Category Archives: Cop Watch

Encounters with Law Enforcement: A Criminal Defense Perspective

Seven Steps to Take When Police Show Up at Your Home or Work or Call You on the Phone More and more often, I pick up the phone to hear someone wondering what to do after local police or some other member of law enforcement (e.g., agents of the FBI, DEA, etc.) has surprised them…


In Texas, We Need Laws That Force Police and Prosecutors to Do the Right Thing: the Criminal Defense Reality 

BuzzFeed, working with Injustice Watch, recently published an article entitled “Good Day for a Choke Hold.” Written by Emily Hoerner and Rick Tulsky, the piece invites readers with the caption, “[a] review of the Facebook accounts of thousands of officers around the US — the largest database of its kind — found officers endorsing violence…


Dallas Sex Crime Arrests and Possible Criminal Charges against the Dallas Vice Unit

Texas has more human trafficking cases than any other state in the union except for California, and most of this is sex trafficking.  Texas being Number Two in the USA isn’t news to those involved in the criminal justice system here in North Texas.  It’s been this way for several years now.  In fact, the…


Resisting Arrest vs Excessive Force: Lessons from Fort Worth Police BodyCam

Back on a hot summer night this past August, a Fort Worth Police Officer named Sergeant Kenneth Pierce responded to a 911 domestic disturbance call.  He had been on the job for over 20 years.  Family violence calls weren’t new to him. He went to the home with a fellow officer, a rookie named Maria…


When Police Enter Your Home (Or the FBI and ICE) Here in Texas

The Fourth Amendment protects you in the privacy of your home.  In the United States, police cannot enter your home whenever they choose to do so (unlike some other countries).  Here, your privacy is constitutionally protected and private citizens can reside safely in their homes without concern for the government busting through the front door….


Wham, Bam: What’s Going On With the Dallas Police Department

There’s tremendous power in being a police officer anywhere in this country, and that’s especially important for everyone to know here in North Texas and Dallas County.  Protect and serve?  Sure. Thing is, law enforcement in Texas have the power to stop you and take your freedom.  A single officer can arrest you on charges…


Police Officer Arrest of Utah Nurse Alex Wubbels: Lessons for All of Us

First you have to watch the video of what happened in a Utah emergency room on July 26, 2017.  The video shows what happens after Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne demands a blood sample from patient William Gray. Blood Sample Not From Suspect Seems Mr. Gray was being given medical treatment at the hospital…


Arrested After Police Field Drug Test?  Fight Back: These Things Are Notoriously Wrong

Here’s what happens.   You’re driving along, minding your own business, when you see those flashing lights in your rearview mirror and pull over.  The police officer saunters up to your window.  You ask what’s going on: why did he stop you? Next thing you know, he’s checking out stuff in your car and he’s using…


Attacks on Police in Texas are Hate Crimes under 2017 Police Protection Act

Look in the dictionary and “hate crime” is defined as any crime that is motivated by hostility towards the victim because he or she is a member of a specific group (like gender, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation). The FBI has its own definition:  a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in…


Eavesdropping on Criminal Defense Lawyers:  Attorney Overhearings as Evidence

Occasionally clients or potential clients will voice concerns about the safety of communication with their criminal defense lawyer.  It’s understandable, given all the technological advances in snooping devices. Snooping Gizmos So You Can Eavesdrop Surf online and you can find all sorts of ways to listen into phone conversations, as well as monitor things being…