Search Results for: traffic stop

How to Avoid Trouble When Pulled Over By State Troopers

My name is Michael Lowe. I’m a criminal defense lawyer here in Dallas, Texas, board certified in criminal law. I’ve been representing clients here in the State of Texas for 20 years. Today, I want to talk to you about drug investigations conducted by state troopers on Texas highways. I want to talk about five…


Resisting Arrest vs Excessive Force: Lessons from Fort Worth Police BodyCam

Back on a hot summer night this past August, a Fort Worth Police Officer named Sergeant Kenneth Pierce responded to a 911 domestic disturbance call.  He had been on the job for over 20 years.  Family violence calls weren’t new to him. He went to the home with a fellow officer, a rookie named Maria…


Police Officer Arrest of Utah Nurse Alex Wubbels: Lessons for All of Us

First you have to watch the video of what happened in a Utah emergency room on July 26, 2017.  The video shows what happens after Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne demands a blood sample from patient William Gray. Blood Sample Not From Suspect Seems Mr. Gray was being given medical treatment at the hospital…


What is a Motion to Suppress?

In Texas, one of the main weapons that a criminal defense lawyer can use to help his client is a “motion to suppress” that requests the judge order certain evidence be excluded from the case.  It can be filed in both state and federal court. It’s a very powerful tool for the defense. Why? Because…


Federal Forfeiture Reform: 81% Property Seized By DOJ from People Never Charged With a Crime

Last week, the Office of the Inspector General in the Department of Justice published its report on federal civil forfeiture, entitled “Review of the Department’s Oversight of Cash Seizure and Forfeiture Activities.” The full report is available online and has been stored in the Michael Lowe Digital Library for your convenience.  Read it here.  …


Who’s Running Dallas? Big Changes in Law Enforcement – Know Your Rights With Police

Major changes here in Dallas in the world of crime and criminal justice. Big ones. What’s the likelihood that rights will be trampled in the process? From a criminal defense perspective, all these changes are a red flag for wrongful arrests, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and more. Why? What’s going on here in North Texas?…


Methamphetamine in Dallas and North Texas: Expect More Felony Meth Arrests

First things first, exactly what IS methamphetamine (“meth”)? And, why are there more and more news stories of law enforcement here in Texas arresting people for felony distribution as they seize literally millions of dollars of meth hidden in all sorts of clever hidy-holes? It’s happening all the time … millions of dollars of methamphetamine…


Forfeiture Victory for Police: They Can Seize and Keep Assets Even In an Illegal Search Says Texas Supreme Court

Texas law allows the police to take property from someone even if the property owner is never charged, much less convicted of a crime. This is called “civil forfeiture,” it’s allowed under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. arts. 59.01-.14 et seq., and we’ve discussed this several times before. Lots of people are against civil forfeiture…


Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Case of First Impression on Texas’ New Junk Science Law

Two years ago, we were optimistic about the efforts being made by many to resolve a huge problem of injustice here: the problem of “junk science.” All too often in this state, and across the country, “junk science” is being used to wrongfully convict innocent people of crime. Some are even sentenced to death based,…


Synthetic Drug Arrests in Texas: Police Focusing on K2 and Spice in Dallas

Pot gets more people busted in Texas than any other illegal drug.  Most drug possession arrests in Texas are for marijuana, and a little under half of those arrests lead to convictions (48.2% in statutory county courts and 42.3% in constitutional county courts), according to a Texas Department of Public Safety study (for more on…