Criminal Law Blog
COURT OPINIONS: US Supreme Court Nixes Judges Accepting Big Campaign Donations Due to Appearance of Bias
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. Massey (read the opinion here) came down yesterday, and we’ll have to see how much it impacts Texas Judges — and how often they recuse themselves from cases. Texas Judges Run for Office: They Kiss Babies and Take Contributions In Texas, judges run for office. (The federal…
Cop Watch: Harlingen Cop Fatally Shoots Man in the Back, Juan Angel Guerra On the Case
Down Harlingen way, it was cold back in January so Diego Rivas-Soto started a fire under the Highway 77 overpass to keep warm. Rivas-Soto was a Mexican national, with family living in Durango. He was here, looking for work. Drawn by the fire, the police showed up. Rivas-Soto was obviously frightened, and according to the…
JUDGE WATCH: Houston Judge Caught on Video Allegedly Keying Neighbor’s Car Now Subject of Grand Jury Felony Investigation
Down in Houston, the Grand Jury is watching the video below, as well as other evidence, to decide whether or not felony criminal charges should be filed against retired visiting judge Woody Densen.Seems Judge Densen may have vandalized his neighbor’s Range Rover (as well as the neighbor’s girlfriend’s Mercedes). And the neighbor was on the…
DA Watch: Tarrant County DA Seeks Recusal Again in Death Row Case Due to Prosecutor Misconduct
Earlier this year, we posted about the Tarrant County DA recusing itself from the Michael Toney case after it was revealed that the District Attorney had failed to turn over extremely important evidence to the defense that might well have kept Toney from being convicted, much less sentenced to Death Row. In the Toney case,…
Cop Watch: Texas Rangers Investigating 2 Seguin Cops in 2 Separate Incidents
Seguin Police Chief Kevin Kelso, according to media reports, first became aware of some bad stuff going on within his department when he got word that the Texas Rangers were investigating one of his officers — so Kelso put this officer on paid leave. Sometime after that, a second set of facts revealed themselves about…
Crime News: 20th Dallas County DNA Exoneration Walks Free Today
Today, Jerry Lee Evans will walk out of a Dallas courtroom a free man, at the age of 47, after spending 23 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. What Happened to Put The Wrong Man Behind Bars This Time? Back in 1986, an 18-year-old woman in her first year at SMU…
Cop Watch: Starr County Sheriff Rey Guerra Pleads Guilty to Drug Smuggling
Reymundo “Rey” Guerra was Sheriff of Starr County, Texas, for several years — in fact, he was running for re-election last year when the FBI arrested him on drug trafficking charges. That made it hard for the citizens of Starr County since Rey Guerra was the only name on the ballot. They re-elected Guerra despite…
DA Watch: Whistleblower San Marcos DA Lynn Peach Resigned Yesterday
Lynn Peach went through law school and started building a legal career in what she thought would be a life as a career prosecutor. Lynn Peach thought she was one of the good guys, pursuing justice. And she is, just not in the way that she thought. On Monday, Hays County Assistant District Attorney Lynn…
Crime News: In the Real World, You Cannot Trust the Lab Results of CSI
You know you’ve watched more CSI episodes than you should. There’s CSI in Vegas, and CSI in Miami, and CSI in New York. And they’re all intertwined with the police department (think Horatio drawing his gun in almost every episode) – and on the screen, it’s all good. The bad guys get caught. Gil and…
DA Watch: “Dallas DNA” starring new reality TV star DA Craig Watkins debuts April 26
The Discovery Channel will offer you another reality-TV option later this month, just in case you don’t have enough reality-TV options to choose from already: on April 26, “Dallas DNA” makes its first appearance, telling the story of Johnnie Lindsay (see our post on 09/26/08). Investigation Discovery, a part of the Discovery Channel, is focusing…
