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It's a fine balance between living in a fun town and living with all the libs in this town. They're downright venomous sometimes...

I've contacted an attorney today and he had a good laugh at the whole situation. Directed at her, not me...

He calmed me down quite a bit and told me that I already have plenty of ammo (no pun intended) on my side. Two visits by cops and now a Criminal Trespass Warrant. He said if anything she's got ever makes it to court, he'd be very surprised. He did say that he would gladly take the case. Then again, what lawyer wouldn't take a case that would be an easy win?

Thanks for listening everyone.

BTW - City of Austin does have an ordinance on the books that states:

§ 3-2-1 RUNNING AT LARGE PROHIBITED.

Except as specifically provided in this title, an owner or handler may not allow livestock, fowl, a dog, or other domestic or dangerous animal or reptile to run at large.

Source: 1992 Code Sections 3-1-3(G), 3-2-2, 3-2-25, and 3-3-2; Ord. 031009-9; Ord. 031211-11.

as well as

§ 3-4-6 DEFECATION BY A DOG OR CAT.

An owner or handler shall promptly remove and sanitarily dispose of feces left on public or private property by a dog or cat being handled by the person, other than property owned by the owner or handler of the dog or cat.

Source: 1992 Code Section 3-3-7; Ord. 031009-9; Ord. 031211-11.

All,

I need to respectfully ask the forum for the name of a good attorney in Austin that handles civil lawsuits and is appreciative of CHL holders.

No, I haven't been involved in any that required the use of my weapon, but a recent situation has escalated to a point that I need to retain a good attorney.

I know everyone loves a story, so I'll just give information that is available in police reports:

I live in a very dense neighborhood in NW Austin. After several years of trying to keep stray (or what I thought were stray) cats out of my yard, I've taken the advice of Austin 311 and the Town Lake Animal Shelter and started humanely trapping cats on my property and turning them over to the shelter. In doing so, I filled out the forms they have at the shelter in which they ask for name/address/phone. Well, an individual whose pet I turned into the shelter wasn't pleased and was able to acquire my information as part of the Open Records Act. Rest assured that I've stopped giving my personal info when turning cats in.

This person has now taken it upon herself to openly harass me and my family in the neighborhood and as of today been charged with criminal trespass and harassment by Austin Police. I will not comment on how my CHL has become involved in this. The police have assured me that I have done nothing criminally wrong, but they warned that I could be looking at a very large headache in the future.

However, even though I have never harbored thoughts of malice towards my neighbors and have been overly protective of animals that I take to shelters, she is threatening civil action. Regardless of whether she has a case, she can still try to sue me. In which case I need to have a defense prepared.

So, if anyone knows of a good Austin lawyer that isn't a bleeding heart liberal and truly respects the current laws in Texas, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
AJ