Category Archives: DA Watch
Dallas D.A. Forfeiture Funds: The Temptation of All That Stuff and the Craig Watkins Scandal
Here in Dallas, more and more people are aware of how government authorities have been seizing property from people without sufficient judicial process and keeping those assets for their own uses. This is good because forfeiture is a big problem that not enough folk realize exists. We’ve been discussing this problem — the problem of…
Stingray Use by Feds and Local Police is Growing: Are You Being Monitored?
Police officers and law enforcement agencies are limited by the federal constitution as well as federal and state laws in what they can do. They are not supposed to snoop on citizens or eavesdrop on people unless they’ve got specific legal authorization to do so. . . The problem is — as any experienced criminal…
Police Who Lie On the Witness Stand: Did You Know Prosecutors Keep Lists of Their Names?
It wasn’t until 1963 that the U.S. Supreme Court forced prosecutors to do the right thing and share all the facts about a case with defense lawyers before they tried someone for a serious crime and tried to get a conviction. In the case of Brady v. Maryland, John Brady had been convicted of murder…
Dallas Ebola Victim: No Evidence of Intent to Deceive; DA Assault Charges Were Wacky
Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan died early this morning at Texas Presbyterian Hospital here in Dallas, where he had been quarantined and isolated from all human contact for the past 14 days. It’s sad to think that Thomas Duncan died alone. Our sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones who are grieving their loss…
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Texas: Continuing Injustice
For criminal defense lawyers in Texas, the idea that prosecutors are human and sometimes do very bad things isn’t news. It’s something to be monitored during every case and almost every day you ask yourself the question: is the prosecutor trying to pull a fast one here? Real life isn’t like TV shows, albeit even…
Defense Lessons of the Dallas Crime Lab and the Michael Phillips Exoneration
The Dallas Crime Lab has made the national news (along with the history books) by being the first crime lab to have its DNA evidence form the basis of a wrongful conviction exoneration where the defendant didn’t move for the re-testing of the crime lab results. This is a big national news story. You can…
Prosecutorial Misconduct Rules Issued by Texas Supreme Court: Where is Michael Morton’s Prosecutor, Ken Anderson, Now?
Prosecutors do bad things all the time here in Texas; if you doubt this, just read a few of the stories we’ve posted about regarding abusive and illegal actions by District Attorneys here in the Lone Star State. These state prosecutors do all sorts of illegal acts, from hiding evidence and introducing false evidence in…
Mortgage Fraud “Straw Buyer” Cases Are Major Target of Federal Fraud Investigations
Back in July 2013, we pointed out how mortgage fraud indictments have become a big part of federal arrests, investigations, plea deals, and trials and that media coverage will be reporting on a lot more federal mortgage fraud cases after Teresa Giudice and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, who appear in the reality show “The…
Missing Prosecutor Ray Gricar – Recent Claim That Hells Angels Club Member Ordered Hit on Gricar Doesn’t Ring True. He’s Missing Not Dead – Just Ask the FBI.
Ray Gricar, remember him? He was the prosecutor handling the Penn State child sex abuse investigation against the then-beloved defensive coordinator of the Penn State football team, Jerry Sandusky, way back when and Gricar was the District Attorney who decided NOT to prosecute Jerry Sandusky, telling the press that in his opinion there wasn’t enough…
National Drug Use Study: Marijuana and Heroin Use Skyrocketing and Local Prosecutors Are Revving Up for Severe Sentences
The federal government monitors drug use — specifically illegal drug use (including alcohol) — in several ways, including research studies like the one just released this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This study, done each year by the SAMHSA, is the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and…
