Criminal Law Blog
New Texas Laws Targeting Prosecutorial Misconduct: The Michael Morton Act and new Tex Gov’t Code 81.072(b) Limitations – Do They Really Help Texas Citizens?
Yesterday, the Texas Legislature sent two bills over to Governor Rick Perry’s desk for his signature: the new Michael Morton Act (SB 1611) and an amendment to the Texas Government Code Section 81.072 (SB 825). It’s expected that Governor Perry will sign this bills into law, and soon we’ll all be under their sway. Here’s…
Texas Top Prosecutors In Trouble: Dallas DA Craig Watkins, Austin DA Rosemary Lehmberg, Corpus Christi ex DA Anna Jimenez, Williamson County ex DA Ken Anderson – How Big is Prosecutorial Misconduct Problem in Texas?
In the past couple of months, top prosecutors from Texas counties all over the Lone Star State (both presently serving as head prosecutor as well as former top D.A.s) have made the national news after being accused of doing assorted bad things while acting as head district attorney for their respective counties. What is the…
Staged Car Crashes: Dallas Grand Jury Indicts Duncanville Man for Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud Scheme
The Florida legislature has passed special legislation to deal with staged car crashes but faking auto accidents to collect on insurance claims hasn’t been as common a basis for arrests here in Texas — but things may be changing. Investigators Targeting Arrests for Staged Car Crashes to Collect Insurance Money More and more often, all…
Warrantless DWI Blood Tests Violate the United States Constitution Rules U.S. Supreme Court in Today’s Opinion, Missouri v. McNeely: Police Need a Warrant Before DWI Blood Test
This morning there’s big news out of Washington D.C. for those defending DWI cases, something that prosecutors and police probably aren’t going to be happy to learn. The United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Missouri v. McNeely, a DWI case where there was a blood test taken from a man without his consent…
Report on Crime Lab Evidence Released: DPS Lab Tech Jonathan Salvador May Have Sent 1000s to Texas Prisons in Wrongful Convictions – and the CCA is Reversing The Convictions
Juries are known by criminal defense lawyers and prosecutors alike to consider forensic evidence as being irrefutable and some of the most respected evidence in a criminal trial. Juries like lab stuff: it’s known as the “CSI effect” by some roaming around the courthouse, and it has nothing to do with the realities of what…
FBI Investigating Dallas DA Craig Watkins — and U.S. Attorney Is Involved, Too, as Watkins Charged with Contempt of Court Last Week
It’s official: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the activities of the Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. The Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas is reported to have its own files opened into Dallas DA Watkins’ activities, as well. And this isn’t something that has just begun:…
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…
Money Laundering and the Black Market Peso Exchange: Big Target for Federal Agency Investigations
For many profit-making enterprises that operate outside the law, business revenues and profits mean lots of cash that needs to be moved from stacks on a table or in a safe (or set of safes) into places where it can be used to buy things without raising eyebrows or the suspicions of law enforcement. This…
2 Class “A” Assault Reduced to Class “C”; Interfering With 911 dismissed
3 Family Violence Cases Will Be Expunged
Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins Facing Prosecutorial Misconduct Charges and Maybe an FBI Investigation: Here’s the Scoop (The Hearing is March 7th)
Without any opinions or asides, here’s the scoop on the growing controversy surrounding Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Al Hill III, heir to the H.L. Hunt Oil Dynasty; and local attorney Lisa Blue. Things apparently began when Lisa Blue took on the representation of Al Hill III in…
