Category Archives: Texas Government Watch
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…
USA Today Investigation into Nursing Home Trust Fund Mismanagement Spurs Congressional Investigation: Expect More Texas Nursing Home Trust Fund Fraud Arrests Soon
Recently, USA Today published the results of its investigation into nursing home trust fund mismanagement, and now Senators up in Washington, D.C. are talking about an official federal investigation into nursing home fraud across the country. With all this hoopla, it’s safe to assume that both state and federal fraud investigators in all sorts of…
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Do Not Trust Prosecutor’s Crime Lab Forensic Evidence, When Will Public Become Aware that Crime Lab Results Aren’t Like TV Forensics?
Forensic evidence seems so darn scientific and reliable when you watch TV. Unfortunately, things are NOT the same in the real world as they are on television shows and we’ve been monitoring how bad Texas Crime Labs can be in processing evidence to be used in criminal trials for a long while now. (See, for…
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…
Texas Family Violence and Domestic Assault Cases Will Include New Pet Protection Act Which Becomes Law on September 1, 2013
Texas domestic assault and family violence cases are seen all too often in Dallas area criminal courts, and Texas criminal defense lawyers represent people from all walks of life who have been arrested and charged with some sort of family violence / domestic assault crime. One reason is that many different kinds of relationships can…
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…
