Category Archives: Texas Government Watch
Open Carry of Handguns in Texas: Get Ready
You may assume that it’s not allowed anywhere in the United States for an ordinary citizen to carry their gun openly in public display, but you’re wrong if you do. It’s not. In fact, it’s strange but true that until this month Texas (that’s right, Texas!) was one of only a few states (the others…
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…
Synthetic Drugs Law: Will New Texas Law Succeed in Outlawing Spice, K2, and Other Synthetic Highs?
Here in Texas, law enforcement and the Texas Legislature are trying hard to keep up with the growing market for synthetic marijuana and designer drugs that are being sold all around the state in shops as well as online on legal web sites. Synthetic marijuana, for example, is sold as an easy to get alternative…
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…
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…
What is the Texas Driver’s Responsibility Surcharge for DWI Cases and Why (Hopefully) Its Days may be Numbered
This week down in Austin, some Texas legislators gave us all hope that something may be done sometime in this decade about the Texas Driver’s Responsiblity Surcharge Program. Fingers crossed. We’ve been discussing the unfairness of the Texas Driver Responsibility Surcharges for years now; check out our prior posts for a history of this state…
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…
Prosecutorial Misconduct Allegations Against Four Top Texas District Attorneys: Update
Back in May, we posted about four different news stories coming out of various parts of the Great State of Texas that all dealt with allegations of bad acts on the part of the head District Attorney for their particular Texas county. These were not hired prosecutors within a District Attorney’s office: these were four…
Family Violence Registry in Texas: Will Texas Have a Domestic Violence Registry Just Like the Sex Offenders Registry? Maybe.
Family violence cases involve lots of different scenarios. There can be disputes between husbands and wives; couples who are dating; even two roommates fighting in their dorm room can form the basis of a domestic violence charge. Many of these cases involve people who care about or love each other whose passions got the better…
New Texas Laws Targeting Prosecutorial Misconduct: The Michael Morton Act and new Tex Gov’t Code 81.072(b) Limitations – Do They Really Help Texas Citizens?
Yesterday, the Texas Legislature sent two bills over to Governor Rick Perry’s desk for his signature: the new Michael Morton Act (SB 1611) and an amendment to the Texas Government Code Section 81.072 (SB 825). It’s expected that Governor Perry will sign this bills into law, and soon we’ll all be under their sway. Here’s…
