Criminal Law Blog
Prosecutors and Police in Dallas: How Bad is It?
So, what’s going on here in Dallas County with our prosecutors and our police department? Well, there are lots of things going on right now that impact criminal justice – and criminal defense – here in North Texas. Because excessive force by the police and prosecutorial misconduct isn’t just stuff that happens in…
Arrested After Police Field Drug Test? Fight Back: These Things Are Notoriously Wrong
Here’s what happens. You’re driving along, minding your own business, when you see those flashing lights in your rearview mirror and pull over. The police officer saunters up to your window. You ask what’s going on: why did he stop you? Next thing you know, he’s checking out stuff in your car and he’s using…
Arrested for Bank Fraud in Texas
When you are arrested for bank fraud in Texas, the charges usually come along with other serious felony charges like money laundering and mail fraud. Identity theft and RICO charges may accompany a bank fraud charge, too. Over the past few years, more and more prosecutions in both state and federal court involve some kind…
Attacks on Police in Texas are Hate Crimes under 2017 Police Protection Act
Look in the dictionary and “hate crime” is defined as any crime that is motivated by hostility towards the victim because he or she is a member of a specific group (like gender, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation). The FBI has its own definition: a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in…
Speedy Trials in Texas: Prosecuting “Killer Nurse” Genene Jones for 1981 Crime
Do you remember where you were in 1981? Were you even alive in 1981? Let’s think back … 1981 was the year: President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley; the CDC recognized the first five cases of AIDS in five homosexual men diagnosed with a “rare form of pneumonia” in Los Angeles; Donkey Kong…
When Sexting is a Crime in Texas
Last Friday, former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner pled guilty in a federal court to the felony charge of transferring obscene material to a minor as part of a plea deal. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 8, 2017. It’s understood that as part of the plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office,…
New 2017 Federal Drug Policy from Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Last week, the Attorney General of the United States sent a memo to all the Offices of the U.S. Attorney General around the country, including the one overseeing the Northern District of Texas that prosecutes federal crimes here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It’s a big deal for anyone facing criminal charges here in Texas,…
Texas Prosecutor on Trial for Prosecutorial Misconduct
Prosecutorial misconduct is a problem of epidemic proportions in this country. There is lots of discussion in criminal justice circles (and elsewhere) about how best to rein in these rogues and stop the rampant injustice created by prosecutorial misconduct. For more on the severity and seriousness of the prosecutorial misconduct problem in Texas, read our…
10 Things to Know About a Jury Trial in Texas after John Wiley Price
Let’s talk about the power of a jury. Specifically, juries in criminal trials here in Dallas, Fort Worth and North Texas. It seems like a very opportune time to do so. John Wiley Price Mistrial: Jury Unable to Reach a Verdict John Wiley Price returned to work as a Dallas County Commissioner this week as…
Gang Crime Charges: Increasing Prosecution of Gang-Related Crimes in Texas
This week, President Trump publicly blamed former President Obama for allowing known Central American gang MS-13 to gain a foothold in the United States. See, “Trump blames Obama for formation of MS-13 crime gang,” published by the Business Insider on April 17, 2017. Two months ago, the President signed a series of three executive orders…
