Category Archives: Search and Seizures
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….
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Forfeiture Victory for Police: They Can Seize and Keep Assets Even In an Illegal Search Says Texas Supreme Court
Texas law allows the police to take property from someone even if the property owner is never charged, much less convicted of a crime. This is called “civil forfeiture,” it’s allowed under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 59.01-.14 et seq., and we’ve discussed this several times before. Lots of people are against civil forfeiture…
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Do You Have Any Privacy From the Police in Texas? Laredo vs. Dallas
If you watched the CBS crime show “Hawaii Five-O” last week, you saw the elite police squad use a device that allowed them to see through the walls of a building and view not only the location of the kidnapping victim but also the location and movements of her captors. The gizmo read the heat…
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Forfeiture Funds are Back as Equitable Sharing Program Gears Up in Dallas County and State of Texas
Back in March, the Department of Justice issued a news release that had to have been met with lots of joy in law enforcement offices all over the State of Texas: the “Equitable Sharing Program” was back, effective immediately! Both the March 28, 2016 Letter Sent by the Department of Justice to State, Local, and…
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Privacy of Your Smart Phone: Police Search and Seizure and Apple’s Fight Against the FBI
There is a huge privacy fight going on this month up in Washington regarding privacy and your smart phone, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wants access to all the data that is setting encrypted on the iPhone taken by the local police in the aftermath of the San Bernardino shootings. Some may argue…
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Police Coming Into Texas Homes Without A Search Warrant
Search and Seizure: Police Entering Dorm Rooms, Apartments, Homes Our story begins a few weeks ago down near Austin, where Tori Thayer and Carly Christine were roommates sharing a home in Pflugerville (maybe you recognize Pflugerville as the place where lots of episodes of the TV show “Friday Night Lights” were filmed). It was three o’clock…
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Fighting to Stop Asset Forefeiture by Police Isn’t That Easy
You know that the issue of asset forfeiture is a big deal in this country when it’s reported that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), FreedomWorks, Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for American Progress, and the Faith and Freedom Coalition — among others — have joined together in their efforts to stop the practice…
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Waco Justice? 100 Days After Twin Peaks Biker Arrests, Things Look Fishy to Criminal Defense
Today, the Dallas Morning News published an editorial calling for the end of the gag order down in Waco which prevents law enforcement and state authorities — much less anyone else — from revealing information about the May 17, 2015 shootout involving lots of bikers and motorcycle club members at the Twin Peaks restaurant in…
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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…
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Donley County 2nd Degree Money Laundering Reduced to Misdemeanor and Money Returned
Mr. Lowe’s client was stopped by DPS Trooper Danny Nunez and later prosecuted by District Attorney Luke Inman of the 100th Judicial District of Texas (Carson County, Donley County, Hall County, Collingsworth County and Childress County). Trooper Nunez is one of the most prolific Drug Interdiction Police Officers in the State of Texas. Trooper Nunez…
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