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	<title>CRIMINAL JURISDICTION &#187; Wrongful Conviction</title>
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	<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog</link>
	<description>CRIMINAL JURISDICTION: Criminal Law Blog by Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair</description>
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		<item>
		<title>WRONGFUL CONVICTION AND PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/12/28/wrongful-conviction-and-prosecutorial-misconduct/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/12/28/wrongful-conviction-and-prosecutorial-misconduct/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:18:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA exonerations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[miscarriage of justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prosecutorial misconduct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=699</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Filing Grievances, Request for Courts of Inquiry in Wrongful Conviction and Exoneration Cases

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

On December 12, 2011, writing for Mother Jones, Beth Schwartzapfel and Hannah Levintova published a piece titled “How Many Innocent People Are In Prison?”—a piece based in part on research conducted by University of Michigan Law Professor Samuel Gross. Gross’s research, with the assistance of the New York-based Innocence Project and the Center on Wrongful Convictions, determined there have been as many as 850 exonerations in this country since the late 1980s. The Innocence Project lists 282 exonerations since 1989 based on DNA evidence alone. Extrapolating from these two figures, Schwartzapfel and Levintova conservatively estimate that 1 percent of the total prison population in the United States have been wrongfully convicted. Put it raw numbers, this means that approximately 20,000 inmates in the nation’s prison system were wrongfully convicted.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/12/28/wrongful-conviction-and-prosecutorial-misconduct/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>SMITH V. CAIN: A LOOK AT PROSECUTOR’S DUTY TO DISCLOSE</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/11/12/smith-v-cain-a-look-at-prosecutor%e2%80%99s-duty-to-disclose/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/11/12/smith-v-cain-a-look-at-prosecutor%e2%80%99s-duty-to-disclose/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:48:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disclosure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[exculpatory evidense]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[withheld evidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=682</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ABA Files Amicus Demanding Disclosure of Exculpatory Evidence Regardless of Materiality, Boarder than Brady

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The Orleans Parish and Williamson County district attorney offices have something in common: both have a disturbing history of withholding exculpatory information that resulted in innocent men being sent to prison (or death row) for long periods of time (here, here and here). The U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Smith v. Cain, is being asked by Juan Smith’s attorneys and the American Bar Association (“ABA”) to address a prosecutor’s pretrial ethical obligations to disclose exculpatory evidence. A “summary” of the ABA’s argument is outlined in its amicus curiae brief:]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/11/12/smith-v-cain-a-look-at-prosecutor%e2%80%99s-duty-to-disclose/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>“PROSECUTOR OF THE YEAR” FEELS THE HEAT</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/10/21/%e2%80%9cprosecutor-of-the-year%e2%80%9d-feels-the-heat/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/10/21/%e2%80%9cprosecutor-of-the-year%e2%80%9d-feels-the-heat/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:24:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA exoneration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evidence withheld]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prosecutorial misconduct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=667</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Williamson County Justice System under Scrutiny by State Bar of Texas

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Since our last post about the tragic case of Michael Morton, the “prosecutor of the year” in that case, now District Judge Ken Anderson, and his cohort, Mike Davis, who actually prosecuted Morton for the 1986 murder of his wife, face investigations by the State Bar of Texas and Morton’s attorneys, according to the Austin Statesman. The State Bar investigation is, as the newspaper accurately reported, a “rare step” by the Bar, as is the public acknowledgement that it has undertaken a disciplinary investigation against two of its members. Morton was freed from the state’s prison system on October 4, 2011 after serving 25 years for a murder he did not commit and on October 11, 2011 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals formally exonerated the man after DNA testing of a critical piece of evidence not only cleared Morton of the murder of his wife but identified the real killer as well.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/10/21/%e2%80%9cprosecutor-of-the-year%e2%80%9d-feels-the-heat/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>“PROSECUTOR OF THE YEAR!”</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/10/17/%e2%80%9cprosecutor-of-the-year%e2%80%9d/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/10/17/%e2%80%9cprosecutor-of-the-year%e2%80%9d/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:29:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[miscarriage of justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prosecutorial misconduct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=665</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Williamson County District Attorneys Gain Distinction for Hiding Evidence, Wrongful Conviction and Hard Fought Cover-Up

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Ken Anderson was a prosecutor in Williamson County, Texas, in 1986. In fact, he became Williamson County’s longest tenured district attorney with 16 ½ years as the county’s chief prosecutor and 5 ½ years as an assistant district attorney. Anderson knew his prosecuting business—so much so that his political pal, Gov. Rick Perry, appointed him to a District Judge position in January 2002. Why not, the State Bar of  Texas Criminal Justice Section named Anderson “Prosecutor of the Year” in 1995 and five years later the Texas Crime Victim’s Clearinghouse tagged him the “Outstanding Prosecutor Upholding Victims’ Rights.” Along the way, he became a “Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist” and was elected as President of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. And as if this was not enough for one man to achieve, Anderson lectured at over 300 schools where he told the leaders of tomorrow about the value of honest public service.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/10/17/%e2%80%9cprosecutor-of-the-year%e2%80%9d/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>THE PURPOSE OF REASONABLE DOUBT IN CRIMINAL TRIALS</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/02/11/the-purpose-of-reasonable-doubt-in-criminal-trials/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/02/11/the-purpose-of-reasonable-doubt-in-criminal-trials/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:09:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drug Defense Attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA exonerations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prosecutorial misconduct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reasonable Doubt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=545</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In a recent post we discussed both the history and role of reasonable doubt in criminal trials. We noted and criticized the fact that Texas judges in criminal trials do not, per Texas Court of Criminal Appeals mandate, have to give jurors any instruction as to what constitutes “reasonable doubt.” This, we believe, is one of several reasons why Texas leads the nation in the wrongful conviction of innocent people.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2011/02/11/the-purpose-of-reasonable-doubt-in-criminal-trials/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>THE COST OF MURDER-THE PRICE OF INNOCENCE</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/10/30/the-cost-of-murder-the-price-of-innocence/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/10/30/the-cost-of-murder-the-price-of-innocence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Oct 2010 08:02:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Homicide Crimes Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[district attorney immunity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Murder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prosecutorial misconduct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wrongful convictions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=500</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anthony Graves Exonerated: Blatant Prosecutorial Misconduct of D.A. Charles Sebesta Sent Innocent Man to Death Row for 18 Years

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

A recent Iowa State University study, conducted by sociology professor Matt DeLisi, found that the total cost to society for a single murder in the United States is $17.25 million. Professor DeLisi led a team of five Iowa State graduate students in a study of 654 convicted and incarcerated murderers. This enormous price tag is measured in terms of costs to the victims, the criminal justice system, loss of productivity to both the victim and offender, and estimated costs to society to prevent future violence.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/10/30/the-cost-of-murder-the-price-of-innocence/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ACTUAL INNOCENCE IN POST-CONVICTION PROCEEDINGS</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/28/actual-innocence-in-post-conviction-proceedings/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/28/actual-innocence-in-post-conviction-proceedings/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:30:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[actual innocence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death penalty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA exonerations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Habeas Corpus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=488</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions Recommends Expanded Post-Conviction DNA Testing, Habeas Corpus Based on Changing Science

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr., who presides in the Southern District of Georgia, recently observed in the death penalty case of Troy Davis (here and here) that only one state of the 35 states that have the death penalty does not have any post-conviction avenue for inmates to either secure or offer evidence of innocence. That lone state is Oklahoma. Altogether, 47 states and the District of Columbia have enacted statutes which provide varying degrees of access to remedies to establish innocence in a post-conviction setting. Massachusetts, Alaska, and Oklahoma are the only three hold-out states which have elected not to enact reform legislation in the critical area of establishing “actual innocence” despite the ever-increasing number of DNA exonerations.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/28/actual-innocence-in-post-conviction-proceedings/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>TEXAS DISCOVERY PROCEDURES</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/25/texas-discovery-procedures/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/25/texas-discovery-procedures/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Sep 2010 11:12:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brady violations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Habeas Corpus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[perjured testimony]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=486</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Discovery, Brady Rules in Need of Reformation to Prevent Wrongful Convictions

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Last month the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel (“Panel”), which was created by the Texas Legislature in its 2009 session to develop recommendations for the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense to help prevent wrongful convictions, issued its “report” calling for changes in the state’s eyewitness identification procedures, custodial interrogations, discovery procedures, post-conviction proceedings, and various innocence projects that receive state funding.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/25/texas-discovery-procedures/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TIMOTHY COLE ADVISORY PANEL ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/13/recommendations-from-the-timothy-cole-advisory-panel-on-wrongful-convictions/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/13/recommendations-from-the-timothy-cole-advisory-panel-on-wrongful-convictions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:09:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Houston Criminal Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DNA exonerations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[false memories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pardon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rape]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=481</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Current Eyewitness Identification Procedure Reinforce False Memories and Lead to Wrongful Convictions

By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

There have been 258 DNA exonerations in this country over the last two decades, according to the New York-based Innocence Project. In approximately 75 percent of those cases, eye misidentification played a significant role. It is an issue we have thus far blogged about four times this year (here, here, here, and here) and four times last year (here, here, here, and here)—the latter two 2009 posts dealing with the wrongful conviction of Timothy Cole.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/09/13/recommendations-from-the-timothy-cole-advisory-panel-on-wrongful-convictions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ARSON MURDER-TOO MANY MISTAKES DEMANDS SCRUTINY</title>
		<link>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/08/17/arson-murder-too-many-mistakes-demands-scrutiny/</link>
		<comments>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/08/17/arson-murder-too-many-mistakes-demands-scrutiny/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:36:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>johntfloyd</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Homicide Crimes Lawyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eath penalty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flawed forensic evidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[homicide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NFPA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrongful Conviction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/?p=468</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Flawed Forensics in Arson Cases: One Executed, One on Death Row, Four in Prison

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The question hangs like ugly morning moss from a large swamp oak tree: Did the State of Texas execute an innocent man when it put Cameron Todd Willingham to death on February 17, 2004? Just last month the Texas Forensic Science Commission ruled that Willingham’s August 1992 murder conviction was based on flawed forensic evidence. The Willingham case—and the way it has been handled by state officials and in particular Tex. Gov. Rick Perry and especially by Willingham’s former defense attorney—has proven to be a national and international embarrassment to the state’s criminal justice system.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.johntfloyd.com/blog/2010/08/17/arson-murder-too-many-mistakes-demands-scrutiny/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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