Search Results for: morton
Prosecutorial Misconduct by Waco District Attorney Alleged by His First Assistant
First things first, remember the big shooting down in Waco last year, where hundreds of arrests were made in the big “biker shootout” at the Twin Peaks restaurant? We’ve discussed it before, read “Waco Justice? 100 Days After Twin Peaks Biker Arrests, Things Look Fishy to Criminal Defense .” Nov 10th Mistrial in Twin Peaks…
Prosecutor Withholding Evidence from Defense in Federal Criminal Case
In a criminal case, someone’s freedom — or even their life — is on the line. Legally, this places special duties upon the prosecution to be fair with the defendant. All sorts of laws exist to protect against abuse by the state: things like the Speedy Trial Act, for instance. Prosecutorial Duty to Turn Over…
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…
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…
Police That Lie: More on the Secret Texas District Attorney Lists of Police Officers Not Trustworthy to Take the Witness Stand
Prosecutors have lists of the names of police officers and deputy sheriffs that they don’t trust to take the witness stand — did you know these lists existed? Do you think that every police officer is honest and trustworthy to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on the stand? Brady…
Police Who Lie On the Witness Stand: Did You Know Prosecutors Keep Lists of Their Names?
It wasn’t until 1963 that the U.S. Supreme Court forced prosecutors to do the right thing and share all the facts about a case with defense lawyers before they tried someone for a serious crime and tried to get a conviction. In the case of Brady v. Maryland, John Brady had been convicted of murder…
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Texas: Continuing Injustice
For criminal defense lawyers in Texas, the idea that prosecutors are human and sometimes do very bad things isn’t news. It’s something to be monitored during every case and almost every day you ask yourself the question: is the prosecutor trying to pull a fast one here? Real life isn’t like TV shows, albeit even…
TOP 10 MISTAKES IN SEXUAL ASSAULT AND INDECENCY WITH A CHILD CASES
Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Top 10 List of Mistakes Made in Sexual Assault and Indecency With a Child Cases 1. Can You Get Probation? This may seem like an obvious question but it’s not. It seems like every legislative session our representatives pass a law taking probation or community supervision off the table on more…
Prosecutorial Misconduct Allegations Against Four Top Texas District Attorneys: Update
Back in May, we posted about four different news stories coming out of various parts of the Great State of Texas that all dealt with allegations of bad acts on the part of the head District Attorney for their particular Texas county. These were not hired prosecutors within a District Attorney’s office: these were four…
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…
