Category Archives: Search and Seizures
Texas Police Excessive Force: Concern Isn’t Just the Police Officer, It’s the Entire Police Department
For the past two nights, there has been rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of the grand jury determination not to bring charges against a police officer who used lethal force. That’s Missouri; what about police and lethal force here in Dallas and North Texas? Good question. 1. Dallas Web Site: Police Department’s Lethal…
Dallas County Opens Digital Crime Lab: DA Snoops Your Cell Phone
There was an important news update out of Craig Watkins’ office that may have been overshadowed yesterday, what with all the November 2014 Election coverage and the scoop that Watkins lost his job to Republican challenger Susan Hawk. After all, there’s lots to ponder in Dallas criminal justice circles about what Hawk’s transition into the…
Will Media Coverage Finally Stop Government From Grabbing Your Property in Forfeiture?
Finally, the public is waking up to the wrong that is civil forfeiture laws – something that we’ve been monitoring here since April 2010. There’s still lots to be done, but there is reason to be optimistic that the government’s ability to grab your property without any criminal wrongdoing even being alleged on your part…
More Texas DWI Convictions Will Be Overturned Because of Warrantless Blood Draws
Over in Tyler, somebody had a very good day recently – specifically, Samuel Gentry who saw his lawyer win a DWI appeal before the Tyler Court of Appeals and get his 3d DWI conviction overturned along with the Life Sentence he was serving. Warrantless Blood Draw in DWI Case What happened? The police…
Supreme Court Says No to Police: Cops Cannot Search Cell Phones Without a Warrant
This morning, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Riley v. California (joined with United States v. Wurie), two cases we’ve been monitoring for a long while now. This is very big deal for all Americans and very good news for anyone arrested in the United States with their cell phone in their…
Lessons of The Gas Pipe Bust: Traffic Stop Leads to Major Synthetic Marijuana Bust and Big Federal Forfeiture Grab
It all began with a simple traffic stop back on December 4, 2013. That’s when a Denton County Deputy Sheriff pulled over a Ford pickup truck and asked the driver if he could search the vehicle. The driver said okay, and the Deputy Sheriff discovered stuff used to grow marijuana, as well as marijuana residue…
Seal Broken by Judge Today and Now We Know How The Police Are Eavesdropping on Public With Stingray Devices
For a long while, criminal defense lawyers along with civil rights activists as well as citizens who have been arrested by law enforcement in Police Departments all over the country have known that police have been using new technology to eavesdrop on phone calls and text messages. That’s not news. It’s been a real big…
The Forfeiture Epidemic: When the Government Just Takes Your Property and Keeps It
Many people here in Dallas and around the State of Texas naively assume that their property is theirs, protected by state laws and the federal Constitution from being taken from them without legal due process. They are wrong. There are laws on the books, passed by the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress, that allow…
Navarette v. California: Supreme Court Okays Anonymous Tip for Traffic Stop — We’ve All Lost Something Today
Back in January, we warned about what happened today: the United States Supreme Court has okayed police pulling people over to search their vehicles based upon an anonymous tip in the case of Navarette v. California. In February, we were still reeling from the SCOTUS decision in Fernandez, where they found it legally permissible and…
Privacy of Lawyer-Client Communications In Danger: The Growing Need for Greater Protections of Communications Between Attorney and Client
A couple of weeks ago, the American Bar Association (ABA) wrote the National Security Agency (NSA) about several concerns that lawyers all over the United States have (regardless of whether or not they are members of the ABA) regarding news that the NSA collecting confidential communications between an American law firm and its client, with…
