Category Archives: Court Opinions

Judge Watch: Court of Crim Appeals Says Not Unfair to Defendant Hood for Judge and DA to Have Affair During Trial

If you’re shaking your head in disbelief at this week’s ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — well, join the crowd.   When the news first hit that a trial court judge and the district attorney who prosecuted cases in her courtroom had had a long-standing sexual relationship, lots of folk were stunned.  And lots…


Death Row: Rodney Reed Loses Appeal Despite Evidence that Cop Was Real Killer

Death Row inmate Rodney Reed, 41, brought an appeal of his case before the highest court in our state for criminal matters, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, arguing that there is new evidence in his case. And, this evidence points to the victim’s boyfriend – who was a cop at the time – as…


COURT OPINIONS: US Supreme Court Nixes Judges Accepting Big Campaign Donations Due to Appearance of Bias

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. Massey (read the opinion here) came down yesterday, and we’ll have to see how much it impacts Texas Judges — and how often they recuse themselves from cases. Texas Judges Run for Office: They Kiss Babies and Take Contributions In Texas, judges run for office. (The federal…


Court Opinions: Court of Criminal Appeals Says Andre Thomas May Be "Crazy" (Duh) But He's Sane Enough for Death

Warning – this is gruesome stuff here…. Andre Thomas is 26 years old, and he’s living on Texas’ Death Row for the killing of his wife’s 13-month old daughter. His wife and their 4 year old son were also murdered by Andre during this violence. Each victim was stabbed and then their hearts were ripped…