Category Archives: Arrest and Indictment
The Police and Your Phone: Invasion of Privacy by Police
Sure, people who are being investigated by law enforcement for committing crimes, as they are defined by state or federal law, need to know about their privacy rights — constitutionally protected privacy rights — and where the line is drawn between them and the police during that investigation. When is a search warrant required before…
Bite Mark Evidence Isn’t Reliable But It’s Still Used Against Defendants in Texas
Lots of criminal defense attorneys have their fingers crossed here in Texas, hoping that sooner rather than later everyone is going to acknowledge and understand that bite mark evidence isn’t worthy of respect much less use in a criminal case where someone’s freedom is in jeopardy. For many years, defense lawyers have recognized that evidence…
Is Flakka Legal in Texas? What Dallas Needs to Know About Flakka
Flakka (aka “flocka” or “gravel”) has arrived in North Texas. This is not good news for anyone. In case you haven’t heard of it, “flakka” is the nickname for a new synthetic drug, or designer drug, already popular in Florida that is slowly making its way to other parts of the country. Like North…
4 Shocking Texas Traffic Stops: Current Texas Law For Arrest After Pulled Over by Police
Here in Dallas, and probably most of Texas, the death of Sandra Bland in a jail cell over in Waller County is a tragedy and a mystery — one that is still being investigated. It’s being reported that the 28-year-old woman from Chicago died by her own hand three days after she was arrested and…
Drug Cartels in North Texas: Big Business and Felony Crimes
In Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as the surrounding area here in North Texas, illegal drugs are a big (very big) business. Criminal defense lawyers here as well as police and prosecutors in both the state and federal systems understand in ways that the general public does not about the commercial success of selling…
Police That Lie: More on the Secret Texas District Attorney Lists of Police Officers Not Trustworthy to Take the Witness Stand
Prosecutors have lists of the names of police officers and deputy sheriffs that they don’t trust to take the witness stand — did you know these lists existed? Do you think that every police officer is honest and trustworthy to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on the stand? Brady…
Structuring and Dennis Hastert: Is This Case Setting a Precedent for Prosecutorial Overreach of Your Rights?
Yesterday, Dennis Hastert pled not guilty to criminal charges that were filed against him on May 28, 2015, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No. 15-CR-315. Read the Indictment which was placed into my Digital Library for further reference here: Counts in the Indictment: What’s…
When The Police Stop You: the Law and Your Need for a Zealous Defense Lawyer
The death of Freddie Gray while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department continues to be big news here in Dallas and the rest of the country: this week, the six police officers who were arrested in connection with what the medical examiner ruled a homicide of Freddie Gray are quickly beginning their defense….
Police in Dallas – Fort Worth Get Papers Graded: Low Crime Clearance Rates for North Texas
Today, the video of a South Carolina police officer shooting a man running away from a traffic stop has gone viral, and the officer has been arrested for murder. If you haven’t seen the footage, you can watch it on YouTube (it’s pretty graphic). For more videos of excessive force by law enforcement around the…
Juvenile Heroin Arrests: When Your Child is Busted for Heroin in Texas
Some may be shocked to think that there are active heroin users here in Texas, especially here in the Dallas – Fort Worth area, that are minors or juveniles and kids under the age of 18 years. The general public (and potential jurors) may not understand that heroin use isn’t like it was in years…