Not guilty |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client, an Army veteran that served in Afghanistan, and his friend accused of going to client’s older brother’s apartment early in the morning, breaking in, dragging him outside and attacking him in the driveway. His brother’s pregnant girlfriend claimed she was also injured. After the not guilty, his friend’s assault charge was dismissed. | Not guilty |
| Assault – Family Violence | CASE DISMISSED (Client, a soldier in the Army, was falsely accused of assault by his girlfriend outside a bar while passing through town. Sullivan got the case dismissed within 4 days of being hired) | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of his injuring his pregnant wife. | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of hitting his adult son after his son stole his work truck to buy drugs. | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of assault against his girlfriend. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of assault by his wife in order for her to justify an “emergency” job transfer back to her hometown. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of injuring his ex-wife after their divorce was final. | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of striking his wife in the head with a wooden picture frame when they were both drunk and arguing. | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of hitting his wife. | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of hitting her husband. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Assault – Family Violence | Client accused of slapping his adult daughter after she cursed him. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Assault – Family Violence enhanced to felony | Client accused of injuring his 15 year old daughter after he used reasonable discipline against her. She was being rebellious and he spanked her with a belt to discipline her. | No billed by grand jury |
| Assault – Family Violence by Impeding Breathing | Client accused of choking his pregnant ex-girlfriend at his job where they both worked. | Dismissed |
| Assault – Family Violence by Impeding Breathing | Client accused of choking his wife during an argument. | No billed by grand jury |
| Assault – Family Violence by Impeding Breathing | Client accused of choking his wife during an argument and their 12 year old daughter was a witness. | No billed by grand jury |
| Assault on a Family Member by Impeding Breathing | Client accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument. | No billed by grand jury |
| Assault on a Family Member by Impeding Breathing | Client accused of choking his wife after returning from Iraq. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Assault – Family Violence by Impeding Breathing | Client accused of choking his wife on their bed during an argument. | No billed by grand jury |
| Attempted Murder | Client accused of shooting a man in the chest during a drive by. The man who was shot was on bond at the time and charged with killing the client’s brother. At the time of the shooting, client was attending a wake at the funeral parlor with members of his church. | No billed by grand jury |
| Attempted Murder | Client accused of shooting a fellow gang member. | Dismissed |
| Burglary of a Building | Juvenile client accused of breaking into the detached garage of a residence. | Dismissed |
| Burglary of a Habitation | Juvenile client accused of breaking into a home and stealing a safe containing about $15,000 in cash. A police officer coerced a false confession from the client at the police station. | Not guilty |
| Burglary of a Habitation | Client accused of breaking into home while homeowner was home, however client had credible alibi witnesses at the time of the alleged burglary. | No billed by grand jury |
| Burglary of a Habitation | Juvenile client was accused of being the lookout on a burglary of a habitation. | Dismissed |
| Burglary of a Habitation | Juvenile client was accused of helping a co-actor to break into a neighbor’s house. | Dismissed |
| Burglary of a Habitation | Client was accused of breaking into a house and later pawning the stolen property. | Dismissed |
| Burglary of a Habitation with Intent to Commit Assault | Client was accused of breaking into an apartment and attacking the occupants after a drug deal went bad. | No billed by grand jury |
| Continuous Assault – Family Violence | Client was accused of causing bodily injury to his girlfriend twice within a one week period in Montgomery county. | Reduced to misdemeanor |
| Criminal Mischief | Juvenile client accused of damaging an empty apartment next to their school. | Dismissed |
| Criminal Mischief | Client accused of keying her ex-boyfriend’s vehicle. | Dismissed |
| Credit Card Abuse | Client accused of using a stolen credit card to buy gas. | Dismissed |
| Deadly Conduct | Juvenile client accused of shooting in the direction of an occupied house at nighttime. | Not guilty |
| DWI | Client arrested by Houston Police Department and failed all field sobriety tests. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| DWI | Client arrested by Harris County Sheriff’s Department and failed all field sobriety tests. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle | Client accused of evading police in her vehicle when she drove about ½ mile after the officer switched on his strobe lights. | No billed by grand jury |
| Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle | Client was driving intoxicated (.182), struck the rear of a police car and then kept driving, turned right at the next street and finally pulled over before the next block. Client also had a firearm in his vehicle. Client was also charged with DWI and unlawfully carrying a weapon. Client received probation on the DWI and the evading and weapon charges were dismissed. | Dismissed |
| Evading Arrest by Motor Vehicle | Client, a disabled Army veteran, accused of fleeing police after an alleged shoplifting. | Dismissed |
| Evading Detention | Client was accused of running from police. | Dismissed |
| Failure to Stop and Give Information | Client accused of fleeing from an auto accident. | Dismissed |
| Filing False Report | Client accused of giving the wrong name of her baby’s daddy who fled the scene of a drug investigation. | Dismissed |
| Forgery | Client accused of forging and cashing a company check at a bank. | Dismissed |
| Forgery of Financial Instrument | Client accused of knowingly passing a counterfeit $100 bill at a liquor store. | No billed by grand jury |
| Graffiti at School | Juvenile client accused of spray painting messages on a bathroom stall at his high school. | Dismissed |
| Harboring a Runaway | Client accused of allowing a teenage runaway to live in her garage. | Dismissed |
| Indecency with a Child | Client accused of sexually abusing his 16 year old nephew in Montgomery county. | No billed by grand jury |
| Indecency with a Child | Client, mentally ill, accused of exposing himself to an underage girl. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Indecency with a Child | Juvenile client accused of inappropriately touching a girl while riding home on the school bus in Galveston county. | Dismissed |
| Indecency with a Child | Juvenile client accused of touching his 5 year old niece in his bedroom. | Dismissed |
| Indecency with a Child | Juvenile client accused of abusing a female student at his high school. | Dismissed |
| Injury to a Child | Client accused of causing bodily injury to her 9 year old daughter when she spanked her with an umbrella. The grand jury agreed that her daughter’s injury was the result of being reasonably disciplined. | No billed by grand jury |
| Injury to a Child | Client, a police officer, was accused of abusing his teenage daughter when he slapped her. The grand jury agreed that he used reasonable discipline. | No billed by grand jury |
| Injury to a Child | Client was accused of abusing her 10 year old son after she accidentally slapped him on his side when he was resisting a hand spanking. The grand jury agreed she used reasonable discipline in Matagorda county. | No billed by grand jury |
| Injury to a Child | Client accused of breaking his infant son’s leg and 3 ribs. The hospital ER physician did not consider other medical disorders as a cause. When client hired Sullivan, the court-appointed attorney on client’s CPS case had said he should get divorced and relinquish his parental rights to his wife. As a result of the no bill, the CPS case was dismissed. | No billed by grand jury |
| Manslaughter | Juvenile client drove his father’s vehicle recklessly, went off the road and hit a tree. Four passengers died in the accident. Client suffered a traumatic brain injury and was ruled unfit to proceed in a pre-trial hearing. The prosecutor had sought to have client certified to stand trial as an adult. The four cases were dismissed on his 18th birthday. | Dismissed |
| Murder | This may be a first – a juvenile client’s murder charge and subsequent dismissal order were filed on the same day! Client had been in juvenile detention accused of murder for 6 weeks. The DA’s office had 30 business days from the first detention hearing to file charges. Sullivan was hired 10 days after client was arrested and had 2 detention hearings. Even though Sullivan’s witnesses testified and presented video evidence that proved the client was elsewhere at the time of the shooting and also pointed out that the identifying evidence was weak and the photo lineup was tainted, two different judges refused to release him from detention. One morning soon thereafter, the DA’s office filed a murder charge against the client. Sullivan immediately asked for all available evidence. The chief prosecutor assigned to the case reviewed the evidence Sullivan had presented in the hearings as well as the State’s file, and then did the right thing. He filed a dismissal order and asked the detention court to release his client. A juvenile detention employee said he had never seen anything like it in his 22 years of work. | Dismissed |
| Murder | Client fired a handgun to scare off 7 thugs who crashed a college going away party and accidentally killed an acquaintance in the dark. Previous best offer was 45 years. | 15 years TDC on day of Trial |
| Murder | Client killed a neighborhood menace with a shotgun in self defense, but then denied knowledge of the killing to the police in a videotaped interview. Client had a prior felony conviction. Best offer before trial was 45 years. | 16 years TDC at trial |
| Negligent Homicide | Client accused of killing a young man in a head-on car accident in northwest Houston. The accused allegedly had traces of cocaine in his system, was driving over the speed limit in the rain, on the wrong side of the road, and with “bald” tires. High profile case. | Not guilty |
| Online Solicitation of a Minor | Client accused of discussing sex with a 12 year old girl online in a gaming chat room. Sullivan and his associate Nancy Botts filed a motion to declare the statute unconstitutional. While their motion was on appeal, a separate motion by another attorney succeeded. | Dismissed |
| Online Solicitation of a Minor | Client accused of discussing a sex hook up with a 15 year old girl online. | Dismissed |
| Possession of Child Pornography | Juvenile client accused of possessing child pornography on his school’s laptop. After completing sex offender counseling, Sullivan persuaded the judge to grant his client a six month deferred prosecution. | Dismissed |
| Possession of Child Pornography | 17 year old client accused of possessing child pornography on his home computer. Sullivan persuaded prosecutor to grant a deferred adjudication on a reduced felony of obscenity without sex offender registration in Brazoria county. | 5 years deferred adjudication on Obscenity |
| Possession of Prohibited Weapon | Client accused of possessing a switchblade knife. | Dismissed |
| Possession of a Prohibited Weapon | Juvenile client accused of possessing brass knuckles at school. | Dismissed |
| Prostitution | Client accused of soliciting a prostitute for sex for a fee. | Dismissed |
| Possession of a Controlled Substance | Juvenile client accused of having cocaine in her pants while at an underage party. | Dismissed at suppression hearing |
| Possession of a Controlled Substance | Juvenile client accused of having cocaine in her cigarette pack at school. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Possession of a Controlled Substance | Client accused of possessing cocaine while riding his bicycle on the sidewalk. | Dismissed |
| Possession of a Controlled Substance | Client accused of possessing cocaine while walking down the street instead of on the sidewalk. | Dismissed |
| Possession of Marihuana | Client was pulled over by DPS trooper and trooper found 25 pounds of marihuana in his trunk. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Resisting Arrest | Juvenile client arrested at school for resisting arrest. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Retaliation | Juvenile client accused of threatening the mother of an assault victim, a boy at the same school. The boy had been attacked by the client’s then boyfriend. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Sexual Assault | Client, an elected official, was accused of sexual assault by his girlfriend in Brazoria county. | No billed by grand jury |
| Sexual Assault | Clients, a juvenile and his 17 year old friend, accused of raping a 17 year old mutual friend after all three were drinking. Sullivan prepared a grand jury packet for both clients. After reading it, the prosecutor decided to just close the file. | Charges were not filed |
| Sexual Assault | Juvenile client accused of raping an 18 year old woman at an underage drinking party. After Sullivan and his client met with the investigator, the DA’s office declined to file charges in Brazoria county. | Charges were not filed |
| Sexual Assault of a Child | Client accused of having sex with 16 year old girl who falsely claimed she was 18. | No billed by grand jury |
| Sexual Assault of a Child | Client accused of consensual sex with 16 year old girl. | No billed by grand jury |
| Sexual Assault of a Child | Client accused of consensual sex with 15 year old girl. | No billed by grand jury |
| Sexual Assault of a Child | Client accused of consensual sex with underage female | No billed by grand jury |
| Theft | Client, an undocumented immigrant, accused of stealing over $10,000 in cash from his employer, an auto paint shop, to support a drug habit in Jefferson county. | Reduced to a misdemeanor |
| Theft | Client accused of shoplifting, stealing items from a grocery store. | Dismissed |
| Theft | Client accused of stealing over $100,000 in medical equipment from his employer, a refurbishing company. | Reduced to a misdemeanor |
| Theft | Client accused of selling over $150,000 in stolen steel strapping. | Reduced to a misdemeanor |
| Theft | Client accused of stealing an I-Pad from a restaurant. | Dismissed |
| Theft by Check | Client accused of writing a check on a closed account. | Dismissed |
| Terroristic Threat | Client, a Chinese immigrant, accused of threatening to shoot a police officer after being arrested for refusing to sign a summons in Montgomery county. | Dismissed |
| Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle | Client accused of driving a stolen car. | Dismissed |
| Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon | Client accused of unlawfully carrying a firearm outside of a restaurant. | Not guilty |
| Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon | Client accused of carrying a firearm in his carry on bag through a security checkpoint at Bush Intercontinental Airport. | Dismissed on day of Trial |
| Violation of Probation | Client accused of violating his felony probation by testing positive for marihuana and being behind on community service. | Probation reinstated |
| Violation of Probation | Client, a mother of two children, accused of violating a felony deferred adjudication after failing to report for over a year. | Probation reinstated |
