Category Archives: DA Watch

For Decades, Feds (DOJ, FBI) Knew Forensic Evidence Was Unreliable But Said Nothing to Defense: How Many Innocents Behind Bars, How Many Have Been Wrongfully Executed?

This week, a Washington Post investigation is spreading like wildfire over the web and it’s getting lots of people talking.  People like Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins, who was on television this week here in Dallas to answer some questions about what the Post has revealed (watch him on video here). You can read the…


Longstanding Problem of Rogue Prosecutors Exposed as Texas Court of Injury in Morton Case and Federal Inquiry in Stevens Matter Move Forward

District attorneys are responsible for seeking justice on behalf of the people, but that’s a joke when rogue prosecutors are involved.  We keep track of Texas prosecutors doing bad things here in the Lone Star State (check out the “DA Watch” link there in the right sidebar and here) with a careful eye on prosecutorial…


Texas Jails Recording Attorney – Client Communications: Defense Bar’s Assumptions About Jail Privacy Proven True With Houston and Galveston Jail Revelations

Here in Texas, just like the rest of the country, it’s assumed by most people that communications between lawyers and clients are protected – they’re top secret stuff, safe from anyone else because of the U.S. Constitution.  Right? That’s what you see on all the TV shows, isn’t it … defense lawyers and inmates talking…


Texas Judge Finds Probable Cause that Texas DA Illegally Withheld Evidence in Murder Trial of Michael Morton

We’ve been monitoring the case of Michael Morton – an innocent man who had been convicted of murder long ago in Williamson County.  For all the details on what happened to Mr. Morton, check out our post from last month, which delves into the allegations of bad acts by the prosecutor at Morton’s criminal trial….


Dallas DA Ignores Criminal Court Judge’s Orders to Reveal Dallas Police Officers’ Criminal Histories to Defense Attorneys

When police officers take the witness stand, do jurors assume that these members of law enforcement have no criminal record?  Most people would probably answer that question “yes,” but whether or not we should all assume that someone in uniform has no criminal history is the real question. Because here in Dallas County, there is…


Houston District Attorney Faces Grand Jury As Truth About Inaccuracy in Tests for Drunk Driving Is Exposed in BAT Van Scandal

Here in Texas, law enforcement’s excitement over their Drunk Driving campaigns has already become pretty darn scary what with the threat to due process rights of every citizen on the road with the current 24/7 No Refusal campaigns.  To read more about them, and growing national concern over their threats to our constitutional rights, check…


Someone Did Very Bad Things, But Texas Prosecutor in Morton Case Claims It’s Morton Attorneys Who Are Guilty of Misconduct. Really?

Back in October 2011, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued its opinion in the case of Michael Morton, releasing Mr. Morton as a free man – due in no small part to the unflagging efforts of the Innocence Project.  For details on that case, and to read the court’s opinion, check out our earlier…


Texas’ “No Refusal” DWI Campaign In National Spotlight As People Start to Realize It’s Violating Constitutional Civil Rights

Texas criminal defense attorneys hopefully will find a benefit from the growing national media attention to the state’s No Refusal campaigns that attempt to target drunk driving dangers but in doing so, endanger basic civil rights – something that every American should know. When rights are taken from you, there’s usually no advance invitation sent…


Investigations in Texas Jails This Week: Prisoners Released, Inmate Dies

Texas jails aren’t making the news as much as Texas prosecutors are these days (just check back over our last few posts) but apparently, it’s not for want of trying.  Texas jails are making national headlines for bad things, and it will be interesting to see what happens other than a slip-under-the-rug “mistakes were made”…


Prosecutorial Misconduct is a Big, Big Problem in Texas – Here Are Just a Few Examples

Call them prosecutors, district attorneys, attorneys general, or state attorneys: attorneys representing the government in criminal cases have a different role than compiling a winning trial record, or at least that’s what we all assume. These lawyers are in it not for money or for power, but for justice, right?  No. Recently, it’s become all…