Category Archives: Weapons Charges
What Happens at a Federal Detention Hearing?
A federal detention hearing is where a federal magistrate judge decides, under 18 U.S.C. § 3142, whether you are released on conditions or held in custody until your trial. It is one of the most important early moments in a federal case, because the result often decides whether you fight the charges from home or…
Mandatory Minimum Penalties in Federal Sentencing
To see how often cases like yours resolve by plea or trial, and the median sentences by district and charge, use our plea deal versus trial calculator. Congress Decides Your Prison Sentence with Certain Federal Crimes Our modern system of mandatory minimum sentencing in federal cases arguably began with the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse…
Encryption and Law Enforcement Investigations: Police Access to Encrypted Data
Last month, Apple announced its new end-to-end encryption for data stored by its customers in iCloud, Apple’s cloud storage service. It’s being heralded as “police-proof” in the media. Read, “Apple Set to Launch New, Police-Proof, Full End-to-End Encryption,” written by the Associated Press and published in the Daily Sabah on December 9, 2022. Apple explains…
Jalisco New Generation Cartel Arrests in Texas: 2023
The amount of law enforcement effort at every level (state, federal, international) to try and combat the growing global business empire of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is undeniably extreme and well-funded. From a criminal defense perspective, few governmental efforts in recent memory have had this zeal and scope. In 2023, we should expect a…
Texas Domestic Violence Charges: the New 2022 Federal Gun Ban
The tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, claimed the lives of nineteen children and two adults. For details, read the coverage series provided online by the Texas Tribune. Understandably this had a tremendous and shattering impact not only for the local community who suffered personal losses, but for…
Weapons Charges in Texas: Gun Laws and Gun Crimes under Texas Law
Sometimes, just possessing a piece of property can get you arrested in Texas if it is an “illegal weapon” under the law. Of course just because something can be used as a weapon, that’s not enough to put you at risk of being charged with a crime here in Texas. There are many things that…
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Twin Peaks: Waco DA Dismisses and AG Refuses to Prosecute
Two weeks ago, Waco Top Prosecutor Abel Reyna recused himself from the prosecution of two cases in the Twin Peaks shootout and successfully moved for dismissal of all charges against another 13 defendants. This happened on the same morning that there was a hearing scheduled on the corruption allegations filed against Reyna in his role…
Guns, Gun Rights, Gun Ownership in Texas, and Weapons Arrests: Things To Know After Orlando
The Gun Control Debate: What You Should Know About Owning and Carrying a Gun in Texas Time has passed, and still the country is reeling about the tragedy in Orlando, Florida, where a single individual was able to quickly kill 50 people and injure as many more in a matter of minutes. Lots of people…
New Texas Open Carry Law: Gun Arrests and Weapons Charges in 2016
It’s only a matter of days until Texans will be able to carry firearms in a holster on their belt: the new Texas Open Carry Law goes into effect on January 1, 2016. However, lots of folk are confused about what this law will and will not allow them to do. They aren’t the only…
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…
