Criminal Law Blog
Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent DWI Intoxication Manslaughter Trial Provides Lessons in Police Drunk Driving Blood Testing and Privacy Rights
This week, lots of people are following a trial here in Dallas as the intoxication manslaughter criminal trial of recently retired Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent got underway this week. For those of you who don’t know what’s going on here, pro football player Josh Brent and his best friend Jerry Brown, Jr., were in a…
Junk Science Causing Wrongful Convictions in Texas: Will New 2013 Habeas Corpus Law Help Those Wrongfully Convicted in Texas?
This Friday, the Texas Forensic Science Commission is meeting down in Austin, and one the big topics that will be on the table there will be the big, big problem of “junk science” being used by Texas prosecutors to get convictions against people – wrongful convictions. The TFSC has also issued its 200+ page 2013…
Six AM No Knock Warrant Gets Burleson County Deputy Killed as Homeowner Arrested for Capital Murder: Is There an 1983 Suit Here?
Around an hour before sunrise one Thursday this month, in rural Burleson County near the town of Somerville, a man named Henry Goedrich Magee was awakened to the sound of someone breaking into his mobile home and as his lawyer explained later, thinking that he was the victim of a home invasion, Magee grabbed his…
Dog Sniffing Searches and the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: Have Your Privacy Rights Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure Gone to the Dogs in Texas?
Dogs are great, and no one is going to challenge that dogs have the ability to hear and to smell things that human beings cannot. Dogs, after all, have the ability to hear sounds at a much larger frequency range than humans — from 67 Hz to 45 kHz (humans max out at 23 kHz)….
Expect More People to Face Child Pornography Charges as Online Investigation into EMail and Search Queries Expand in 2014
Earlier this week, an Arlington man named Barry Robert Turner was sentenced by federal judge John McBryde to 40 years behind bars in a federal prison in a sentencing hearing that came about after Turner pled guilty to one felony count of distribution of child pornography. In the FBI news release, Turner’s crime is described…
Cyber Fraud Manhunt – FBI’s Most Wanted List for Internet Crime Gets Five New Additions: Computer Crimes and Internet Fraud Very Profitable
This week, there’s lots of discussion in the news media about the Obamacare web site, and the revelation that standard procedures for testing the safety and security of the software for personal data being placed into the system by Americans seeking information at the Affordable Care Act site (healthcare.gov) were not followed. (For more, see…
Prosecutorial Misconduct Rules Issued by Texas Supreme Court: Where is Michael Morton’s Prosecutor, Ken Anderson, Now?
Prosecutors do bad things all the time here in Texas; if you doubt this, just read a few of the stories we’ve posted about regarding abusive and illegal actions by District Attorneys here in the Lone Star State. These state prosecutors do all sorts of illegal acts, from hiding evidence and introducing false evidence in…
Carson County Felony Money Laundering Case Reduce to Misdemeanor Money Returned
Mr. Lowe’s client was arrested driving slightly over the speed limit westbound on Highway I-40 near Panhandle, Texas in Carson County. The local DPS trooper stopped him for speeding. It is well known that DPS troopers in this area are highly trained in drugs, narcotics, money laundering and weapons interdiction. Based on Mr. Lowe’s experience…
Credit Card Fraud Is Very Profitable and Easy to Do, No Wonder Credit Card Crimes Are Happening All Over the Country
Credit Card Fraud involves creating fake credit cards legitimately issued by lenders and to borrow cash or buy things using that credit card without any intention of repaying the credit card debt. Credit Card Fraud can also include identity theft, where legitimate credit cards or credit histories are used to get cash or purchasing power….
Mortgage Fraud “Straw Buyer” Cases Are Major Target of Federal Fraud Investigations
Back in July 2013, we pointed out how mortgage fraud indictments have become a big part of federal arrests, investigations, plea deals, and trials and that media coverage will be reporting on a lot more federal mortgage fraud cases after Teresa Giudice and her husband, Giuseppe “Joe” Giudice, who appear in the reality show “The…
