When Your Home is Your Castle

When you ask a Texan whether or not you have the right to defend your home here in this Great State, you’ll often get some version of the answer, “Yes. This is Texas.”

But today, in San Antonio, a man is on trial for doing exactly that.

Now keep in mind that news agencies are notorious for getting facts and details of cases completely wrong. They’re even worse when they try and explain the law. But, if we take the story at face value, here’s what appears to have happened.

Ray Lemes, 51 years old, jumped up naked from his bed in response to his wife screaming that there was someone in the house. He grabbed a pistol that they kept in the bedroom and dashed to the front of the home. He stepped through the open front door of his home and saw someone over by his truck. Then, a person comes out from behind a brush pile on the street and heads straight towards Lemes. He’s naked. His wife and dog are behind him in his home. He shoots.

Is it a tragedy? Of course. The burglar was 19 years old. It’s always horrible when a young man makes a poor decision and puts himself in someone else’s home in the middle of the night.

If the facts were as they appear, I’d have taken the same action.

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Our Dallas Defense Law and Texas Military Justice blogs are written by three men who have long served our Government, and now serve our fellow citizens, both civilian and military, who are fighting the Government. Patrick McLain, along with colleagues Jeff King and Philip Ray, defends clients in Texas criminal courts, federal courts nationwide, and military courts worldwide. We have worked within the System, we know that System, and we fight for the rights and freedoms of our fellow Americans in all of those tribunals.

Patrick McLain has served as an attorney for over twenty years, as a general court-martial military judge, head of prosecution divisions, head of criminal defense offices, and assistant U.S. attorney (federal prosecutor). Philip Ray has served for over ten years, almost exclusively as an assistant district attorney (Texas state prosecutor), and Jeff King has served over eight years as a U.S. Marine Corps judge advocate (military attorney). Each of us has had a very successful career in the courtroom, and we are now pursuing our passion in fighting for those who are now fighting the government for their rights, their freedom, and their good name.

Like any military campaign, or criminal trial, this battle is best fought as a team, with a well-reasoned plan and esprit de corps. We welcome contributions from our fellow warriors, as well as those members of the public who want to engage in the debate of ideas on our Republic’s Constitution, laws, and regulations. Tough minded comments are welcome, but we have time or truck for narcissism or blather. So please respect all those in the discourse, and if you do, we are honored by your participation in the colloquy.