Category Archives: Weapons Charges
Mandatory Minimum Penalties in Federal Sentencing
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 Act of 1986. Congress enthusiastically targeted drug “kingpins” for explicit punishment, mandating that the federal judge must sentence these defendants, upon conviction, to imprisonment in a federal…
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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…
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New Texas Criminal Laws 2017
The regular session of the 85th Texas Legislature ended on Memorial Day. Bills not passed by the lawmakers and signed into law by the governor are dead in the water. (Abbott vetoed 50 of them.) For the bills that did not become law: well, maybe next year. Governor Abbott has called for a special session…
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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…
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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…
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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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Five Big Changes in Texas Criminal Laws
For Texas lawmakers, it’s all done now — the 2015 Legislative Session is finished, and for all of us Texans, now we deal with what happened down in Austin this year as the dust settles. The Texas Tribune has compiled a complete list of the new laws, civil and criminal, into an online list if…
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Drug Cartels in North Texas: Big Business and Felony Crimes
In Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as the surrounding area here in North Texas, illegal drugs are a big (very big) business. Criminal defense lawyers here as well as police and prosecutors in both the state and federal systems understand in ways that the general public does not about the commercial success of selling…
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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…
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Texas Weapons Charges: ATF Stings Result in All Kinds of Firearms Convictions – Straw Buys, Gun Dealers, Conspiracies to Move Weapons Across State Lines and National Borders
Weapons charges face a lot of defendants here in Texas; sometimes they are tied to other charges (drug arrests, for example) but many federal cases are filed based solely on alleged violations of federal gun laws. Recent reports from the Texas’ offices of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the…
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10 Questions to Ask Before you Hire a Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer
Top 5 Mistakes in Defending a Texas Criminal Case
