Category Archives: Orwellian Threats to Rights

5 Things to Know About Money Laundering in Texas

Major money laundering arrests make the news here in North Texas all the time, and it’s a crime that seems to be a favorite plot device in movies and TV shows. But what exactly is money laundering – and more to the point, if you think that you are being investigated for money laundering, then…


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…


Speedy Trials in Texas: Prosecuting “Killer Nurse” Genene Jones for 1981 Crime

Do you remember where you were in 1981?  Were you even alive in 1981? Let’s think back … 1981 was the year: President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley; the CDC recognized the first five cases of AIDS in five homosexual men diagnosed with a “rare form of pneumonia” in Los Angeles; Donkey Kong…


New 2017 Federal Drug Policy from Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Last week, the Attorney General of the United States sent a memo to all the Offices of the U.S. Attorney General around the country, including the one overseeing the Northern District of Texas that prosecutes federal crimes here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It’s a big deal for anyone facing criminal charges here in Texas,…


Texas Prosecutor on Trial for Prosecutorial Misconduct

Prosecutorial misconduct is a problem of epidemic proportions in this country.  There is lots of discussion in criminal justice circles (and elsewhere) about how best to rein in these rogues and stop the rampant injustice created by prosecutorial misconduct. For more on the severity and seriousness of the prosecutorial misconduct problem in Texas, read our…


10 Things to Know About a Jury Trial in Texas after John Wiley Price

Let’s talk about the power of a jury.   Specifically, juries in criminal trials here in Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas.  It seems like a very opportune time to do so. John Wiley Price Mistrial: Jury Unable to Reach a Verdict John Wiley Price returned to work as a Dallas County Commissioner this week as…


Forensic Evidence Is Not Trustworthy but Prosecutors Love It: The News This Week

This week heralds the end of the National Commission on Forensic Science, a group of experts entrusted with evaluating forensic science methods that are being brought into courtrooms by prosecutors all over the country.  It’s not good news.  Their job is important because so much of the current stuff labelled “scientific evidence” in criminal investigations…


Gang Crime Charges: Increasing Prosecution of Gang-Related Crimes in Texas

This week, President Trump publicly blamed former President Obama for allowing known Central American gang MS-13 to gain a foothold in the United States.  See, “Trump blames Obama for formation of MS-13 crime gang,” published by the Business Insider on April 17, 2017. Two months ago, the President signed a series of three executive orders…


Prosecutor Withholding Evidence from Defense in Federal Criminal Case

In a criminal case, someone’s freedom — or even their life — is on the line.  Legally, this places special duties upon the prosecution to be fair with the defendant.  All sorts of laws exist to protect against abuse by the state: things like the Speedy Trial Act, for instance. Prosecutorial Duty to Turn Over…