Category Archives: Federal Government Watch
Brendan Dassey Motion for Release from Jail During Appeal of Wrongful Conviction Ruling
The Motion to Release Brendan Dassey on his own recognizance (no bail bond) has been filed with the federal court that ruled he was the victim of a wrongful conviction. Both the motion and its memorandum in support (which has all the legal arguments) have been placed in the Michael Lowe Digital Library. This supplements…
Why Brendan Dassey Can’t Get Out of Jail Even Though Federal Judge Overturned His Conviction
Federal Criminal Appeals: Lessons from Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” Brendan Dassey Case How can a judge overturn a conviction as being wrongful and unjust, and the defendant still remain behind bars? That’s what is happening in the Brendan Dassey case — and it’s a great lesson to all of us on how the criminal justice…
How To Get Out of Jail on a Federal Charge: Federal Arrest, Bail, and PreTrial Detention
Let’s focus on the feds today. Arrests here in Dallas (or anywhere in Texas) can be based upon violations of either state law or federal law. (Sure, there are municipal ordinances and county regulations, too, but we’re going to include them under the general heading of state law, from which their power is derived.) So,…
Federal Prosecutor Powers: Is the FBI Recording Your Conversation Down at the Courthouse?
There are more criminal cases filed in state courts here in Dallas and North Texas than in the federal system, and there are a number of reasons for this. However, the power of the federal system and the impact of federal practices and federal court cases upon state and local criminal systems cannot be underestimated….
Immigration Holds in North Texas: Indefinite Stays and Dallas County Sheriff
There’s a reason that you get nervous when you see that police car in your rearview mirror: police officers have tremendous power in this country, and we all depend upon them to exercise that power (in legalese, their “police powers”) responsibly. Not that this gives many of us much comfort. DWI Held on Immigration Bond…
Money Laundering and Texas Drug Cartels
Money Laundering Arrests – The Flip Side of the Forfeiture Coin Money laundering in Texas has to happen, it’s a given. Why? The extremely successful Mexican Drug Cartels that operate here (and across the Tex-Mex border) must have a system to convert the cash revenue generated by their illegal business activities into legitimate and viable…
Year in Review: Things for Dallas to Consider From a Criminal Defense Perspective
How Dangerous is It to Live or Work in Dallas County? Here we are at the end of another year. Let’s take a minute and consider where things stand as we enter 2016, from a North Texas Criminal Defense perspective: 1. Dallas County Is Really, Really Dangerous As reported by Grits for Breakfast this week,…
Heroin in Dallas: 5 Things About Dallas’ Heroin Market from the New DEA Report
Heroin use in Texas isn’t news, but the increasing use of this particularly notorious drug — and the skyrocketing number of drug overdose deaths in our state and across the country — is really getting newsworthy. Search the news, or just search for “heroin” in Twitter, and you’ll find stories from all over the country…
Probation on Federal Texas Eastern District Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods
Mr. Lowe’s client hired him two years ago after a disappointing experience with another attorney. At that time, the Department of Homeland Security had raided his client’s home based on a search warrant supported by an evidentiary affidavit establishing probable cause. The raid yielded 63,088 counterfeit DVDs in the client’s possession, which were valued at $741,284.00….
Dennis Hastert Plea Deal: My Prediction Coming True and The Impact on Future Prosecutions
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow – but soon, and most likely on October 28 according to the Chicago Tribune, Dennis Hastert (former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives) is going to be facing a federal judge with a plea deal in hand, an agreement reportedly ironed out between his defense team and the federal prosecutors….
