John T. Floyd Law Firm
Board Certified Houston Criminal Lawyer
“Serious Criminal Defense Throughout Texas”
Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist
Experienced Criminal Trial Lawyer
Federal And State Criminal Defense
Phone # (713) 224-0101
Toll Free 1-866-374-1327
E-mail jfloyd@JohnTFloyd.com
Top Lawyers: Criminal Defense - 2008, 2009, 2010 HTexas
CRIMINAL LAW ISSUES
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February 4, 2012
ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE
Special Rule of Privilege in Criminal Cases Provides Greater Protection to the Criminally Accused
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Ernest “Randy” Comeaux is currently an inmate serving six life sentences, without the benefit of parole, at the David Wade Correctional Center in Homer, Louisiana. The facts of Comeaux crime were detailed by a Louisiana Court of Appeals in the matter of Smith v. Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Department on April 24, 2004: more...
January 29, 2012
CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVATE
Evidentiary Privileges in the American Legal System
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Writing in the Pittsburgh Law Review, University of California Law Professor Edward J. Inwinkelried discussed in detail the history and legal parameters of evidentiary privileges. He opened his treatise with this observation: “From society’s perspective, the rules governing privileged communications, such as those between a client and his or her attorney are arguably the most important doctrines in evidence law.” more...
January 26, 2012
CONDITIONS OF BAIL IN DWI CASES CAN BE HARSH
Politics and Profit Motive Lead to Unreasonable Conditions of Bond in First Time DWI Cases
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Legislature in 1999 gave courts the general authority to impose “reasonable conditions” of pre-trial release. This authority was codified in Chapter 17 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Art. 17.40(a) and has been used by some courts to impose draconian “conditions” of bond in DWI cases on the dubious claim they are related “to the safety of the community.” Unfortunately, some courts, with pressure from tough on crime advocacy groups who often endorse judges during election cycles, have added such burdensome conditions of bond as to amount to punishment prior to a finding of guilt, disregarding the fundamental principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” more...
December 20, 2011
HARDY V. CROSS: CONFRONTATION CLAUSE QUAGMIRED IN LEGAL UNCERTAINTY
Confusing Logic from SCOTUS and Conflict Among Appellate Courts Leave Trial Courts Guessing The Meaning Of Confrontation
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Sixth Amendment is one of the most important amendments of the United States Constitution. It ensures that an “accused shall enjoy the right … to be confronted with witnesses against him.” In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court, in Coy v. Iowa, observed that “it is always more difficult to tell a lie about a person ‘to his face’ than ‘behind his back.’” Just two years later, in Maryland v. Craig, the Court made this follow up observation: “[F]ace-to-face confrontation enhances the accuracy of fact-finding by reducing the risk that a witness will wrongfully implicate an innocent person.” That observation is critically important because, as pointed out by the New York-based The Innocent Project, roughly 75 percent of the nation’s 282 DNA exonerations involved eyewitness misidentification. more...
September 8, 2011
DOUBLE STANDARD OF EVIDENCE IN CONRAD MURRAY TRIAL
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Jury selection has begun in the high profile criminal case against Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician charged with involuntary manslaughter in the drug overdose and death of Michael Jackson. This comes the day after a California Court of Appeals denied Murray’s request to have the jury sequestered in what will assuredly be intense media coverage and “expert” speculation. more...
August 26, 2011
PUNISHMENT: TEXAS STYLE
Life Sentences for DWI, Shoplifting for Habitual Offenders
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Two years ago the Houston Chronicle carried report about a Montgomery County jury imposing a life sentence on a criminal defendant who shoplifted five compact discs from a Wal-Mart in Conroe. The defendant, Brian K. Balentine, was understandably stunned by the sentence. We just posted a piece about how a defendant’s criminal history, and even uncharged prior bad conduct, can come back to haunt him during the punishment phase of a trial. more...
August 9, 2011
EXTRANEOUS OFFENSE EVIDENCE DURING PUNISHMENT
37.07: The Use of Prior Criminal Record, Bad Acts, Reputation and Character at Sentencing
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Once a defendant has been convicted in Texas, either by a jury or a judge, a separate hearing under Art. 37.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure must be conducted to determine the punishment of the defendant. The prosecution may offer, and the trial judge has broad discretion to admit, evidence of extraneous offenses during this punishment phase. The defense may offer evidence of good character and reputation, as well as evidence contradicting the state’s offer of prior bad acts. Section 3(a)(1) of Art. 37.07 governs the use of extraneous offense and character evidence “after a finding of guilty.” It provides: more...
June 27, 2011
Police Interrogations of Children
Age is Proper Factor in Miranda Custody Analysis
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
One thing you can depend upon, any time the U.S. Supreme is presented with an issue that involves extending or protecting the interests of a criminal “suspect,” Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito will be opposed to it. And at first impression, most people will say, “heck, there’s nothing wrong with that—criminals shouldn’t have rights or interests.” But what if that criminal suspect was their 13-year-old son? Would they be so inclined to accept that the police could question and secure a confession from him without their being present? Didn’t think so! more...
May 7, 2011
DWI BLOOD DRAWS TAKE A HIT
Refusal to Perform DWI Police Tests Not Enough to Substantiate Probable Cause for Blood Draw
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
“No refusal weekends” have become a permanent fixture in the aggressive anti-DWI campaign waged by law enforcements agencies across the State of Texas and the nation. In these programs a judge is on standby to sign a warrant authorizing law enforcement authorities to take a “blood sample” when a suspected DWI driver refuses to take the standard breathalyzer test—and in Texas, if the suspect refuses to voluntary consent to a blood draw, law enforcement authorities can forcefully extract the blood sample. more...
April 22, 2011
HOW FAR DOES THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY GO IN A MARITAL HOME?
Wiretaps and Secret Video Taping by Spouses in the Home Can Lead to Criminal and Civil Exposure
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Marriage may well begin in bliss but during divorce often ends in mutually destructive acrimony between the spouses. Sometimes the acrimony in a failed marriage prompts one of the spouses to do something that violates the law resulting in criminal liability. That’s what happened to J. Duffy in 1996. We came upon Duffy’s case when a local attorney representing a husband charged with aggravated assault on his wife consulted with us regarding the legality of a situation where a husband, who suspected his wife of adultery, wiretapped the home telephone to gather incriminating evidence and recorded statements made by the wife bragging about accusing her husband of the assault. Was the wiretapping of the home phone legal? Having represented a client charged with a felony in a similar fact pattern we knew the answer was NO, but did some quick research and found Duffy’s case illustrative of the point. more...
March 8, 2011
5C1.2: “SAFETY VALVE”: ANOTHER FAILED SENTENCING REFORM EFFORT
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mandatory Minimums, Safety Valve Encourage Snitches, Promote False Testimony, Prevent Just Sentences
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Anytime a new penal statute uses the term “reform” you can take to it the bank that the result will produce just the opposite; that its objective to correct a perceived and politically charged threat will, more than likely than not, harvest a new crop of worse injustices. more...
March 4, 2011
THE SUPREME COURT BACK PEDALS ON THE SIXTH AMENDMENT
Constitutional Right to Confront Witnesses Watered Down: Statements Describing Shooter Not Testimonial, Admissible Without Confrontation and Cross Examination
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
What a strange Supreme Court we have! You know it’s strange when Justice Sonia Sotomayer authors a lead opinion, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer and Alito, which curtails longstanding constitutional jurisprudence regarding the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause over the dissent of Justice Antonin Scalia. However, this was exactly the case in the Court’s recent opinion in Michigan v. Bryant, in which the Court held that statements made to police identifying and describing a “shooter” were not testimonial and thus were admissible in trial, even though the witness was dead and could not testify. more...
March 2, 2010
THE LAW ON GUNS AND FELONS
Texas Legislature Pushing to Allow Concealed Guns on College Campuses, Penalties for Felon in Possession Increase
By Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Legislature appears poised to join Utah in enacting legislation that would allow guns on college campuses (an issue rejected in 23 other states). The legislation would allow college students and professors, who have concealed handgun permits, to pack “heat” on public university property throughout the State of Texas. more...
February 11, 2011
THE PURPOSE OF REASONABLE DOUBT IN CRIMINAL TRIALS
Prosecutorial, Police Misconduct Lead to Wrongful Conviction Unsupported by Evidence
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
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. more...
January 30, 2011
WHAT IS REASONABLE DOUBT?
Another Tool for Preventing Wrongful Convictions: Texas Needs a Statutory Definition of Reasonable Doubt
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Four decades ago in the case of In re Winship the United States Supreme Court firmly established that, as a matter of due process, a person charged with a criminal offense, including a juvenile as in Winship, can be found guilty only after the prosecution has proven every element of the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The Supreme Court dated the term “beyond a reasonable doubt” in American jurisprudence to 1798, some eleven years after our Constitution was adopted. Thus, beyond a reasonable doubt has been the degree of persuasion necessary in criminal cases since the early founding of our nation. It has become the very bedrock of our criminal jurisprudence. As Mr. Justice Frankfurter put it in 1952 in Leland v. Oregon: “ … it is the duty of the Government to establish … guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This notion – basic in our law and rightly one of the boasts of a free society – is a requirement and a safeguard of due process of law in the historical, procedural content of ‘due process.’” more...
January 24, 2011
SELF-INCRIMINATION IN YOUR POCKET
California Supreme Court Allows Search of Data Stored on Mobile Phone without Warrant
By: Houston Criminal lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Early last year we posted a piece about the way federal prosecutors have increased their efforts to secure sensitive data from telecommunications companies about customers’ cell phone use. Prosecutors justified these individual privacy intrusions by saying it helps them trace the movements of drug dealers, human traffickers, and even corrupt politicians. Newsweek called the cell phone “The Snitch in Your Pocket” (March 1, 2010) as they reported about this new crime-fighting effort by federal authorities. And more recently we have reported on additional, more inventive ways the Government has found to intrude into the private lives of everyday, law-abiding citizens under the now incestuous wars of crime and terror (here and here). more...
December 10, 2010
WIKILEAKS, JULIAN ASSANGE, AND POSSIBLE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION
Keeping the government in Check, the Uncomfortable Reality of Freedom of the Press
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange surrendered to British authorities on December 7, 2010 in connection with sexual assault allegations leveled against the Australian native by Swedish authorities. News media reports said Assange was engaged in consensual sexual encounters with two women (WikiLeak volunteers) in Sweden this past August when the encounters turned non-consensual because Assange would not use a condom. The controversial Assange has gained international acclaim and criticism for his website’s disclosure of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables and documents. The sexual assault charges became prominent after the disclosures occurred. more...
October 16, 2010
FREEDOM OF SPEECH SURVIVES YET ANOTHER ASSAULT
Freedom of Speech: Conviction for Lying about Medal of Honor Reversed
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
No one likes a liar, a blowhard, or someone who takes credit for something he doesn’t deserve. But that description applies to most of us at one point or another in their lives. People lie about things to make themselves look better in the eyes of others; people embellish life events (the proverbial fish story about the “one that got away”); and people tend to take more credit than they deserve when they are part of a group success (like claiming credit for scoring the winning touchdown in a flag football game when they actually never caught a pass in their lives). This is the general state of human nature, a mirror reflection of those who tediously grope through mundane, sometimes insignificant, lives trying to simultaneously cope with personal fallibility and certain mortality. more...
October 6, 2010
DOG WITNESSES KICKED OUT OF THE COURTROOM?
Winfrey v. State: Evidence of Dog Scent Line-Up Identification, Standing Alone, Legally Insufficient to Support Conviction
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair.
The San Deigo Police Foundation reports that police dogs work 8 ½ years before being retired and it costs $8500 to replace a retired canine. Dogs serve a legitimate purpose in crime prevention: their sense of smell is nearly 50 times stronger than humans and they can search an area 10 times quicker than a human. Dogs have a long history in law enforcement. For example, bloodhounds were used as early as the 18th century in Europe to track criminals. Germany and Belgium became the first European countries to formalize training of dogs in police work, mostly guard duty. German sheperds served Third Reich well in World War II and returning American soldiers brought this information home with them from the front lines. Following the lead of London and other large European police departments, major American city police departments also began to establish K-9 units in the 1970s, consisting mostly of German sheperds, in their crime-fighting duties. more...
September 8, 2010
“NO REFUSAL” BLOOD DRAWS AND SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS: CONSTITUTIONAL DILEMMAS
Law Enforcement Willing to Lessen Constitutional Protections to Appease Mothers Against Drunk Driving
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
For the past fifteen years the State of Texas either led the nation or ranked in the top five states in DWI fatalities. The Century Council reported in 2008 there were nearly six-million traffic accidents reported in this country to the police which took the lives of 37,361 people—11,773 of the deaths involved crashes in which a driver had a blood-alcohol reading of .08 or higher. A blood alcohol level (BAL) of .08 is considered intoxicated in the State of Texas. more...
July 9, 2010
A CHILD CANNOT BE BOTH CRIMINAL AND VICTIM
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Supreme Court recently held that a child under the age of fourteen could not be found guilty of a Class B misdemeanor offense of prostitution. This case began when a 13-year-old identified by the court as B.W. waved over a Houston undercover police officer driving an unmarked vehicle and offered to perform oral sex on him for $20. The officer agreed, and as soon as the teenager got in the officer’s vehicle, he arrested her for prostitution. The case was originally brought in the criminal district court, but as soon as the District Attorney’s Office learned the girl was only thirteen, the criminal complaint was dismissed and charges were re-filed under Articles 51.02(2) and .04(a) of the Texas Family Code. more...
June 8, 2010
U.S. SUPREME COURT TAKES ANOTHER BITE OUT OF MIRANDA
Suspects Must Invoke Rights Unambiguously; Justice Sotomayer Strongly and Forcefully Dissents as High Court Narrows Miranda
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Our last post dealt with the prospect that the Obama administration may modify the long-standing “public safety exception” of Miranda v. Arizona—the 1966 Supreme Court that established the following prophylactic rules for warning criminal suspects taken into police custody: 1) right to remain silent, 2) anything a suspect says can be used against him in a court of law, 3) suspect has right to have an attorney present during police questioning, and 4) if the suspect cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to him prior to police questioning. more...
June 1, 2010
THE CONTINUED ASSAULT ON MIRANDA
Abandoning Miranda in Terrorism Cases Contrary to Constitution and Beginning of Slippery Slope towards Neo-Con Police State
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The United States Supreme Court in 1966 handed down Miranda v. Arizonawhich mandated to every law enforcement agency in this country that they advise all criminal suspects their right to silence; that anything they say can and may be used against them in a court of law; and that they have a right to an attorney. Findlaw columnist and former White House counsel John Dean has written two (here and here) recent columns in response to comments made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on May 9, 2010 on several Sunday morning news/talk shows that the “Miranda warnings” given to terror suspects should perhaps be modified. Dean warned the Obama administration that, if the Holder comments represented possible “new policy,” it is navigating down a constitutional “slippery slope” by “messing with Miranda rights to fight terrorism.” more...
May 25, 2010
SUPREME COURT ADDRESSES LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR JUVENILES
Are Life Sentences Appropriate for Juvenile Offenders?
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The United States Supreme Court finally addressed for the first time a long debated issue: whether juveniles can be sentenced to life without parole (“LWOP”), a sentence normally reserved for the very worst offenders. In its decision finding that LWOP for juvenile offenders was unconstitutional, the Court pointed out that only six states in this country do not have LWOP for juveniles. Fortunately, the State of Texas is one of those states. The Legislature last year eliminated the penalty provision from its sentencing practices. more...
May 1, 2010
THE TRAGEDY OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION, PSYCHOSIS, AND INFANTICIDE
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The postpartum depression debate has awakened once again in Harris County in the case of Narjes Modarresi, who is accused of killing her two-month old son. Anytime a mother harms her child deep-seated emotions are stirred in the community. Mothers are protective by nature. It’s an instinct rooted in the DNA of all animals, especially humans. more...
April 24, 2010
THE SUPREME COURT MAKES A DIFFICULT CHOICE
Free Speech: Federal Law Criminalizing Depictions of Animal Cruelty Declared Unconstitutional
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There are times when the U.S. Constitution protects human activity that is repugnant and seemingly socially irredeemable. The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed down a ruling in the case of Robert J. Stevens who was convicted under a federal statute titled 18 U.S.C. Sec. 48 which prohibits the “depiction of animal cruelty.” This statute was enacted by Congress to, as the Supreme Court said, “criminalize the commercial creation, sale, or possession of certain depiction of animal cruelty.” more...
March 31, 2010
MIRANDA TAKES MORE HITS FROM SUPREME COURT
Florida v. Powell and Maryland v. Shatzer: Why Criminal Suspects Should Never Talk to the Police Without an Attorney
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In December 2008 police officer Timothy Abernethy was chasing a suspect through a Houston apartment complex when the suspect, M. J. Landor, reportedly fired several shots at the officer. According to official reports, one of the bullets knock the 11-year police veteran to the ground at which time Landor approached him and shot him in the head. A massive police manhunt was undertaken to apprehend Landor, a parole violator, who was captured several hours later. Landor reportedly gave the police a detailed confession to the crime during several hours of police questioning. more...
March 17, 2010
CAN THE SMELL OF POT LEAD TO WARRANTLESS ARREST?
Odor of Burnt Marijuana, alone, may be sufficient for a warrantless entry but insufficient to establish probable cause for a specific arrest.
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Some defense attorneys—and not without a legitimate basis—mistakenly believe that if a police officer detects the odor of marijuana inside a residence, the officer does not have probable cause to enter the residence and arrest the suspected owner of the drug without a warrant. This belief can be traced to a 2002 decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in State v. Steelman which held that “the detection of the odor of marijuana in a certain place will not inevitably provide probable cause to arrest a person who is at that place.” 1/ more...
March 5, 2010
BIG BROTHER’S WATCHING!
Law Enforcement Seeks Cell Phone Surveillance in Continued War on Crime; But Who’s Watching Them? …Federal Judges
In an article titled “The Snitch In Your Pocket,” Newsweek Magazine (March 1, 2010) reported that in recent years Federal prosecutors have been “seeking what seemed to be unusually sensitive records, internal data from telecommunications companies that showed the locations of their customers’ cell phones—sometimes in real time, sometimes after the fact.” The prosecutors justified their pursuit of this individualized personal information “to trace the movements of suspected drug traffickers, human smugglers, even corrupt public officials” through their cell phones. more...
February 11, 2010
MICHAEL JACKSON’S DOCTOR CHARGED WITH INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair.
How do you save someone determined to destroy himself?
That question will surely be in the mind of most jurors who will ultimately decide the personal and professional fate of Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist, who was formally charged on February 8, 2010 with involuntary manslaughter in Los Angeles in connection with Michael Jackson’s death. Murray was the superstar’s personal physician last June when he administered the powerful anesthetic propofol and two sedatives to help Jackson, a renowned insomniac, get some sleep. The sleep aids put the pop singer to sleep permanently. more...
December 23, 2009
EXTRANEOUS OFFENSE EVIDENCE IN FEDERAL COURT
Probative or Prejudicial: Evidence of Previous Drug Convictions Admitted to Show Proof of Intent in Drug Case
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We have written recently about the dangers of the use of extraneous offense evidence at the state trial level; specifically, that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has virtually eliminated the availability of any defense in sexual assault cases, particularly those involving a child, when the State has in its possession extraneous offense evidence and the defendant wished to avoid its admission in court. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently confronted and outlined the parameters of extraneous offense evidence at the federal trial level. more...
October 26, 2009
DISTRACTED DRIVING: ‘A MENACE TO SOCIETY’
Death Cause by Distracted Driving While on Cell Phone Leads to Conviction for Negligent Homicide
By Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair.
It was an emotional crime, to be sure. The father of the daughter convicted of the crime now no longer believes in the criminal justice system, and the convicted daughter still does not believe she committed a crime at all—even though the 25-year-old father of a child is dead because of the daughter’s behavior. more...
October 16, 2009
“STOP AND FRISK”
Increased Use of Stop and Frisk Leads to Increased Constitutional Abuses, Legitimizes Racial Profiling
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Law enforcement officials claim “stop and frisk” is one of their most effective crime prevention practices. Civil libertarians, however, claim that “stop and frisk” is being used as another racial profiling tool against hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens each day across the country. The Associated Press recently released statistics showing that law enforcement stop and question more than one million people each year in the nation’s largest cities—a figure that reflects a sharp increase in the use of “stop and frisk” over the past few years. The AP figures revealed that most of the individuals stopped and frisked were black and Hispanic men, most of whom were innocent of any criminal wrongdoing. more...
October 2, 2009
THE “JUNK SCIENCE” OF DOG SCENT LINEUPS
Popular Law Enforcement Dog Handler Discredited After False Results, Exaggerated Claims of Accuracy Exposed
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We have blogged (False Forensics: An Attorney’s Worst Nightmare, May 1, 2009) in the past about the dangers of “false forensic” evidence being used in courtrooms to convict innocent people. The New York-based Innocence Project reported in 2007 that 65% of the nation’s first 200 DNA exonerations in this country involved fraudulent, unreliable or more...
September 21, 2009
LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR JUVENILES ELIMINATED
Texas Takes Small First Step Towards Humane Treatment, Punishment for Youthful Offenders
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) releases every two years after each session of the Texas Legislature a summary of new or amended laws enacted during the legislative session. This year Kristin Etter (TCDLA’s Voice of the Defense) has provided this continuing education service from TCDLA to criminal defense attorneys throughout the state. It is not only a continuing education service but an invaluable research tool as well. This blog over the next couple months will feature in depth articles about the most significant pieces of legislation that emanated out of the 2009 Texas Legislature and their potential impact on the state’s criminal justice system with special appreciation to the TCDLA. more...
August 19, 2009
THE MAGIC DNA BULLET LOSES SOME OF ITS LUSTER
Fabricating Fake DNA, Defending the Accused in the New World
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Billy Sinclair, Paralegal
We have blogged on several occasions in the recent past about the fallibility of forensic evidence, sharing the opinion of others that more often than not it’s “junk science.” However, DNA evidence has generally remained insulated from the ever increasing scientific indictment of forensic evidence in general. Not any more. The New York Times recently reported (August 18, 2009) about a paper published online by the journal Forensic Science Internal: Genetics. Citing this authoritative paper, the Times reported that scientists in Israel have established that it is now possible to fabricate DNA evidence, “undermining the credibility of what has been the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.” more...
August 15, 2009
TRIAL OBJECTIONS MUST BE CLEAR AND PRECISE
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas Finds Lawyer’s Careful and Repeated Objections did not Preserve Error
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Criminal trials are governed by strict rules of evidence and procedures. It is the duty of a defense attorney to not only know but understand these rules and procedures precisely. We have written several times in the past about the harm caused by a defense attorney’s inadvertent failure to make specific, timely and properly lodged objections during the course of a criminal trial. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals recently delivered that same unreasonable message once again and in no uncertain terms. more...
July 8, 2009
SUPREME COURT CHANGES CONFESSION LANDSCAPE
Montejo v. Louisiana; Suspects in Criminal Investigations Must Invoke Right to Counsel and Remain Silent, Even if Represented by Counsel
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson often warned his judicial colleagues that the court was “forever adding new stories to the temples of constitutional law, and the temples have a way of collapsing when one story too many is added.” more...
July 3, 2009
MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH, POTENTIAL CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Doctors Move to Hire Criminal Defense Attorney Vital in Protecting His Reputation and Liberty in the Jackson Whirlwind
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The death of celebrity brings out the worst in humanity. The recent death of singer/entertainer Michael Jackson has once again proven this tragic point. We have seen it all before: the lurid headlines, anonymous sources, and grist mill of rumors all designed to insinuate wrongdoing by any and every one associated with the celebrity-figure from nanny to granny. To paraphrase American author Ann Morrow Lindberg, we make our heroes in America only to destroy them. more...
June 20, 2009
U.S. SUPREME COURT LIMITS VEHICLE SEARCHES
Arizona v. Gant, 129 S.Ct. 1710, (2009); Vehicle Searches after Arrest
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Consider the following hypothetical. Two patrol officers with the Houston Police Department were following a Cadillac in an area known for gang and drug activity. Loud music was coming from the vehicle as it swerved several times from lane to lane. The officers decided to stop the vehicle for failure to maintain a single lane of traffic. In Texas, a law enforcement officer may lawfully stop a person for a traffic law violation. 1/ more...
June 7, 2009
A GLIMPSE AT THE NATION’S DRUG PROBLEM
20:1 Crack/Powder Ratio Still Flawed; Incarceration of Most Drug Offenders Absurd and Obscene
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In May 2007 the U.S. Sentencing Commission sent a report to Congress recommending that the 100:1 sentencing ratio in crack/powder cocaine cases be reduced to 20:1. The 100:1 ratio under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines required federal district courts to treat one gram of crack cocaine as the equivalent of 100 grams of powder cocaine. That disparate sentencing scheme created thousands of horrendous miscarriages of justice in the federal sentencing process with all sorts of ugly racial implications. Crack cocaine offenders, disproportionately African American, were routinely punished 100 times more severely than powder cocaine offenders. more...
June 3, 2009
“JUICED” BY THE DESIRE FOR FITNESS
Addiction to Pumping Iron and Juicing Leads to Massive Arrests in Houston Area and Ft. Bend County
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was billed by raiding law enforcement officials as the “largest drug operation” in Fort Bend County history. The stark, glaring headlines and the “perp walks” would lead one to believe that a violent Mexican drug cartel had just been “busted” in Fort Bend County. more...
May 30, 2009
THAT NAGGING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DEBATE
No Probations for Illegal Aliens: The Problem with Blanket Law Enforcement Policies on Undocumented Immigrants
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In September 2006 Houston police officer Rodney Johnson was shot in the back of the head by an illegal immigrant the officer had just arrested following a routine traffic stop. And in March 2009 Houston police officer Rick Salter was shot in the face by an illegal immigrant during a narcotics raid. He remains in critical condition. Both of these shootings of law enforcement officers by illegal immigrants triggered intense criticism from Houston Mayor Bill White and Police Chief Harold Hurtt against federal immigration officials for their alleged failure to secure the nation’s southern borders and for failing to aggressively push for the removal of illegal immigrants in this state. more...
May 15, 2009
A DREW PETERSON DEFENSE
Legislators and State Prosecutors Attempting to Deny Confrontation Clause Guarantees, Presumption of Innocence
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Former Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson has been married four times. Wife three, Kathleen Savio, died under mysterious circumstances in February 2004 just weeks before her divorce settlement with Peterson was to become final. Her dead body was found lying face down in an empty bathtub. Her hair was soaked in blood from a head wound. A Coroner’s Jury ruled her death an accident. more...
May 5, 2009
INADVERENT TRIAL ERROR COSTLY FOR CLIENT
Offer of Proof; Preserving Error for Appellate Review under Rule 103(a) (2)
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In a recent article (“False Forensics: An Attorney’s Worst Nightmare.” 05-01-09), we reported on the increasing problems associated with the specialized field of forensic science. Prestigious organizations and scientists are calling now for a National Institute of Forensic Science with strict standards and enforcement mechanisms set up to insure that only truthful and valid forensic evidence is used to convict criminal defendants. It was faulty forensic science and lack of professional standards that prompted a former Houston Police Department crime lab technician to testify falsely in the rape and robbery trial of Gary Alvin Richard in 1987. Richard was recently released from prison after serving 22 years on a life sentence for violent crimes he did not commit. He case marked the fourth criminal defendant wrongfully convicted in Harris County because HPD crime lab technicians either lied or misrepresented forensic evidence test results to produce criminal convictions for unethical county prosecutors. more...
April 27, 2009
THE PLAGUE OF PIRACY
Youthful Pirate Faces Life in Federal Prison if Convicted on Piracy Charges
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the lone survivor of the four Somali pirates who attacked the United States flagged-ship Maersk Alabama on April 8, 2009, was recently indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on five criminal counts, including piracy under Section 1651 of the Title 18 of the United States Code. The other three pirates did not fare as well. They were killed four days earlier in spectacular fashion by Navy Seals sharp shooters who also rescued the captain of the Maersk Alabama. If convicted of piracy, Muse will face a life sentence under United States Code Title 18, Section 1651. more...
April 5, 2009
DISTRICT ATTORNEY PAT LYKOS CONTINUES NEW ERA OF PROSECUTORIAL REFORM IN HARRIS COUNTY
Successful Batson Challenge Reveals Racial Discrimination in Harris County Jury Selection
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Assistant District Attorneys Mark Donnelly and Rifian Newaz are considered seasoned, professional prosecutors by their colleagues in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Many Harris County defense attorneys also hold the prosecutors in high professional esteem. In fact, we recently paid tribute to ADA Donnelly for his recent professional efforts to undo the tragic wrong done to Ricardo Rachell who was wrongfully convicted and who spent six years in prison for the aggravated sexual assault of a child. more...
February 21, 2009
SENTENCING DEPARTURES SINCE BOOKER
Defense Lawyers Must Prepare for Federal Sentencing
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The United States Supreme Court in 1996 held that federal district court judges had discretion to depart from the recommendations of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. See: Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 91, 98 (1996). more...
January 30, 2009
JUDICIAL WAR OVER CRACK SENTENCING COMES TO AN END
Moore and Spears: District Courts have Discretion to Reject the 100:1 Crack/Powder Cocaine Ratio
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Last October we posted a blog entitled “The Judicial Wars Invoked by Crack Sentencing” (Oct. 24, 2008). The blog focused on a judicial tiff between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of James Eric Moore. We are pleased to report that the Supreme Court has finally put this issue to bed in two cases this Term. more...
December 24, 2008
HISD CONSIDERS RANDOM DRUG SEARCHES
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Over the last two months sixteen Houston Independent School District employees, including 11 teachers, have been arrested on drug charges—mostly involving marijuana or prescription drugs found in parked vehicles on school campuses. Two of the employees were arrested twice. Most of the arrests came after anonymous tips, prompting HISD police to use drug-sniffing dogs to hit on narcotics in the vehicles. more...
November 18, 2008
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been several recent national news reports concerning the dramatic increase in the sale of firearms, particularly in Texas, since the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. The day after Obama was elected, the Cheaper than Dirt gun store in Fort Worth, Texas sold $101,000 worth of merchandise. Guns stores throughout Virginia have reported that sales have increased by 50 percent since Election Day. The FBI reported that by October 26, 2008 there were 62,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007 – a 25% increase. more...
November 8, 2008
CAN ONE SPOUSE BE MADE TO TESTIFY AGAINST THE OTHER?
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
A potential client of the John T. Floyd Law Firm recently asked if his wife could be compelled to give testimony against him concerning possible criminal conduct. Like any answer to most legal questions, our answer to the potential client was “depends upon the circumstances.” more...
October 26, 2008
HEARSAY EVIDENCE OBJECTIONS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There is rarely a time when a defense attorney does not find the need to object during a criminal trial because the prosecution either attempts to introduce inadmissible evidence or engages in some questionable conduct concerning the proffer of evidence. more...
July 1, 2008
JOE HORN FREE OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was a highly-charged emotional case from the beginning. It had all the social ingredients for stirring controversy: criminals, crime, guns, self-defense, race, and illegal immigrants. It began last November when a 64-year-old Pasadena retiree named Joe Horn saw his neighbor’s home being burglarized by two Hispanic men, Diego Ortiz and Hernando Riascos Torres, who were in the United States illegally(although Horn at the time didn’t know they were Hispanic because of their African-Columbian descent). Horn called 911 to report the crime. He told the 911 dispatcher that he was armed. The dispatcher instructed Horn to stay inside his own residence. Horn ignored those instructions, pointedly telling the dispatcher that he was going to kill the two men. more...
April 30, 2007
FOURTH AMENDMENT: U.S SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES ISSUE OF SEARCH/SEIZURE IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
David Lee Moore was a small time crack dealer in Portsmouth, Virginia. In February 2003 two local police officers heard over their police radio that a person known as “Chubs” was driving with a suspended license. One of the officers knew Moore by the moniker “Chubs.” They ran a license check and learned that Moore’s license had in fact been suspended. The officers located, stopped, and arrested him on the misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. A subsequent search of Moore’s vehicle by the officers discovered 16 grams of crack cocaine and $516 in cash. See: Virginia v. Moore, 543 U.S. _____ (April 23, 2008), Slip Opinion, No. 06-1082, at p. 1. More...
April 26, 2008
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Prosecutor’s should not make statements of their personal beliefs as to the truth or falsity of testimony, evidence or guilt of the defendant.
More than seven decades ago the United States Supreme Court held that the primary responsibility of a prosecutor in a criminal case is to seek justice. See: Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78 (1935). While a prosecutor has a duty to “prosecute with earnestness and vigor,” the Supreme Court instructed that he may not engage in “improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction.” Id., at 88. The test is whether a prosecutor’s methods “so [infects] the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process.” See: Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 181 (1986). See also: Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 643 (1974) [Darden test first stated]. In applying this due process test, the Supreme Court has said a prosecutor’s comments alone should be viewed in context of the entire trial to determine whether they undermined the fairness of the proceedings, indicating a reluctance to lightly overturn criminal convictions. See: United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 11-12 (1985).
April 4, 2008
KEEP THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF OUR BEDROOMS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Do you believe that every American citizen has a constitutionally protected right to sexual privacy in his/her home? More...
April 02, 2008
BRADY AND THE ROSENTHAL SCANDAL
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Charles “Chuck” Rosenthal is no longer the District Attorney of Harris County. Rosenthal was forced to resign recently in the wake of a scandal that disclosed he had used his office computer to send and receive controversial emails with a former intimate partner and D.A. employee. There were also charges that the former DA received racially insensitive and sexually explicit e-mail from friends, including the husband of one of his most controversial assistant district attorneys. More...
March 16, 2008
THE VALUE OF A DIRECT VERDICT STRATEGY
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The John T. Floyd law firm was recently retained to represent a client in Houston charged with sexual assault pursuant to Tex. Penal Code § 22.011. The client is a physical therapist who operates a pain relief center in Houston, Harris County. A patient leveled the accusation that our client inappropriately “fondled” and inserted his finger in her vagina during a physical massage session against her consent. The District Attorney’s Office requested, and received, a grand jury indictment charging our client with sexual assault which also designated him as a “health care services provider.” See: § 22.011(b)(9). We believed our client was wrongly accused and set out to exonerate him. More...
February 27, 2008
THE CASTLE DOCTRINE: STAND YOUR GROUND AND SHOOT TO KILL
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In October 2005 the Florida became the first state in the United States to officially put a “Castle Doctrine” law on its books. Supporters hailed it as a “stand your ground” law while opponents called it a “shoot to kill” license. More...
February 19, 2008
“PLEADING TO A PSI”
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In December former Department of Public Safety crime lab technician Jesus Hinojosa, Jr. pleaded guilty in a Houston, Harris County, Texas district court to two counts of possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver, all of which was stolen from the agency’s Jersey Village crime lab. He elected to be sentenced by a judge who, by law, ordered a “presentence investigation” report. On February 8, 2008, after reviewing the PSI and considering arguments from the defense and prosecution, the district court sentenced Hinojosa to 45 years in prison – an extreme sentence harsh enough to beg the question of whether he would have fared better before a jury. More...
February 14, 2008
NO BAIL FOR REPEAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Council on Family Violence reported there were 187,811 incidents of family violence in 2005 throughout the state. 143 of those incidents resulted in the deaths of women by an intimate partner. That death rate declined slightly in 2006 when 120 women were killed by an intimate partner. It was these disturbing figures that prompted the 2007 Texas Legislature to propose a constitutional amendment to Article I, Section 11, of the Texas Constitution [right to bail] that would allow a court to deny bail to those defendants who violate a previous court protective order or a condition of bond in family violence cases. The amendment was put before the voters as Proposition 13, and it was ratified by the electorate on November 7, 2007. This constitutional amendment, which became effective January 1, 2008, was codified as Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 17.152 (2007) [Denial of Bail for Violation of Certain Court Orders or Conditions of Bond in a Family Violence Case]. The statute provides: More...
February 12, 2008
THE RIGHT TO BAIL TOO OFTEN ABUSED IN HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Eight Amendment to the United States Constitution expressly prohibits excessive bail. This fundamental right allows an accused to be free before conviction, permitting the unhampered preparation of a defense and preventing unjust punishment upon the innocent. More...
January 30, 2008
ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM BY A CONVICTED FELON
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Terry Blanet Hukill, a convicted felon, was arrested in October 2006 by the Dallas Police Department for illegal possession of 21 firearms, including a sawed-off shotgun. The arrest culminated an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) under a Project Safe Neighborhoods program, a nationwide federal effort targeting gun crimes. On December 14, 2007 U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle sentenced Hukill, who pleaded guilty in September to possessing a prohibited firearm (sawed-off shotgun) and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, to fifteen years in prison. More...
December 17, 2007
IN THE WAKE OF THE JOE HORN SHOOTINGS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
During the afternoon of November 14, 2007 a Pasadena, Texas resident named Joe Horn was working at his computer in his own home. He heard the sound of breaking glass. He looked out his window. He saw two men [later identified as Miguel Antonio DeJesus and Diego Ortiz] breaking into his neighbor’s home. Horn retrieved a shotgun, called 911, and informed the operator about the burglary in progress. The 911 operator instructed Horn to remain inside his residence – that the police were on their way. Horn did not heed those instructions. He went outside, confronted the two burglary suspects, and killed both of them as they attempted to flee. More...
December 9, 2007
JOE HORN’S SELF-DEFENSE SAGA CONTINUES: PART TWO
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On November 14, 2007 a Pasadena, Texas resident named Joe Horn shot and killed two men who had burglarized his neighbor’s home. The case immediately generated national media attention, and an onslaught of Internet discussion. This case captured the public’s imagination for several reasons. First, Horn called a 911 operator to not only report the burglary but to state his willingness to use deadly force and perhaps kill Miguel Antonio DeJesus and Diego Ortiz with his shotgun. The 911 recording, which has been publicly repeated thousands of times, captured the operator’s instructions that Horn remain inside his residence and Horn’s repeated comments that he was going to shoot, and kill, the burglary suspects. More...
November 29, 2007
IN DEFENSE OF THY NEIGHBOR
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On Wednesday, November 14, at about 2:00 p.m. a Pasadena, Texas man named Joe Horn was working at his computer inside his own residence in the 4900 block of Timberline when he heard the sound of breaking glass. He looked out the window of his home and saw two Hispanic men, Miguel Antonio DeJesus and Diego Ortiz, breaking into his neighbor’s house – a neighbor that Horn did not know very well. The 61-year-old Horn retrieved his 12-gauge shotgun from his pickup truck where he kept it for personal protection. Horn then called a 911 operator to report the burglary in progress. He explicitly told the operator that he was armed with a shotgun and that he was going out to shoot the two men to prevent the burglary of his neighbor’s home. The 911 operator repeatedly instructed Horn to remain inside his house until the police arrived. The following are excerpts from that 911 call: More...
November 22, 2007
THE DUTY TO REPRESENT
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
True criminal defense lawyers relish the opportunity to fight a case before a jury; to force the government to trial whether they like it or not. Criminal defense lawyers believe that often it is only in trial, before a jury of our peers, that true justice can come forth. And we also know that many times a jury trial is necessary to achieve any victory for the client, whether that is by achieving a lesser sentence than offered by the government or by total acquittal and vindication. More...
September 14, 2007
A 2007 TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The 80th Texas Legislative Session, as other legislators across the United States, was preoccupied with sex offenses and sex offenders. This is hardly surprising given the intense media attention to these types of cases and the public outrage against sex crimes. So, rather than focus on a myriad or other issues that would bring real change to the lives of our citizens and purposeful change to our system of criminal justice, our legislature took the easy way out and focused, again, on an easy target. More...
September 7, 2007
INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL:THE FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The right to effective assistance of counsel is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. See, McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771 n. 14 (1970). This constitutional guarantee attaches to both retained and appointed counsel. See, Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 344-45 (1980). More...
September 6, 2007
WHEN ERROR IS HARMLESS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 1962 Ruth Elizabeth Chapman and Thomas Leroy Teale robbed, kidnapped, and murdered a bartender in the State of California. See, Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 19, 87 S.Ct. 824 (1967). They were tried and convicted together. The two defendants did not take the witness stand in their own defense. Chapman received a life sentence and Teale was sentenced to death. Id. More...
JULY 25, 2007
A RIGHT OF CONFRONTATION
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses against him. Inherent in this Sixth Amendment guarantee is the right of the defendant to be present at every stage of the criminal trial in order to effectively cross-examine adverse witnesses. See, Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 403 (1961). See also: 36 Geo.L.J.Ann,Rev.Crim.Proc., 628 (2007). More...
June 4, 2007
GOTTI CRIME FAMILY TAKES A HIT
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Peter Gotti, John Matera, and Thomas Carbonaro, all members of the New York City Carlos Gambino Crime Family, were charged in a federal indictment of participating in a criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). A jury found Carbonaro and Gotti, the brother of former crime boss John Gotti, guilty of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) and (d); and extortion in the construction industry in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951. See,
United States v. Matera, et al., No. 05-0392 (2nd Cir. May 30, 2007). More...
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