Criminal Law Blog
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Texas Alert: Ethical Rules Held to Have Broader Duty Than Brady to Turn Over Exculpatory Evidence to the Defense
Back in November 2014, a State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee ruled that a Denton County assistant district attorney named William (”Bill”) Schultz had violated the ethical rules that all Texas attorneys are sworn to uphold. Not only that, but more: he had committed a serious ethics violation and his unethical conduct deserved suspension from…
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…
Sex Offender Registry in Texas: Stigma and Second Chances
Just being charged with a sex crime can cause real harm not only to the reputation of the person who has been arrested, but also to their careers, finances, family life, and personal and professional relationships. (We’ve discussed this in a prior post.) Charges aren’t convictions. Innocent people get arrested. It’s very sad to consider…
Former Dallas Criminal Judge Etta Mullin Gets Bigger Discipline After She Appeals Public Admonition by Judicial Commission
Around the hallways of the Dallas County Courthouse, you can hear many a war story about appearing in the courtroom of Dallas County Criminal Court No. 5 when the Honorable Etta Mullin presided on its bench. If you didn’t have your own personal experience to share, there were lots of criminal defense lawyers (and other…
Dennis Hastert Plea Deal: My Prediction Coming True and The Impact on Future Prosecutions
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow – but soon, and most likely on October 28 according to the Chicago Tribune, Dennis Hastert (former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives) is going to be facing a federal judge with a plea deal in hand, an agreement reportedly ironed out between his defense team and the federal prosecutors….
Police Coming Into Texas Homes Without A Search Warrant
Search and Seizure: Police Entering Dorm Rooms, Apartments, Homes Our story begins a few weeks ago down near Austin, where Tori Thayer and Carly Christine were roommates sharing a home in Pflugerville (maybe you recognize Pflugerville as the place where lots of episodes of the TV show “Friday Night Lights” were filmed). It was three o’clock…
My Tip No. 8: Beware the Slow Plea in Criminal Defense of Felony Drug Manufacture or Distribution Cases
https://www.dallasjustice.com/top-10-things-know-defending-texas-charges-manufacture-delivery-illegal-substance/
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…
The Police and Your Phone: Invasion of Privacy by Police
Sure, people who are being investigated by law enforcement for committing crimes, as they are defined by state or federal law, need to know about their privacy rights — constitutionally protected privacy rights — and where the line is drawn between them and the police during that investigation. When is a search warrant required before…
District Attorneys Keep Doing Bad Things: More Texas Prosecutorial Misconduct Stories
The problem of prosecutors doing bad things like hiding evidence and introducing unreliable (or false) testimony isn’t getting better. Recently, the Daily Beast published an expose on prosecutorial misconduct in the United States, labeling the problem a national epidemic. You can read their take on things in the article written by Jay Michaelson and published…
