Sudden tragedy in a high-conflict family matter is the nightmare scenario for both attorneys and judges when criminal law and family law interact in Texas.

In 2001, for example, a Dallas man shot and killed his two little girls while their mother listened on the telephone. It was an evil act of revenge against his ex-wife carried out during scheduled custody with his children. John Battaglia is now in a well-deserved cell on death row for this horrific crime.

Few cases represent a more complete breakdown of the legal system, but many interactions between criminal law and family law feature people operating in an aberrant manner. The two practice areas address the needs of society in very different ways.