Federal Sentencing Guideline 2B1.1 explains how to calculate monetary loss in a variety of crimes, such as tax evasion, structuring, wire fraud, money laundering, and mortgage fraud. Financial crimes prosecuted by the federal government usually involve a lot of money that builds into a large economic loss for its victims. Criminal creativity being what it…
Do Revenge Porn Laws Violate the First Amendment? Sexual Photograph Crimes and Free Speech Today, smart phones have made it so easy to take photographs or make videos that the temptation to capture images of a sexual nature is often overpowering for some people. These images can then be readily stored – and shared –…
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…
In Texas, arrests are made by both state and federal law enforcement asserting violation of various crimes involving the human trafficking of individuals, with many of these cases alleging the sex trafficking of minors (those under the age of 18 years). For more on the various crimes involved in the trafficking of humans in Texas,…
Michael Lowe’s client was accused with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon in Tarrant County. The father of her child was the complaining witness. Late last year, Mr. Lowe’s client was assaulted by the complaining witness. He was arrested and charged with Assault/Family Violence in Tarrant County. The child’s father continued to have contact with…
Across the country, district attorneys are building what is becoming known as their own criminal justice reform movement. Given that the top prosecutor in his or her respective jurisdiction gets to make the call in what cases get prosecuted – and what sentences are sought in those cases – there’s a tremendous amount of power…
Trafficking Crimes in Texas Trafficking is a criminal law term used for both drug crimes and sex crimes. Here, we will be excluding drug trafficking and the defense of those charged with trafficking drugs in Texas. Our focus is on the crimes involved in human trafficking laws: what they provide, and related crimes that are…
Defendants charged with theft after a bait car arrest may not win an entrapment argument but this does not mean there may not be a viable defense. Stealing cars (along with pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans) is big business here in Texas. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, Texas has more auto thefts each…
Different Defenses to Search Warrants and Illegal Searches by the Police Evidence is everything for the prosecution’s case in any criminal proceeding, federal or state. Without evidence, the case has no legal foundation and cannot be filed. Once filed, insufficient evidence means the state’s case must be dismissed. Therefore, from a criminal defense perspective, one…
When the police search your dwelling, they have specific limitations on where they can search and what they can take. Police officers (or federal law enforcement agents) show up at your front door, demanding to be allowed inside your home because they have a search warrant allowing them to do so, whether you like it…
