While the chief justice of the highest criminal court in the State of Texas continues her work from the bench, it appears that lots of other folk are working hard behind the scenes, too — especially now that we’ve got the findings from Judge David Berchelmann for everyone to view. Tomorrow would have been the…
When you watch TV, the prosecutors are always the good guys. Just check out Law & Order, for example. Heroes, right? Well, things are different out in the real world. Policeman Gives Sworn Statement, Dallas County Prosecutor Told Him (as Sole Eyewitness) Who to Point Out At Trial Just this past week, another Texas scandal…
When last we wrote about Chief Justice Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, she was down in San Antonio being tried for wrongdoing. That’s right — the top judge in the highest criminal court in this state, on trial. State District Judge David Berchelmann, setting in Bexar County, Texas, was appointed to…
You know they thought this was a great idea, maybe even genius. The Department of Housing and Urban Development up in Washington, D.C. implemented a program where law enforcement officers could get a house at HALF-PRICE as long as they bought a home in a pre-selected neighborhood, known to be less than stellar. That’s right: cops…
Last week, we pondered the trustworthiness of crime labs in Texas – or more accurately, how inaccurate their results can be. One good bit of news in all that mess is the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S.Ct. 2527 (2009), where just this summer the Highest Court in…
Many, many, many criminal defense attorneys in the State of Texas cast a wary eye at any test results coming out of crime labs in this state, because all too often, state forensic evidence has shown itself to be faulty. Unlike the CSI shows on TV, all sorts of crazy stuff appears to happen in…
Apparently, things are really horrible over in France — REALLY HORRIBLE — because they are actually spending the time and money to debate, draft, and finalize into law a bit of legislation that criminalizes “psychological violence” between married couples as well as those who are cohabitating without the benefit of clergy. Sounds like some serious…