In a ruling issued on February 14, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found there is reasonable evidence that the Harris County bail procedures are constitutionally deficient and that plaintiffs will likely succeed, but vacated the district court’s injunction…
Category: Criminal Law
2018
Category: Criminal Law | Drug Trafficking | Police Misconduct
A “fog line” is a white (usually bright) line painted on the right side of a roadway separating the roadway from what is known as an “improved shoulder.”
Under Texas law, Transportation Code § 545.058(a), an operator of a…
2018
Category: Criminal Law | Federal Criminal Law
Deceptive Practices Get Good Results for Friendly FBI Agents
We have on a number of occasions advised our readers that if confronted by law enforcement about any criminal matter, they should not speak to the officials without the presence…
2018
Category: Criminal Law | SCOTUS
Who controls the defense strategy in a criminal trial: the attorney or the defendant?
That is a question the U.S. Supreme Court will answer in its current term.
Normally, a defense attorney, once he or she accepts a…
2017
Category: Criminal Law | Sex Crimes | Violent Crime
Minnesota was one of the first states in the nation to establish a civil commitment program for violent sexual offenders. A federal court in June 2015 declared the state’s much mimicked 21-year-old program unconstitutional. That same day Texas Gov. Gregg…
2017
Category: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law | Federal Criminal Law
No man is above the law. That’s what former President Theodore Roosevelt told this nation.
President Donald J. Trump does not believe in this rule of law.
This was evidenced during a January 2016 campaign rally in Sioux…
2017
Judges have a sworn duty to be impartial when trying cases, especially criminal cases where life and liberty are at stake and the government bears all burden of proof.
Elia Cornejo Lopez was elected to a criminal court judgeship…
2017
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is one of the oldest modern police forces in the world. Perhaps that explains the department long history of sordid misconduct which includes:
The systematic torture of African-American suspects between 1972-1991
Officers involved in…
2017
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law
Jamie Hallmark entered into a plea agreement in Houston County. The written agreement stated that when she showed up for sentencing, she would receive a three-year sentence unless she failed to show, at which time she would be sentenced within…
2017
Category: Constitutional Law | Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
Karen Fonseca is a 46-year-old resident of Fort Bend County, Texas. She does not like President Donald Trump, and pretty much has the same feelings toward all the people in the county who voted for Trump. She expressed her displeasure…