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
Latest Legal News, Comments, and Essays from the Criminal Courts of Houston
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December 18, 2010
TEXAS COMMUNITY SUPERVISION REVISITED
Legislative Rush to Punish “Sex” Offenders Removes Punishment Alternatives, Probation, Unnecessarily Increases Prison Overcrowding
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 2008 we posted a piece about the restrictions the Texas Legislature had placed on the availability of probation. Historically probation was an alternative to penal incarceration designed to give first offenders and minor offenders a second chance. more...
December 16, 2010
DEFENDING AGAINST JUROR BIAS IN SEX CRIMES
Voir Dire, Inability to Consider Full Range of Punishment: Proper Objection and Practice to Preserve Error for Appeal
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Sex offenses involving children are beyond a doubt the most difficult to defend, particularly when the allegations appear compelling and the witnesses are believable (here, here, and here). These kinds of sexual assault allegations are easy to indict and even easier to prosecute. All the prosecution needs is the victim’s testimony to secure and sustain a conviction. These offenses are difficult to defend because potential jurors enter the trial setting with a predisposed bias against anyone charged with a sex offense against a child. While the defense counsel tries to exclude these biased jurors from the jury, either through peremptory challenges or challenges for cause, too many effectively conceal their bias in order to serve and convict. These jurors want to be part of a process that convicts the insidious “child molester.” more...
December 11, 2010
THE TEXAS DEATH PENALTY SYSTEM BROKEN
Nationally Recognized Experts, Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Cite Risk of Innocents Being Put to Death, State of Texas Replies “No Comment”
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
That question could reasonably be asked of any state that maintains the death penalty. Every system of punishment is cracked in one way or another. The fact that 138 condemned inmates in 26 death penalty states have been exonerated since 1973, and the fact that there have been 261 DNA exonerations in this country since 1989, and the fact that our law books are filled with reversals of criminal convictions and death sentences offers compelling evidence that our entire criminal justice system, and, in particular, our death penalty systems is if not broken, certainly flawed. Earlier this year Harris County Criminal District Court Judge Kevin Fine stirred considerable legal and political controversy when he declared from the bench that Texas’ death penalty procedures were unconstitutional. The backlash was so intense, from the state’s attorney general to its governor, that Judge Fine clarified his ruling the next day by saying he had not actually declared the death penalty process unconstitutional and ordered attorneys in the case to submit additional legal arguments detailing how the process was so flawed that it violated the “cruel and unusual punishment” provisions of the Eighth Amendment. 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...
December 5, 2010
WIKILEAKS RENEW DR. AAFIA SIDDIQUI MYSTERY
86-year prison term for Dr. Siddiqui: Victory in Courtroom is Loss on Worldwide Public Stage
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
This website has maintained an ongoing interest in the bizarre case of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui (here and here). We have stated we do not know if the Pakistani native is a brilliant neuroscientist or an al Qaeda terrorist as our Government has repeatedly charged she is. What we do know is that our Government has cloaked the Siddiqui case in such mystery and secrecy that we believe she was most likely kidnapped, along with her three children, by Pakistan’s infamous intelligence agency in Karachi in 2003 and turned over to our Government who placed her in secret detention in Bagram military prison in Afghanistan where she was subjected to torture and other forms of debilitating abuse. more...
December 2, 2010
BOTH TERROR AND AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM ON TRIAL
Suspected Terrorists should be Transferred to Civilian Custody and Processed in the Criminal Justice System
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was involved in the two bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. To what extent we do not know. The final verdict is mixed on that issue. What we do know is that the New York Times reported Ghailani was captured in Pakistan in 2004 where he was held in one of the CIA’s “secret prisons” for most of the next five years. He was subjected to repeated interrogations and torture during that period before he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention facility, according to his attorneys. The Obama administration elected to use the Ghailani case as a test run for its policy that terrorists should be tried in civilian courts rather than before military tribunals (here, here and here). Ghailani was then indicted by a New York federal grand jury on 285 terrorism-related counts, including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and murder in connection with the embassy bombings, and thereafter transferred from military custody to civilian custody. more...
December 1, 2010
REFORM CAN SOMETIMES BE BAD MEDICINE
Anonymous Inside Sources Criticize Harris County District Attorney
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Like all cold and flu medicine, “reform” at the governmental level sometimes gags those resistant to changing practices and policies away from the bad toward the good. Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos was elected on the theme that she would introduce “reform” to the district attorney’s office and put an end to the often illegal and unethical practices of the “convict at any cost” which hallmarked the former administrations of Charles “Chuck” Rosenthal and his predecessor Johnny Holmes. The trial of a criminal case is controlled by three entities: the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense counsel. To be effective and responsible, each entity must do their job in an honest, decent, and fair way. That was seldom the case under Rosenthal and Holmes. more...
November 18, 2010
THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUICKSAND OF JESSICA’S LAW IN TEXAS
Texas Penal Code 21.02, Continuing Sexual Abuse of a Child, Thwarts Long Established Requirement of Unanimous Verdicts
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It’s been called arguably the second “most serious offense” in the State of Texas: Texas Penal Code 21.02, The Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. The statute provides that a person commits the continuous sexual abuse of a child if (1) during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person commits two or more acts of sexual abuse, regardless of whether the acts of sexual abuse are committed against one or more victims, and (2) at the time of the commission of each of the acts of sexual abuse, the actor is 17 years of age or older and the victim is a child younger than 14 years of age. This law was enacted by the Legislature is 2007 and was part of Texas’ version of Jessica’s Law. These laws have met with serious constitutional challenges across the country. more...
November 11, 2010
NAIT RECEIVES MIXED BLESSING FROM APPEALS COURT
Unindicted Co-Conspirator in Holy Land Appeals Case in Fight to Clear Name
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, formerly the nation’s largest Islamic charity organization based in Dallas, Texas, and seven of its leaders were indicted in 2007 with providing “material support” to a terrorist organization, primarily to Hamas. We have posted up articles about the case (here and here). A 2008 trial resulted in convictions for all those indicted and with Holy Land being labeled as the “largest terrorism financing” Islamic group in the country. In 2009 its founders were given life sentences. more...
November 4, 2010
SEXUAL ASSAULT DEFENSES SEVERELY RESTRICTED
Extraneous Offenses: The Impact of Bass on Admissibility of other Crimes, Wrongs and Bad Acts.
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We wrote about the Curtis Bass case last year (here). We will restate the facts of the Bass case here to illustrate the profound effect the case has had on defending sexual assault cases, particularly those involving child victims. more...
October 30, 2010
THE COST OF MURDER/THE PRICE OF INNOCENCE
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. more...
October 23, 2010
ANOTHER ROGUE PROSECUTOR/IMMUNITY CASE
Supreme Court will Hear Al-Kidd v. Ashcroft to Determine if the Former Attorney General can be Held Responsible for Illegal Arrest and Detention of Muslim Man under Material Witness Statute
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a second case involving a rogue prosecutor abusing his power. This second case involves former U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft who was sued under the federal civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983, by Abdullah Al-Kidd. 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 9, 2010
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT:
THE SCOURGE OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Thompson v. Connick; Jury Awards 14 Million Dollars to Man Who Served 18 Years in Prison for Crime he Did Not Commit After Prosecutors Hid Favorable Evidence
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Last year the U.S. Supreme Court in Van de Kamp v. Goldstein effectively reinforced a longstanding constitutional rule of law that prosecutors who engaged in unethical and criminal misconduct to secure criminal convictions are immunized from civil liability. They are protected by the doctrine of absolute immunity which insulates public officials from civil liability when performing their official duties, even if their conduct is unethical and criminal so long as the conduct is carried out within the scope of the official’s duties. 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 30, 2010
DR. AAFIA SIDDIQUI: THE PUNISHMENT DOES NOT FIT THE CRIME
86 Year Federal Sentence Handed to the Gray Lady of Bagram Greater Than Necessary, Cruel and Unusual
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Billy Sinclair
Depending on who you believe, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is either an American-educated Pakistani neuroscientist kidnapped in Pakistan in 2003 and tortured by Americans in the infamous Bagram prison in Afghanistan over the next four years or she is a captured al Qaeda terrorist who tried to kill six American military personnel in Ghazni, Afghanistan in 2008. Whichever she is, she did not deserve the 86 year sentence U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman imposed on her on September 23, 2010 because she posed a threat of “recidivism.” more...
September 28, 2010
ACTUAL INNOCENCE IN POST-CONVICTION PROCEEDINGS
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. more...
September 25, 2010
TEXAS DISCOVERY PROCEDURES
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. more...
September 22, 2010
PREVENTING FALSE CONFESSIONS
Requirement That Interrogations Be Recorded Is the Best Way To Preserve Integrity Of Confessions
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The New York-based Innocence Project reports that as of September 10, 2010 there have been 258 DNA exonerations in this country. The project says that 25 percent of them involved false confessions and incriminating statements. more...
September 13, 2010
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TIMOTHY COLE ADVISORY PANEL ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
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. 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...
September 3, 2010
THE MINEOLA SWINGER CLUB CASE: A LEGAL NIGHTMARE
Lying Texas Ranger, Overzealous Child Advocate Experts and Pro-Prosecution Judge Mock Justice
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Most human tragedies are produced by random acts of Nature run amok. But far too often human tragedies are man-made, particularly in our criminal justice system. That’s what has happened in the so-called “Mineola swingers club” case. According to Michael Hall, in his latest Texas Monthly article about the case titled “Trial and Error,” this criminal justice tragedy began in 2005 when Margie Cantrell, a career “foster mom” (27 adopted children over 36 years) who either fled or migrated from California to Texas in 2004, walked into the Mineola Police Department, located in Wood County (just north of Tyler), and informed the police that two of her foster children had been forced to perform “sex shows” at the Retreat Club, a local “swingers’ club.” more...
August 31, 2010
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: TRAGIC RUSH TO JUDGMENTS
Tunnel Vision By Investigators and Prosecutors Convicts, Imprisons the Innocent
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Last year we blogged about the tragic wrongful convictions of three innocent Texas inmates, Ricardo Rachel, Timothy Cole (here and here), and Ernest Sonnier. This year has proven just as tragic. We have thus far blogged about the wrongful convictions of four more innocent Texas inmates: Donald Wayne Good, Anthony Robinson, Allen Wayne Porter, and Michael Anthony Green. The wrongful conviction emblem seems to have been deeply etched on the face of Texas justice. But convicting innocent people is not a phenomenon unique to this state. more...
August 28, 2010
ROGER CLEMENS TAKES THE MOUND AGAINST U.S. GOVERNMENT
False Statements, Perjury and Prosecutorial Over-Charging
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Between 1984 and 2006, Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, was arguably the best—certainly one of the top five—pitchers ever to take the mound in Major League Baseball (“MLB”). Nicknamed the “Rocket,” Clemens’ 354 wins (ninth on the all-time win list) and his 4,672 strikeouts (third only to career strikeout leader Nolan Ryan and runner up Randy Johnson) make a compelling argument that he is one of the greatest MLB pitchers of all time. more...
August 24, 2010
18 USC 1346, Honest Services Prosecutions Require Bribes or Kickbacks
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Enron Corporation was founded in 1985. Its headquarters were located in downtown Houston. It became the seventh highest revenue grossing company in America. Between 1995 and 2000 alone, its annual revenues rose from $9 billion to $100 billion. Jeffery Skilling, a longtime Enron officer, was an integral component in company’s phenomenal rise to economic success and corporate power. Between February and August 2001, he served as CEO of the company before he abruptly resigned. Less than four months later Enron declared bankruptcy and its stock value plummeted. The nation’s economic and political institutions were stunned by the far-reaching economic and political implications of the company’s collapse. more...
August 17, 2010
ARSON MURDER: TOO MANY MISTAKES DEMANDS SCRUTINY
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. more...
August 15, 2010
APPELLATE COURTS DON’T ALWAYS GET IT RIGHT EITHER
U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Corrects itself by Holding Overt Act Not Element of Conspiracy to Launder Money, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h)
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Money laundering is a process through which either the source or use of proceeds from illegal financial transactions are concealed. The primary purpose of a money laundering operation is to hide either the origin or destination of money derived from ill-gotten gain. Most money laundering operations are tied to illicit drug trafficking. The Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates that Americans spend $65 billion each year on illicit drugs. Since federal law enforcement agencies seize only $1 billion in drug money each year, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, there is a lot of illegal money being laundered at both national and international levels. In 1986 Congress passed the Money Laundering Control Act, which is codified in the United States Code, Title 18, Section 1956, and is the statute most often used by the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute money launderers. In 2007 former Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Intriago told USA Today that it is easy “to move money in and out [of the country], using U.S. companies, without a trace. This is a glaring problem.” more...
August 13, 2010
NO EXCUSE FOR POLICE BRUTALITY
Misdemeanor Charges for Beating of Handcuffed 15-Year Old Lead to Community Outrage
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Four Houston police officers were indicted on June 23, 2010 on misdemeanor charges of “official oppression” in connection with the beating of a handcuffed 15-year-old black burglary suspect—an incident “caught on tape” by a private business surveillance camera. The officers were immediately terminated from duty by Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland after the complaints were announced. Three others involved in varying degrees in the beating and its aftermath were also fired. Five other officers were given two-day suspensions for “policy violations unrelated to the arrest” of the burglary suspect, although Chief McClelland did not disclose the roles of these five officers in the wake of the beating incident. more...
August 10, 2010
FEDERAL INMATE SAMUEL KENT DESERVES FAIR TREATMENT
Unpopular Judge Deserves Humane and Fair Treatment While in Federal Custody
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Last year former U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Kent pleaded guilty to an obstruction of justice charge and received a 33-month sentence. He was committed to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Kent’s attorneys, Dick DeGuerin and Sean Buckley, recently filed a comprehensive motion in the U.S. District Court for the Houston Division to vacate and correct his prison sentence because of the physical and psychological abuse he has endured at the hands of federal prison officials. The abuse includes being mislabeled a “sex offender”—a status which precludes him from participating in certain substance abuse counseling programs—and being held in harsh solitary confinement while being transferred from one federal or state penal facility to another. more...
August 7, 2010
OSTRICH INSTRUCTION REJECTED IN FEDERAL ONLINE SOLICITATION
Deliberately Avoiding the Truth to Deny Criminal Knowledge
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
What is an “ostrich instruction?”
Also known as a “willful blindness” or “deliberate indifference” instruction in many federal circuits, an ostrich instruction is a jury instruction given when a criminal defendant claims a lack of guilty knowledge about the crime but there is some evidence the defendant deliberately elected to remain ignorant to avoid confirmation. Put succinctly, an ostrich instruction is generally given in cases where defendants deliberately close their eyes to the truth. It is not routinely used in federal online solicitation cases filed under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), which prohibits the knowing persuasion, inducement, enticement or coercion of a minor under 18 years of age to engage in prostitution or other illegal sexual activity. more...
August 3, 2010
HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY NEEDS AN EMERGENCY DNA LAB
Independent DNA Lab Necessary to Successfully Prosecute Dangerous Criminals and Prevent Wrongful Convictions
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Last month we posted a blog about the ever increasing need for an independent crime lab in Harris County. The Houston Chronicle reported recently about Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ call for an “emergency DNA lab.” The newspaper reported that the Houston Police Department’s (HPD) DNA lab, which has been plagued with mismanagement and scandals over the past several years, has 4,076 rape kits dating back to 1996 which have not been DNA tested and another 969 criminal cases scheduled for DNA testing. more...
August 1, 2010
MISTAKEN IDENTIFICATIONS SENT TWO INNOCENT MEN TO PRISON
Suggestive Police Procedures and Mistaken Identification Resulted in Two More Wrongful Convictions and Incarcerations, One for 27 Years
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Our criminal justice system is flawed. Its imperfections can be found in the 255 DNA exonerations of innocent offenders and the 138 people released from death row since 1973 in this country. But, paradoxically, its perfection lies in its willingness and ability to correct the imperfections brought about by human mistake. According to the New York-based Innocence Project, mistaken identification is the “greatest cause for wrongful convictions,” playing a role in 75 percent of the nation’s DNA exonerations. more...
July 29, 2010
CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM: IMPROPER OR WRONGFUL CONVICTION?
Texas Forensic Science Commission Concludes Flawed Science Used In Trial That Led To Conviction and Execution
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was December 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Cameron Todd Willingham was alone in his residence with his three small children—Amber 2, and one-year-old twins, Karmon and Kameron. A fire broke out in the residence. Willingham managed to escape the fire. The three children did not, dying a horrible death trapped in the flames that quickly engulfed the residence. Willingham was immediately targeted as a suspect for arson murder. He was indicted on January 8, 1992. After turning down an opportunity to plead guilty for a life sentence, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in August 1992. He was executed on February 17, 2004, angrily telling all those present that he was an innocent man. more...
July 24, 2010
PSR OBJECTIONS OVER PLAIN ERROR DOCTRINE
Criminal Defense Attorneys Must File Objections to Pre-Sentence Report in Federal Criminal Cases to Protect Appellate Rights
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The United States Congress, with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, established the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. These “Guidelines” not only guide but require U.S. District Court judges to consider all the sentencing factors Congress set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) before imposing sentence in criminal cases. The U.S. Supreme Court in a series of cases has made it abundantly clear that the Guidelines are not mandatory but rather advisory in nature—a guide for the judge to utilize in crafting the appropriate sentence. more...
July 13, 2010
WHEN “NOT GUILTY” DOES NOT MEAN INNOCENCE
Monetary Damages Under § 2513, for Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment, Requires Showing of ‘Truly Innocent,’ Even After Acquittal
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Robert E. Graham, a West Virginia native, was indicted by a Federal grand jury for 39 criminal offenses. It is not uncommon for the United States Government, armed with an arsenal of prosecutorial resources through the U.S. Justice Department, to overcharge criminal defendants. It is a tactic designed to force criminal defendants into unwanted guilty pleas or to overwhelm juries with so much documentary evidence that jurors will almost automatically vote “guilty” on the flimsy premise that the defendant must have done something wrong to face so many charges involving so much “evidence,” even if there is no factual basis for the evidence. 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...
July 6, 2010
A DEFENSE ATTORNEY’S NARROW MARGIN FOR ERROR
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Questions about Defendant’s Post Arrest Silence Opens Door to Cross Examination
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Criminal defendants have a Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel in criminal prosecutions against them. The United States Supreme in 1984 handed down Strickland v. Washington which set forth the constitutional standard a criminal defendant must satisfy in order to establish that he/she was not effectively represented by their attorney. First, the defendant must prove that the defense attorney’s performance “fell below an objective standard of reasonableness,” and, second, the defendant must prove that counsel’s deficient performance so prejudiced his/her defense that the guilty verdict is unreliable and fundamentally unfair. more...
June 30, 2010
THE TIME HAS COME FOR AN INDEPENDENT REGIONAL CRIME LAB
Continued Scandals in Houston, Harris County Criminal Justice System Beg for Independent Regional Crime Lab
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The “crime lab” for the Houston Police Department (HPD) has become a hotbed of flawed forensic evidence. Earlier this year we blogged about a Houston Chronicle report that taxpayers would have to pick up an $80,000 bill to a Science Laboratory and Training Centre contracted by the city to clear up a backlog of 300 firearms forensic cases in the HPD crime lab. Just weeks earlier we had blogged about yet another Chronicle report that found taxpayers would have to foot a $3 million bill to Ron Smith & Associates, a Mississippi-based consultant firm, for its consultants re-examine some 4,300 fingerprint cases processed by the HPD crime lab between 2004 and 2009, more...
June 25, 2010
TERRORISM LAW HELD CONSTITUTIONAL
Material Support of Foreign Terrorist Organizations vs. Freedom of Speech and Association
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Founded in 1974, the Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan (PKK) was established as a Marxist-Leninist insurgent group composed of Turkish Kurds who formed to seek Kurdish independence from Turkey. By the late 1990s the group had had morphed from a rural-based insurgent group into a full-fledged terrorist organization, sometimes using suicide bombings on civilian targets. more...
June 19, 2010
ADAM WALSH ACT UNDER CONSTITUTIONAL SCRUTINY
Growing Practice of “No Bond” and Unreasonably Harsh Sentences for Some Child Sex Crimes Sparks Judicial Concern
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In July 2006 former President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“Walsh Act”). Title I of the Walsh Act, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), received the most media attention because it expanded the National Sex Offender Registry and established sanctions up to a maximum of twenty years for sex offenders who do not comply with the law’s registration requirements. more...
June 12, 2010
TEXAS MAKING FUTURE CRIMINALS
Children in Foster Care Residential Treatment Centers at High Risk of Neglect, Mistreatment and Abuse
By: By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In a 2002 article for Child Trends, Dr. Richard Werthheimer, Ph.d, said there were more than 556,000 children in foster care in this country—many of whom suffered from serious emotional, behavioral, developmental, and other health problems. That figure represented an increase from 302,000 in 1980. While black children at the time accounted for 15 percent of the nation’s children, they represented 30 percent of those entering foster care and 42 percent of those living in foster care. Hispanic children, who represented 16 of the nation’s children, represented just 18 percent entering and living in foster care. more...
June 9,2010
HOUSTON LAW ENFORCEMENT FACES TOUGH TIMES
Decreased Police Budget: Increased Unsolved Crime, Botched Investigations, Wrongful Arrests and Convictions
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Thomas Hargrove, Scripps Howard News Service, reported last month that 6,000 homicides go unsolved in this country each year. Hargrove said the number of “unsolved homicides” has risen at an alarming rate even though the nation’s homicide rate has decreased to levels last seen in the 1960s. Most of these unsolved homicides occur in dozens of the nation’s largest cities. 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 29,2010
THE RIGHT TO CONFINE FOREVER
Indefinite Detention: Preemptive Punishment for Future Sex Crimes
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On May 17, 2010 the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Comstock upheld a federal statute that gives Government the power to civilly commit indefinitely a “sexually dangerous person” after he has completed serving his criminal sentence. The statute, 18U.S.C. Sec. 4248, was the subject of one of our blogs earlier this year. §4248 has three basic components. First, it allows a federal district court to civilly commit an offender currently in the “custody of the [Federal] Bureau of Prisons” if that offender (1) has previously “engaged or attempted to engage in sexually violent conduct or child molestation,” (2) currently “suffers from a serious mental illness, abnormality, or disorder,” and (3) “as a result of” those conditions is “sexually dangerous to others” in that “he would have serious difficulty in refraining from sexual violent conduct or child molestation if released.” more...
May 28, 2010
FBI STEPS UP INQUISITION AGAINST MUSLIM AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Know Your Legal Rights Before Talking to the FBI
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Fort Hood shooting massacre last year, the Christmas day bombing attempt, and the Times Square car bombing attempt have prompted the FBI to again increase its surveillance of the Muslim American community in this country. Muslim Advocates recently issued a “community alert” informing all Muslim Americans, but especially those from Pakistan and South Asia, that the FBI may be contacting them for information and advice in “addressing violent extremism.” Muslim Advocates was so concerned that it offered a free webinar about how Muslims can freely and safely work with law enforcement. 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 18, 2010
TWO MORE DNA EXONERATIONS
Criminal Defense Lawyers Must Never Give up, Never Lose Faith That Justice Will Ultimately Prevail
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been at least 254 DNA exonerations in this country, according to the Innocence Project of New York. Each new DNA exoneration cast a dark shadow over the nation’s criminal justice system, particularly its judicial system. These exonerations are not only a barometer for measuring the imperfections of our system of justice but the failings of its adversarial nature either through law enforcement misconduct or “tunnel vision,” prosecutorial zeal or ineffective defense representation. It is a shame each of us involved the justice system must endure, a constant reminder that we can all do better; that we must do better. more...
May 15, 2010
THE FLAWS OF TEXAS’ EXPUNCTION STATUTE
Client Acquitted by Jury but Still Branded by Criminal Records, Background Checks
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 2008 and 2009, The John T. Floyd Law Firm won three acquittals in the cases of Michael Serges, whose ordeal in the Harris County court system was the subject of a Houston Press feature story reporter Chris Vogel. more...
May 13, 2010
DEFENDING THE WRONGLY ACCUSED
Houston Press Reports Our Victory in Court and Client’s Life After False Allegations
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
One of our recent success stories was profiled in the cover story of the May 6-12, 2010, edition of the Houston Press. In Oh Hold, The Press exposed the hard reality that charges of child sex crimes can haunt a person for life, even though he may be exonerated before a jury of his peers, or, as it was in this case, after two separate trials and two “not guilty” verdicts.
May 8, 2010
THE PITFALLS OF EXPERT TESTIMONY IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASES
Child Sexual Assault Expert Lies about Conclusions of Study
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We have written previously about the prolific use of “child sexual abuse experts” in child sexual assault cases. In particular, we have criticized the testimony such experts from the Harris County Children’s Assessment Center (“CAC”). While seldom providing any specific source, these experts testify that the professional “literature” and “studies” reveal child sexual abuse victims rarely ever make “false” allegations about such abuse. The experts confidently inform juries that the rate of false allegations in child sexual abuse cases is about “three percent.” While our Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has held that such generalized testimony does not constitute impermissible “bolstering” of a child sexual abuse victim’s testimony, criminal defense attorneys who have faced this kind of “expert” testimony in emotionally-charged child sexual assault cases understand clearly that such testimony does lend tremendous bolstering-like credibility to the child’s testimony. more...
May 7, 2010
POLICE BRUTALITY: A GROWING PANDEMIC
Houston Police Department Embroiled in Allegations of Brutality Again
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In a 2007 blog, Paul Craig Roberts wrote that “ … Americans are in a far greater danger from their own police force than they are from foreign terrorists … The only terrorists most Americans will ever encounter is a policeman with a badge, nightstick, mace and Taser. A Google search for ‘police brutality videos’ turns up 2,210,000 entries. Some entries are foreign and some are probably duplications, but the number is so large that a person could do nothing but watch police brutality videos for the rest of his life. A search on ‘You Tube’ alone turned up 2,280 police brutality videos.” 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 29, 2010
THE DANGERS OF CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATIONS
Legislatively Mandated Innocence Commission to Review Claims of Wrongful Convictions and Bring Accountability for Wrongful Convictions Needed
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been 252 DNA exonerations in this country through April 2010. Seventy-five percent of those were the result of mistaken identification. KHOU television in Houston reported recently 85% of Texas’ DNA exonerations—the most in the nation—involved mistaken identification. 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...
April 21, 2010
THE POLITICS OF SUPREME COURT NOMINATIONS
Obama Must Expose Judicial Activism of Right Wing and Nominate Justice with Abundance of Empathy for the Rights of the Individual and Protection of the Social Good
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The recent retirement of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens has created the second opportunity for President Barak Obama to appoint a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. The appointment of Supreme Court justices have always been roiled in political posturing by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. In point of fact, Republicans have already laid out the gauntlet, warning the president that they are prepared fight the nomination of a “judicial activist.” more...
April 16, 2010
TEXAS COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS STRIKES BALANCE FOR RULE OF LAW
Wilson v. State; Court Reverses Conviction Obtained After Finding Investigator Used False Fingerprint Lab Report to Obtain Confession
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was New Year’s Day, 2006. Ronald Wilson called 911 to report he had discovered a man’s body on a San Antonio street while walking with his son. The police responded to the call and found the body of Amos Gutierrez who had been killed with a single fatal gunshot. The police also found a magazine clip near Gutierrez’s body. The investigation into Gutierrez’s death quickly revealed information implicating Wilson in the crime. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges. 1/ 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 29, 2010
IS HIV A DEADLY WEAPON?
Texas Prosecutors Use HIV as Deadly Weapon in Aggravated Sexual Assault Case
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Let us state quite emphatically at the outset that we do not know if K. L. Sellars is guilty of the crime the Harris County District Attorney’s Office has leveled against him. Many people are wrong accused of crimes they did not commit, so we will leave judgment that to a jury of his peers. more...
March 26, 2010
OBAMA and MCCAIN: FORMER PRESIDENTIAL RIVALS EMBRACE TORTURE AND ASSASSINATION
Continuing Bush’s War on Terror, Obama Continues Policy of Unfettered Presidential Power to Assassinate Americans Abroad and McCain Sponsorsthe Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Sen. John McCain was once an honorable man, a respected “war hero,” and a “maverick” politician who stood on principle before political expediency. In 2000 the Arizona senator waged a “maverick” campaign for the Republican presidential nomination from inside his Straight Talk Express bus and stunned the nation with a convincing victory over heavily favorite Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the New Hampshire primary. He became an instant media “darling” who suddenly had the respect and admiration of most moderate Republicans and independents. The Vietnam “war hero” had taken on the Republican Party establishment and won. more..
March 22, 2010
CHILD PORN RESTITUTION RUN AMUK
Federal Judges Split on Issue of Restitution in Possession of Child Pornography Cases
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Her name is “Amy.” She is twenty years of age. When she was a child, 8 or 9 (according to media reports), Amy was sexually abused by her uncle. The uncle took photos of the abuse and posted the images on the Internet. Amy’s images became some of “the most widely circulated child pornography images online,” according to Associated Press writer Amy Forliti in a recent report. more..
March 18, 2010
ARE WE ALL POTENTIAL JIHADISTS?
Arrest of “Jihad Jane” Adds Fuel to Fight Against Racial Profiling
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Leonard Pitts is an excellent columnist. He recently wrote a piece about Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania housewife turned Islamic jihadist, whose arrest made it abundantly clear why airport security is not only necessary but essential. Whether conscious or not, most Americans believe “terrorists” can be easily profiled by their physical appearance,” unusual” accents, the clothes they wear, or the facial hair they sport. “Terrorists” are not white, blond, and mainstream in dress and mannerisms. American media has convinced us that real terrorists are either bearded Arabs or dark-skinned Africans who dress like Muslims. 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 14, 2010
“BAD MOON ON THE RISE”
Keep America Safe: Right Wing Fanatics Attack Lawyers, Constitution, and Fundamental Right to Legal Representation
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Every major movement or cause throughout this nation’s history which sought constitutional protections for those the government had denied, from racial minorities ostracized by segregationists laws to those persecuted for their religious beliefs, was led by lawyers. Our fundamental notions of social justice, which are grounded in this nation’s Bill of Rights and in Federal and state constitutions form the original colonies, exist because of the courage of lawyers to form, frame and preserve those notions. Lawyers have always borne the brunt of criticism from political conservatives who really believe in many respects that our government should be run as a totalitarian state like fascism. more..
March 8, 2010
TEXAS DEATH PENALTY PROCEDURE UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
Judge Acknowledges Innocent People Have Likely been Executed
Harris County Criminal District Court Judge Kevin Fine on Thursday, March 4, 2010, created a tsunami of controversy in the Texas legal community when he reportedly made a comment that he was declaring the state’s death penalty unconstitutional. The comment was made during a hearing on a motion filed by defense attorneys in the case of John Edward Green Jr. who is facing a capital murder charge. What Judge Fine actually did was to declare Article 37.071 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure unconstitutional which is the statute that outlines the procedures for imposing the death sentence in this state. 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 26, 210
PROBLEMS WITH POSITIVE IDENTIFICATIONS
Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions: Mistaken Identification by Eyewitnesses
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been 251 innocent people exonerated in this country by DNA evidence over the last two decades. The most disturbing aspect of this phenomenon of “convicting the innocent” is that more than 75 percent of those convictions involved mistaken identifications (according to the New York-based Innocence Project)—one or more witnesses pointing a finger of guilt at the wrong person. What is even more disturbing is that at least one-third of these mistaken identification cases involved two or more witnesses. more..
February 24, 2010
A “TIP OF THE HAT” FOR A JOB WELL DONE:
Court Recommends New Trial for Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Capital Murder After Finding State’s Expert Testimony Incompetent
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We have blogged rather extensively about the “convict at any costs” agenda which has ruled the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for the past three decades. “Convict at any costs” means the frequent use of fabricated forensic evidence, knowingly allowing perjured testimony into a criminal trial, withholding exculpatory evidence from defendants (particularly those known to be innocent), and injecting race in its death penalty decision-making. more..
February 18, 2010
AN ELECTION TORPEDOES THE CONSTITUTION
Politics of Terror Threaten Constitution
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The recent election of Republican Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts has effectively torpedoed the constitutional right to silence by any “terror suspect” arrested on American soil. Elected to replace the legendary liberal Senator Ted Kennedy, who died of brain cancer last August, Brown used the “politics of terror” to seal his stunning upset victory over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Brown accused the Obama administration of being “soft on terror” with its decisions to close Guantanamo Bay and to prosecute “9/11 mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and co-conspirators in a New York federal civilian court rather than before a military tribunal. more..
February 15, 2010
RELEASED SEX OFFENDERS: A GROWING UNDERCLASS
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 1994 the United States Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act which required all states to create programs mandating that certain kinds of sex offenders register with state or local authorities. Congress added teeth to the Act by threatening the states with a ten percent loss of federal anti-crime funding for failure to comply. 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..
February 5, 2010
WHO IS AAFIA SIDDIQUI: TERRORIST OR GOVERNMENT PAWN?
The Tragic Case of the “The Gray Lady of Bagram”
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The U.S. Government contends Aafia Siddiqui’s alleged links to terrorism began in June 2001—some three months before the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City’s Twin Towers. According to government sources, Siddiqui made a trip from Quetta, Pakistan to Monrovia, Liberia, where she was met by a car and driven to the Hotel Boulevard, a known al Qaeda safe house. A week later Siddiqui allegedly left Monrovia in the same inauspicious manner in which she arrived—the only difference being is that she carried with her a large parcel of Africa’s illegal diamonds, a hard-to-trace but key funding source for al Qaeda’s terror operations. more..
January 29, 2010
MORE EVIDENCE OF BAD EVIDENCE, AGAIN
Criminal Defense Attorneys Must Question Findings, Conclusions of Forensic Experts
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We have posted a number of blogs about the “junk science” associated with forensic evidence—a science popularized by network television with drams like “CSI” and its spin-offs. It would indeed by an ideal world if all the evidence-gathering and analysis reflected in these TV programs reflected the real world of crime and criminal prosecutions. The reality is that while these shows may entertain their legion of loyal viewers, they do a tremendous disservice to our criminal justice more..
January 24, 2010
VIOLENCE IS A NATURAL GROWTH INDUSTRY
Prison Systems Breed Future Violence
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 8, 2010) carried a report about the decreasing violent crime rate across the country. The report, based on FBI statistics, said all major violent crimes—homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault—have been decreasing since 2007. Homicides decreased by 4.4 percent between 2007 and 2008, and by 10 percent during the first six months of 2009. Major cities like Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Los Angeles recorded decreases in homicides levels not seen since the 1960s. more..
January 20, 2010
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: JUDICIAL CHAOS LEADS TO HORRIFIC SENTENCING DISPARITIES
Court Describes Federal Sentencing Disparities as “A Picture of Injustice”
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 1984 the United States Congress enacted the Sentencing Reform Act (“SRA”), and as part of the Act, Congress created the United States Sentencing Commission (“Commission”) to “establish sentencing policies and practices for the Federal criminal justice system.” 1/ The Commission was charged with the responsibility of creating U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) that would assist Federal judges in the sentencing process to fulfill Congress’ five purposes for imposing criminal sentences. 2/ more..
January 14, 2010
THESE ARE DANGEROUS TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE
Civil Commitment: Pre-Emptive Strike against Future Acts by Convicted Sex Offenders
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 1999 John Charles Volungus plead guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to three federal criminal sex offenses: possession of child pornography; receipt of child pornography through interstate commerce by means of a computer; and use of a facility of interstate commerce (computer) to persuade a person under the age of eighteen to engage in a sexual act. 1/ He was sentenced to 53 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) to be followed by a term of supervised release. He was released from actual custody only to have his supervised release revoked. He was returned to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons for another23 months. more...
January 9, 2010
MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT OF 2009
Fear Mongers Continue Calls for Military Tribunals to Avoid Burdens of Complying with Constitution and Rule of Law
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The day after we posted our blog “Argument Against Gitmo Closure Defeated By Act of Terrorism” (Dec. 28, 2009), in which we pointed out that Republican opponents of the Obama administration’s decision to close Guantanamo Bay, had not suggested that Christmas Day attempted airline bomber Umar Farouck Abdulmutallab be tried before a military tribunal rather than in a civilian court, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) led an awakened chorus of Republican voices saying Abdulmutallab should not be tried as a “criminal defendant” in a federal civilian court but rather as a “terrorist” before a military tribunal. more...
January 5, 2010
A CALL FOR ACTION: A NEED FOR REAL CHANGE
To Regain Public Confidence Houston Police and Crime Labs Must Adhere to the Highest Standards of Competence, Independence and Integrity
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Houston’s Mayor Annise Parker announced recently that she will replace the city’s outgoing police chief, Harold Hurtt, with someone from within the command rank of the Houston Police Department (HPD). We do not view this as a compelling promise of change. The HPD under Hurtt’s leadership was rocked by one “evidence gathering” scandal after another. It would be foolish to assume all these scandals were attributable to Hurtt’s management style alone. The scandals actually revealed a systemic problem within the HPD from its top command echelon down to the rank and file patrol officers. Thus, tapping someone within this problematic agency does not invite encouragement that integrity and professionalism in the department will improve immediately after Hurtt’s welcomed departure. more...
December 28, 2009
ARGUMENT AGAINST GITMO CLOSURE DEFEATED BY ACT OF TERRORISM
Recent Arrest, Detention and Charging of Attempted Airplane Bomber Illustrate Fed’s Ability to Handle Terror Suspects in Civilian Courts
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Two recent decisions by President Obama’s administration has drawn intense criticism designed to manipulate the natural fear Americans have of terrorism since 9/11: the decision to try the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), and his co-conspirators, in a New York federal civilian court and the decision to transfer “terror suspects” currently housed at the U.S. detention facility (“Gitmo”) in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois. 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...
December 19, 2009
THE REAL DANGER OF EXTRANEOUS OFFENSE EVIDENCE
Man Convicted on 2 Counts Indecency with a Child Found Actually Innocent After Nearly Two Decades in Prison: Extraneous Evidence False, Expert Testimony Wrong.
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We have written on numerous occasions about the dangers of “extraneous offense evidence” when allowed into evidence in a criminal trial. What is extraneous offense evidence? more...
December 15, 2009
SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES: THE RIGHT TO PRESENT A DEFENSE EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATED
Defense Attorneys Fight Prosecutors Prejudicing the Jury with Extraneous Acts, Wrong, Crimes
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It is the firm belief of among defense attorneys that a criminal defendant should only have to defend against the charge leveled in a charging instrument: a bill of information or a grand jury indictment. But that is not the case in nearly every sexual assault case, especially those involving children. more...
December 8, 2009
MORE EVIDENCE OF BAD EVIDENCE
Criminal Defense Attorneys Must Request and Analyze Procedures for Testing, Accepted Protocols and Handling of Forensic Evidence
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
A criminal defense attorney’s worst nightmare is that the prosecution will rely upon bad evidence to convict his/her client. Defending against relevant, admissible evidence is difficult enough, but there is no real defense against shoddy law enforcement’s collection, processing, and storage of the evidence the prosecution will rely upon in criminal cases. The Houston City Police Department (“HPD”) has a long, sordid history of destroying, botching, and even manufacturing false evidence in criminal cases. The HPD crime lab had to be shut down by the Mayor’s Office in 2002 in the wake of disclosures that lab analysts had mishandled DNA evidence, destroyed evidence, and misrepresented evidence in criminal trials. The fallout from the crime lab scandal still reverberates in our criminal justice system with the exoneration of at least six individuals. more...
December 3, 2009
TRYING KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMAD IN FEDERAL COURT IS NOT END OF WORLD
Federal Trials Open to the Public, for Terrorism Cases Support American Constitutional Concepts of Fair Trials, Justice
By Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
While there are many security and legal problems associated with major terrorism trials conducted in federal courts in the United States, Republican critics of the Obama administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (“KSM”) in a New York federal court have methodically spread unnecessary fear in order to politicize that decision. What may be good for the country, much less our legal system, does not factor into their conservative political agenda to undermine the Obama presidency at every turn. It’s tantamount to an irresponsible lunatic standing up in a crowded theater and hollering “fire” just to see how much panic and chaos he can cause. more...
November 29, 2009
TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMISSION LACKS CREDIBILITY
Governor’s Sacking of Commission’s Head Stalls Review of Junk Science Convictions
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Legislature created the Forensic Science Commission (“FSC”) in 2005 to investigate what the Texas Monthly called “scientific negligence and misconduct.” The legislature acted following the February 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham and the October 2004 decision by Pecos County District Attorney Ori White to free Ernest Willis from capital murder charges. Willingham and Willis had both been convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for murders they allegedly committed by setting fires to dwellings in which five people were killed—two women in Willis’ case and Willingham’s three young daughters. more...
November 21, 2009
IS OSAMA BIN LADEN A TERRORIST OR AN “UNPRIVILEGED BELLIGERENT”?
Politics as Usual: Republicans Desperately Seek Outrage to be Relevant
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently appeared before a U.S. Senate committee hearing to explain his decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and his four co-conspirators, in federal civilian court rather than let them be tried before a military commission under the 2009 Military Commissions Act. There were a number of sharp, biting exchanges between Holder and Republican senators, all of whom have joined ranks in a calculated political agenda to oppose the Obama administration not only on this decision but any decision it makes on any front. more...
November 18, 2009
THE AGONIZING GITMO DILEMMA
Enemy Combatant Cases in Federal Courts Chart Uncertain Path
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On January 22, 2009, just days after assuming the presidency, Barak Obama announced that he would close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility where hundreds “suspected terrorists” have been held for years without trial under an official Bush-administration created designation “enemy combatant.” Civil libertarians and prominent constitutional scholars have long advocated the closure of the facility while political conservatives have fought hard in the trenches to keep the internationally-criticized torture facility open. more...
November 13, 2009
NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROSECUTORS GONE ROGUE
Absolute Immunity from Civil Liability, Accountability for Prosecutors
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The primary ethical and legal duty of a criminal prosecutor is to serve the interests of justice—not their personal interests of winning at any costs as is too often the case with a many prosecutors. This was made clear in October 2008 in the federal prosecution of then-Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for high-profile corruption charges. The federal prosecutors in the case were determined to bring down one of the most powerful lawmakers in this country—at any costs. D.C. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan lambasted those prosecutors at the time saying that in his 25 years on the bench he had “never seen mishandling and misconduct like what I have seen” in Sen. Stevens’ case. more...
November 7, 2009
THE RIGHT TO AN IMPARTIAL TRIAL STRUCK WITH CRITICAL BLOW
Failure to Strike Prosecutor, Victim of Sex Crime, from Jury not Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees every criminal defendant a right to an impartial trial. 1/ Selecting a jury of twelve men and women to hear a criminal case is perhaps the most critical stage in the trial process where a defense attorney must provide effective representation. He has a pool of prospective jurors representing a cross-section of the community from which to select the people who will hear the facts and fairly consider the case. This jury pool is a minefield of human experiences that range from concealed bias and prejudice to open fairness and impartiality. The task of the defense attorney is to navigate through the minefield without exploding a mine that will injure his client’s opportunity for an impartial trial. more...
October 30, 2009
TEXAS ATTORNEY DISCREDITS SPIRIT OF LEGAL PROFESSION
Flagrant Exhibit of Unprofessionalism, Disloyalty to Executed Client Adds to Nationwide Scrutiny of Willingham Execution
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
We’re not in the habit of criticizing fellow criminal defense attorneys, but, and unfortunately, we feel compelled to discuss the antics of Mr. David Martin, of Corsicana, Texas, recently displayed on nationwide television. Martin was Cameron Todd Willingham’s defense attorney during Willingham’s August 1992 capital murder trial. Willingham had been charged with intentionally setting fire to his Corsicana, Texas house in December 1991 which killed his three small children. Martin was appointed to defend Willingham who maintained from the outset that he was innocent of starting the fire that killed the three children. 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...
October24, 2009
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A SENSITIVE SUBJECT TO APPROACH
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Friends and Family Need to Get Involved to Stop the Cycle of Abuse, Save a Life
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
This past August Christiana “Tina” Guerra Lewis became another statistic; a victim of a social epidemic far more deadly than the HINI virus. The night before her death, according to the Houston Chronicle, Lewis asked her mother to go with her the next day to get a restraining order against R.P., a man with a lengthy criminal record with at least two dozen arrests including an assault on a family member and injuring a child. 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 14, 2009
WHO ARE THE REAL HOME GROWN TERRORISTS?
Right-Wing Patriot Groups, White Supremest, Neo-Nazis Pose Growing Threat
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The mainstream media over the past two weeks has been saturated with an endless stream of stories about Najibullah Zazi, a suspected Afganhani terrorist reportedly involved in a plot of bomb New York City’s mass transit system; Michael Fenton, an American converted to Islam who allegedly planted and attempted to trigger a fake vehicle bomb in front of a Springfield, Illinois federal court building with the help of undercover FBI operatives; and Hosam Maher Smadi, a Jordanian who also allegedly planted and attempted to trigger a fake vehicle bomb at a Dallas skyscraper with the help of undercover FBI operatives. All three allegedly terrorist plots were exposed by the FBI this past September following the arrests of these individuals. more...
October 7, 2009
ROGUE JUROR DID NOT PREVENT ACQUITTAL
Another Not Guilty: Client Falsely Accused of Indecency with Child Acquitted After Trial by Jury
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd
Every prospective juror summoned to court for jury duty in a criminal case is questioned by counsel for the State and defendant as to his/her willingness to follow the law as given by the judge at the conclusion of the trial. A prospective juror who cannot, for whatever reason, state unequivocally that he/she will follow the law is excused for cause. Thus, a juror accepted by both the defense and the State for jury service has a solemn duty bound by a sworn oath to follow the law. more...
October 5, 2009
TEXAS GOV. RICK PERRY IMPEDES INQUIRY ABOUT WHETHER TEXAS EXECUTED AN INNOCENT MAN
Governor’s abrupt Dismissal of Chairman, Two Members of Texas Forensic Science Commission on Eve of Hearing Smacks of Political Cover-up
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It is one thing for a governor to have possibly presided over the execution of an innocent man but quite another for that governor to effectively shut down an official investigation into whether the forensic evidence used convict the man was reliable. 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 limited forensic science. more...
October 1, 2009
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION LAWS BEG REFORM
Some in Law Enforcement, Legislatures, Find Federal Sex Offender Registration Laws Too Broad, Onerous
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In April 2009 CNN reported that there are 38 states in these United States which require juveniles convicted of sex offenses to “register” as sex offenders. The Houston Chronicle (September 21, 2009) featured a front page article by Renee C. Lee (“A Long Wait to Get Past Crime”) which reported that there are approximately 3,600 registered juvenile sex offenders in the State of Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The newspaper noted that eleven of these juveniles were ten years of age when they were registered. more...
September 26, 2009
NEVER, EVER TALK TO POLICE WITHOUT A LAWYER
Recent Terrorism Related Arrests Illustrate Need to Consult Lawyer Before Interviewing with Law Enforcement
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
This legal maxim is rooted in the very soul of every criminal defense attorney. Even if an individual is innocent, no one should ever talk to the police once the police make it clear they are investigating a crime, or a potential crime, and they feel the individual has either some involvement or knowledge about the crime. This advice is especially true when it comes to the FBI whose agents are skilled in the art of interrogation and proficient at tricking a person into making a false statement. more...
September 23, 2009
COURT TAKES HARDLINE STAND IN CHILD EXPLOITATION CASE
Video Taped Consensual Sex with Minor Gets Federal Time
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The federal statute that governs the production of child pornography provides, in part, that “any person who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in . . . any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided under subsection (e) . . . if that visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means . . . .” 1/ 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. more...
September 17, 2009
DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE DOESN’T CARE IF CYNTHIA CASH IS ACTUALLY INNOCENT
The Philosophy of Convict at any Cost Continues in Harris County
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Dr. Patricia Moore is the former associate medical examiner in Harris County. The Houston Chronicle (Sept. 14, 2009) reported that the doctor has been “repeatedly disciplined for failing to follow procedures and for favoring the prosecution in 1998 and 1999” in child death cases. more...
September 10, 2009
SEX TOURISM: AN INTERNATIONAL DILEMMA
Federal Initiatives Aimed at The Continuing Problems of Human Trafficking , Sex Slavery and Exploitation of Children
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was called “Operation Twisted Traveler”—a joint law enforcement initiative between the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that targeted American citizens traveling to Cambodia to have sex with children. Last month, the Justice Department announced the arrest of three American men charged with traveling to Cambodia to sexually abuse children. All three of the men were allegedly previously convicted of sex offenses involving children. more...
September 7, 2009
RACE AND RELIGION: THE STARTING POINT OF TERRORISM INVESTIGATIONS
Religious and Racial Profiling Justified in McCarthy Era Inspired Investigations and Tactics
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, and the reaction to those terrorist attacks by President George Bush’s administration, left this nation with a tragic and despicable legacy that has tarnished our great Country’s reputation and image worldwide. One part of this legacy was the government’s voluntary interview program that used race and religion as the primary factors for initiating contact with individuals which continues to be fueled by the faulty premise that these two factors create “suspect communities” from which real and suspected “terrorists” could be found. more...
September 1, 2009
CIA PROBE NECESSARY TO PROTECT RULE OF LAW
Investigating Crimes of Torture: Expecting and Demanding Accountability
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and paralegal Billy Sinclair
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently selected a Connecticut federal prosecutor named John H. Durham to investigate whether the CIA’s destruction of the videotapes of harsh interrogation techniques inflicted upon terror suspects between 2002 and 2003 merit a full blown investigation of the agency employees (or independent contractors hired by the agency) who conducted those interrogations and those government officials who approved them. more...
August 29, 2009
REFORM OR INCOMPETENCE: THE PAT LYKOS ERA OFF TO UNCERTAIN START
Harris County District Attorney’s Office Administration Begins to Define Itself
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Houston Chronicle reported recently in yet another article that a number of veteran prosecutors have departed from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Throughout DA Pat Lykos’ 2008 campaign to replace the former district attorney, Charles “Chuck” Rosenthal who was forced to resign in disgrace, rumors dogged the “reform” candidate that, as a criminal district court judge, Lykos had a reputation for being intemperate, rude, and pronged to stirring unrest in both her courtroom and chambers. more...
August 25, 2009
ASKING HARD QUESTIONS TO ARRIVE AT THE APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT
Judges Should Question Victims, Witnesses, About Offense Before Imposing Punishment
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Billy Sinclair
Under Texas law, a criminal defendant has the option of allowing either the jury that convicted him or the judge presiding over the trial to assess punishment. more...
August 23, 2009
2009 CAIR AWARD: ASSISTING THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY
Pro Bono Legal Representation in Voluntary Interviews, Profiling by FBI
By: John Floyd, Houston Criminal Defense Attorney
On August 15th, 2009, I received an award in recognition of my pro bono work for the Muslim community in Houston. CAIR-TX, Houston Chapter, presented the award upon which was inscribed: “In Recognition of: His personal dedication and committed assistance in providing protection to our community from undue harassment from federal agencies.” The award came after years, and hundreds of hours of pro bono work, representing individuals targeted under the Department of Justice’s voluntary interview program. In almost every case, these individuals were targeted for interview simply because of their religious beliefs, places of worship or country of origin and were not suspected of any criminal activity whatsoever. The voluntary interview program is simply an intelligence gathering effort designed to collect data about the Muslim community in hopes of preventing future acts of terrorism. 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 18, 2009
HOUSTON ATTORNEY ANDY NOLEN: A DISHONEST LAWYER?
False, Anonymous Web Attacks on Fellow Members of the Harris County Bar; Unethical and Pathetic
By Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd
This is a difficult and unfortunate article to post. It is about a fellow attorney: Andy Nolen, or someone associated with the law firm that carries his name. This Houston “criminal defense attorney,” as he calls himself, has been responsible for posting negative “comments” on the Yahoo Local websites about various Harris County criminal defense attorneys, including myself. 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...
August 12, 2009
SIXTH INNOCENT HARRIS COUNTY MAN FREED
Hall of Shame: Texas Leads Nation in DNA Exonerations
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
That the Houston City Police Department’s Crime Lab was a lawless, rogue unit serving the “convict at any costs” philosophy of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office during the Johnny Holmes and Charles “Chuck” Rosenthal administrations, between 1980 and 2005, is no longer a subject of serious debate. Dozens, possibly hundreds, of innocent people—mostly poor minorities charged with homicides or sex crimes—were railroaded off to Texas prisons based on fabricated (or at best faulty) forensic evidence supplied by the Crime Lab and/or due to mistaken identification secured to corrupt pretrial photo lineup procedures. more...
August 3, 2009
SENTENCING ENTRAPMENT: A FALLOUT OF REFORM
Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Officials Manipulate Investigations, Defendants Receive Greater Sentences
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
What is sentencing entrapment?
In a syndicated column that appeared in the Houston Chronicle (July 23, 2009), Larry Frankel, the legislative counsel for the ACLU in Washington, D.C., called sentencing entrapment “a little-known phenomenon in our criminal justice system” and it occurs “when the government through its agents or informants makes a person, who may have a predisposition to engage in one sort of criminal activity, to engage in more serious criminal activity that exposes that person to harsher punishment.” more...
July 29, 2009
A GOOD FAMILY DOCTOR OR A SECRET PEDOPHILE?
Child Pornography and Exploitation
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Neighbors say the couple that lived in the $1 million home in the 11100 block of South Country Squire Road were “the sweetest on the block” who brought cakes to the new home owners that moved into the exclusive neighborhood. The 69-year-old orthopedic surgeon who lived at the residence was considered the “ideal grandfather figure.” He reportedly bought expensive gifts, including rent-free houses, for the economically deprived parents of several of his youngest child patients. Over a two-decade period he spent as much as $250,000 on these gifts. more...
July 25, 2009
THE UNRELENTING MARCH AGAINST FLDS
Texas Legislature Joins the Hunt
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair.
Besides March winds, April showers, and June humid heat, the one thing you can go to bank on: when state lawmakers, either in Texas or any other state, get involved is trying to legislate religion and morality, you will have a witch-hunt. Lawmakers are generally panderers to public opinion, not servants of public interest. If they believe one vote can be had by manipulating public fears or social outrage, they will get involved in any issue that generates media attention. The Eldorado, Texas-based FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), therefore, became an ideal target for legislative scrutiny during this past session. more...
July 21, 2009
MENTALLY RETARDED TEEN GETS 100 YEARS
Mentally Disabled Youth with IQ Of 47, Allowed to Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault of a Child, Judge Orders Sentences to be Served Consecutively
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The jury said it did not like the sentencing options made available to it. The judge said he was not pleased that he had to sentence an 18-year-old Paris, Texas teenager to 100 years in prison. The district attorney said he “sympathized” with teenager’s situation but it had to be remembered that he “committed a violent sexual crime against a little boy.” more...
July 17, 2009
CHILD ADVOCATES OR HIRED GUNS?
Criminal Defense Attorneys Must Be Prepared To Aggressively Challenge Child Assessment Center, Child Abuse Experts
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The “Mission” statement of the Houston Children Assessment Center “is to provide a professional, compassionate, and coordinated approach to the treatment of sexually abused children and their families and to serve as an advocate for all children in our community.” In its 2008 Annual Report, Yolanda Green, President of the Board of Directors of CAC, added that CAC “is an agency where children whose lives have been torn apart are given hope and the opportunity to begin the road to recovery.” more...
July 14, 2009
THE DIFFICULTIES FACED IN INSANITY CASES
Lawyer Ineffective for Failure to Investigate, Request Medical Records Indicating Possible Insanity; (Be careful what you ask for…)
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Spencer Ojeifo Imoudu was not a normal individual. In August 2005 the Bexar County resident stole a vehicle parked outside a pawn shop. The vehicle belonged to the owner of the pawn shop. He, and another witness, saw Imoudu get in the vehicle and drive off. The two men raced to the witness’s truck and sped away after Imoudu. During the high speed chase, Imoudu turned into oncoming traffic, crashing head on into an oncoming vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle was killed. Imoudu was arrested and charged with felony murder and manslaughter. He eventually pled guilty to the two charges in exchange for a 17-year sentence with an affirmative finding of a deadly weapon. 1/ 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 6, 2009
SHOULD EVIDENCE OF PRIOR FALSE ABUSE ALLEGATIONS BE ADMISSIBLE IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES?
Inadmissible Evidence under 608(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence May be Admissible under 613(b), Rule 412 or Confrontation Clause
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
A Harris County federal jury recently awarded $5 million to George Rodriquez for the 17 years he spent in the Texas prison system after being wrongfully convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old girl. And a Harris County district court judge last December ordered Ricardo Rachell released after he spent six years in the Texas prison system after being wrongfully convicted of sexually molesting an eight-year-old boy. 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...
July 2, 2009
IS ROBERT ALLEN STANFORD A REAL FLIGHT RISK?
The Bail Reform Act of 1984 and the Presumption for Release on Bond
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On June 18, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a 21-count indictment against Houston businessman and chairman of the Board of Directors of Stanford International Bank, Robert Allen Stanford (also known as “Sir Allen Stanford”). The indictment charged that Stanford conspired with others associated with his business enterprise, the Stanford Financial Group, to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and obstruction of a Securities Exchange Commission investigation. The indictment essentially charged that Stanford and his co-conspirators were responsible for the loss or theft of nearly $1.1 billion investors had deposited through Certificates of Deposit into the Stanford International Bank. more...
June 30, 2009
THE DNA FALLOUT CONTINUES
District Attorney’s Office of the Third Judicial District v. Osborne; U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Ability for Wrongfully Convicted to Prove Innocence
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
George Rodriquez spent 17 years in the Texas prison system for a crime he did not commit. He was 26 years of age in 1987 when he was wrongfully convicted by a Harris County jury for the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The jury based its decision on a critical piece of forensic evidence; a pubic hair found in the victim’s underwear. A serologist with the Houston City Police Department’s Crime Lab determined that the pubic hair did not belong to another suspect in the rape case, Isidro Yanez. The serologist testified at Rodriquez’s trial, saying that while his forensic testing ruled out Yanez, it did not rule out Rodriquez. more...
June 23, 2009
A DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE
Rule 606(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence; Conducting Inquiry into Juror Misconduct
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Johnny Ray Ocon was put on trial in Ector County, Texas for the crime of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Sex offense cases involving children are the most difficult for a criminal defense attorney to try. Defense attorneys must be very careful and thorough during the voir dire of prospective jurors to identify any hidden biases a juror may harbor in such cases. It is not always easy to sift through an individual juror’s personality in the short period of time, and with a limited number of questions, to identify and isolate any prejudices the juror may have against the defendant. 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 17, 2009
DNA CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST
City of Houston Sued; Disgraced Crime Lab on Trial After Wrongfully Convicted Man Exonerated After 17 Years in Prison
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
George Rodriquez was a 26-year-old young man in 1987 when he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in Harris County. A critical piece of evidence that led to his conviction was a pubic hair found in the girl’s underwear. A serologist with the Houston City Police Department’s crime lab, who we now know had a history of fabricating evidence to suit local prosecutorial and law enforcement needs, determined that the hair did not belong to a suspect named Isidro Yanez but the serologist did not eliminate Rodriquez as the owner of the hair. Seventeen years later DNA, which was not used as evidence in criminal trials in 1987, established that the hair in fact belonged to Yanez and not to Rodriquez. more...
June 11, 2009
THE HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Past Abuses, Hopes for Better Future
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Three recent stories in the Houston Chronicle exposed serious flaws in the Harris County criminal justice system. The first story concerned a 60-year prison term imposed on Andrew Wayne Hawthorne, a serial child molester. Hawthorne molested an eight year old boy in the fall of 2002. A crime for which a wrongly accused man, Ricardo Rachell, was convicted and sentenced to prison. Ricardo Rachell was convicted for this sexual assault and spent more than six years in the Texas prison system before readily available DNA evidence at the time of his arrest was finally tested and established his innocence. 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. more...
May 22, 2009
THE GITMO DILEMMA
Don’t We Have Prison Space for a Few More?
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Shortly after assuming the presidency, Barak Obama announced his intention to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently houses 240 individuals classified as “enemy combatants” suspected of having engaged in some form of terrorism against the United States. The president stated that he was studying the various options for dealing with these detainees. more...
May 19, 2009
THE RIGHT TO KNOW IN THE REAL WORLD
The President’s Balancing Act; Public’s Right to know, Due Process for Terrorist
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
President Barak Obama has drawn considerable political flak recently from liberal Democrats, human rights groups, and “left-leaning” bloggers for two terror-related decisions: the decision to fight the court-ordered release of dozens of photos of terror suspects being subjected to torture interrogation techniques; and the decision to resurrect the military tribunals set up during the Bush administration to try terror suspects. This new wave of criticism from the president’s natural base of supporters comes of the heels of massive political flak he incurred several weeks ago from Republicans, right-wing radio talk show hosts, and the “new voice” of the Republican Party, former vice-president Dick Cheney, concerning the administration’s decision to release of U.S. Justice Department “terror memos” authorizing CIA torture interrogations in 2002. 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 12, 2009
JUDGE SAMUEL KENT: SHOULD HE BE IMPEACHED?
SHOULD HE CONTINUE TO RECEIVE HIS PENSION?
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
These two questions have stirred considerable debate in both the legal community and general public in south Texas. Normally it is not a subject that would provoke a response by us. But the tenor of those demanding the impeachment of Judge Kent and those who have said he should not receive his pension have caused us some concern. Now that the federal judge has sentenced to 33 months in prison, we decided to weigh in on these two important questions. more...
May 9, 2009
A DEFENSE AGAINST TORTURE
The rule of law prevails over the demands of politics
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In the wake of the Obama administration’s release of the “terror memos” and the political firestorm the release generated, the president has instructed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review all the facts and circumstances surrounding the “torture” interrogations conducted by CIA and U.S. military personnel and make a determination of whether criminal charges should be filed either against those who approved the torture interrogations or those who conducted them, or both. Any decision Attorney General Holder makes will trigger an intense political backlash. 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 more...
May 1, 2009
FALSE FORENSICS: AN ATTORNEY’S WORST NIGHTMARE, INJUSTICE TO US ALL
Gary Alvin Richard; Wrongly Convicted Man Released after 22 Years
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
They are called “experts.” Prosecutors parade them into court dressed in respectful suit ware and carry resumes packed with a laundry list of degrees. They then testify about the science of “forensic evidence” in ways that more often confuse rather than clarify the issues being tried in a criminal case. Worst yet, many of these “CSI” experts testify falsely, or in misleading fashion, about test results they either did not perform correctly or whose results they manufactured to fit a given prosecutorial objective. Incompetent or unethical “forensic experts” are a criminal defense attorney’s worst nightmare. 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 22, 2009
THE CIA TERROR MEMOS
Legal Opinions Redefine Torture, Criminal Acts
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Bush administration’s 2001 declaration of “war on terror” critically—if not irreparably—injured the constitutional soul of America. This nation can no longer look other civilized countries in directly in the eye and unequivocally say it is the moral leader of the “free world.” The recently released CIA “terror memos” demonstrate that during the eight-year presidential tenure of George W. Bush the United States became a nation that subscribed almost exclusively to the base Machiavellian political dogma of “the end justifies the means.” Those who have defended, and continue to defend, the “torture” practices carried out under the Bush administration say they were a necessary weapon in the “war on terror” declared by President Bush after the three September 11, 2001 terror attacks against the United States by the international terrorist organization, al-Qaeda. more...
April 20, 2009
TORTURE FALLOUT CONTINUES
Foreign Investigation of Torture Techniques Sanctioned by Bush Administration
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
CIA Director Leon Panetta announced on April 9, 2009 that it would shut down those “black site” secret prisons in foreign countries utilized by the George Bush administration to house, and torture, suspected terrorists—many of whom were kidnapped off public streets in their home countries by either CIA agents or CIA operatives, and who had never been formally charged with any terror-related activity. more...
April 16, 2009
THE CONTINUING SAGA OF THE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED
Factors Contributing to Wrongful Convictions and Unjust Imprisonment
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In a March 16, 2009 article (“Cold Shoulder from Lubbock Officials in Cole Case”), we wrote extensively about the tragic wrongful conviction of Timothy Cole. A military veteran and college student, this son of a school teacher and Bell Helicopter manager was convicted in 1986 for the December 1985 rape of a Texas Tech student in Lubbock, Texas. Despite vigorous protestations of innocence from Cole and his family, Cole was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison where he died fourteen years later. more...
April 11, 2009
CHILD PORN: AN INCREASING PROBLEM IN ALL SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY
Federally Funded Task Forces Make Online Crimes Against Children Top Priority
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There has been a recent rash of media reports about local residents getting arrested or sentenced for possession of child pornography. For example, on March 13, 2009, the Houston Chronicle carried a report about a Houston attorney being given a six and one-half year sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake. Williamson possessed 84 child pornography images on his computer. After he completes his prison sentence, the suspended attorney will be under “supervised release” for the rest of his life, must register as a sex offender, and attend a sex offender treatment program. more...
April 8, 2009
WHAT IS SEXTING?
Sexting Among Children; Criminal Behavior or Brash Sign of the Times
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
First, and foremost, “sexting” among teenagers can be a crime. Second, it’s stupid, sophomoric behavior that can quickly ruin reputations, destroy employment opportunities, and cost a lot of money to deal with its legal consequences. 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...
March 30, 2009
A TEXAS BIGAMY DEFENSE
The Constitutional Implications of Lawrence v. Texas on the Texas Bigamy Statute
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The State of Texas will probably experience of series of bigamy trials stemming from the mass arrests made in the “infamous FLDS case” last year. The John T. Floyd Law Firm has been asked on a number of cases if there is a legitimate constitutional challenge to the Texas bigamy statute. See: Tex. Penal Code, § 25.01. more...
March 26, 2009
FLDS REVISITED: ONE YEAR LATER
Aftermath of the Texas CPS Raid
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In the fall of 2003 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) arrived in Eldorado, Texas. They purchased a 1700-acre ranch four miles outside of town. They called it the “Yearn for Zion Ranch” (“YFZ”). More members arrived. They constructed a mammoth temple and created their own community. They lived in peace. more...
March 22, 2009
THE RACHELL REPORT
Harris County District Attorney’s Office Discloses “Cascading, System-Wide Breakdown” Led to Wrongful Conviction and 6 Years Imprisonment of Innocent Man
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On December 14, 2008, we posted a blog titled The Conflicting Faces of Crime. One of those faces involved the wrongful conviction of Ricardo Rachell in 2003 for the aggravated sexual assault of an eight year old boy. Rachell was released from custody in December 2008 after he was exonerated by DNA evidence. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Houston Police Department undertook a joint investigation to determine what went wrong in the Rachell case. On March 12, 2009, the two law enforcement agencies released the “Rachell Report” (“report”) which concluded that Rachell’s wrongful conviction was the result of a “cascading, system-wide breakdown.” more...
March 16, 2009
COLD SHOULDER FROM LUBBOCK OFFICIALS IN COLE CASE
DNA Exonerations: Improper Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Poor Police Work; A Deadly Combination
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Dying in prison is a sad, tragic affair. Timothy Cole died in a Texas prison in 1999 from asthma complications. He was 39 years of age. The prison’s health care officials notified the security staff of the inmate’s death. In all likelihood, a prison guard escorted an inmate orderly to Cole’s “bunk” where his blanket and sheets were stripped from a thin plastic-covered mattress. The guard used a master key to open a commissary-purchased combination lock on a foot locker that contained Cole’s “personal belongings.” The orderly sorted through the items to separate “state-issued” property from Cole’s personal belongings (letters, legal files, photos, etc.). The state and personal items were placed in separate plastic trash bags. The meager items in those trash bags represented the sum total of a man’s life in prison. more...
March 15, 2009
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:
AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR
By: Billy Sinclair
I am pleased to announce, through the website of the John T. Floyd Law Firm, that my wife, Jodie, and I have recently released our second book, Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor. Released by the prestigious publishing house Arcade Publishing (New York), Capital Punishment is a collection of fourteen essays that examines the entire spectrum of the subject of the death penalty: its methods of executions, its Southern regional phenomenon, its racism, its tortuous botched executions, and its impact on our society. more...
March 13, 2008
BOOK RELEASE
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:
AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd
I am happy to announce the release of another book by my good friends Billy and Jodie Sinclair entitled Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor, released by Arcade Publishing (New York). The book is a compelling collection of essays commenting on the death penalty from many different perspectives about this controversial and, in my opinion, most despicable, inhumane and arcane of punishments that continues to thrive in this so called modern world. more...
March 9, 2009
THE PERILS OF POWER
Power Corrupted and the Struggle for the Rule of Law
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos recently announced that local defense attorneys will be provided with copies “offense report(s)’ prepared by police in criminal cases. This new policy in Harris County, which should have been standard practice for years, is slowing making its way to the court rooms. Of course, the policy comes with caveats such as confidentiality agreements, redactions etc. This disclosure policy removes another corrupt vestige from the era of former District Attorney Charles “Chuck” Rosenthal—an era when suppression of favorable evidence, perjured testimony, manufactured evidence, and corruption of forensic evidence passed for the “rule of law” as his assistant district attorneys competed in a “conviction at any cost” prosecutorial environment. more...
March 4, 2009
UN-INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR(S): AN UNNECESSARY STIGMA
The Right Wing and the Council on American-Islamic Relations; No Due Process for the Unindicted
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
What exactly is a un-indicted co-conspirator?
Attorney Peter R. Rient defined the term as any person the Government alleges “agreed with others to violate the law but who is not charged with an offense and who, consequently, will not be tried or sentenced for his criminal conduct.” more...
February 25, 2009
“BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK” FOR JUDGES IN SOUTH TEXAS
Judges Reap What They Sowed
By Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There may be no Hero to the rescue in this dark drama hanging over the state and federal judiciaries in South Texas. The clouds in the horizon are as ominous as those that preceded Hurricane Ike last September. A sitting federal judge, the Honorable Samuel Kent who formerly oversaw maritime law cases for the past seventeen years in Galveston, was facing trial in a Houston federal district court on federal sex crime charges. The local media was reporting that attorneys who regularly practiced before Judge Kent were following the case with utter amazement and, we suspect, a near morbid fascination. 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...
February 14, 2009
OBJECTIONS, BOLSTERING, AND APPELLATE REVIEW
Objections to Bolstering Testimony Should Communicate Evidentiary Basis
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Texas Rules of Evidence, Article 103, requires that a timely objection be based on a specific ground in order to preserve for appellate review an alleged trial error concerning the admissibility of evidence. more...
February 11, 2009
ANDRE THOMAS: INSANE IN TEXAS
Executing the Insane: Past Witch Hunt; Current Shame
By Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Just after noon on December 9, 2008 a corrections officer assigned to Texas’ death row was making a normal security round in Building 10 when he observed what appeared to be blood on the face of condemned inmate Andre Thomas. The inmate told the officer he had pulled out his last good eye and eaten it. Prison doctors quickly determined the condemned inmate needed additional medical treatment. Security staff transported him to the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. After Thomas received medical treatment, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Corrections transferred him to the Jester 4 Psychiatric Unit in Richmond where he remains as of this writing. more...
February 7, 2009
OBSCENE EMAILS AND CARTOONS NOT PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT
Obscene Drawings, Cartoons, Sculpture, Paintings that Depict Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct Not Protected Free Speech
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On March 30, 2004, Dwight Whorley visited a public resource room maintained by the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond. The room is equipped with Commission computers, printers and copiers which may be used by job seekers. A woman in the room noticed that Whorley was receiving what appeared to her as child pornography on a Commission computer. She promptly alerted Commission staff about suspicions. An officer manager and two supervisors went to the resource room where they found Whorley standing in front of a printer with some papers in his hand. One of the supervisors requested that Whorley show him the documents. Whorley complied. The documents depicted Japanese anime-style cartoons of children engaged in explicit sexual conduct with adults. more...
February 3, 2009
IS LARRY RAY SWEARINGEN GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER?
Actual Innocence Not Recognized Ground for Relief in Federal Habeas Corpus Jurisprudence
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Is Larry Ray Swearingen guilty of capital murder? The State of Texas, through Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Marc Brumberger, believes that he is. The parents of Melissa Trotter, Charles and Sandra Trotter, believe that he is. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals believes that he is. 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...
January 25, 2009
CSAAS IN TEXAS CRIMINAL TRIALS
Rule 702 Expert Testimony v. Bolstering, Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 1983, Roland Summit in a published paper coined the phrase “Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome” (CSAAS). See: 7 Child Abuse and Neglect 177 (1983).Summit’s syndrome set forth five specific characteristics children may exhibit following sexual abuse. Summit intended that CSAAS be utilized by law enforcement and child protective services investigators, as well as clinicians, to explain the coping behavior of children sexually abused by adults. He did not intend for CSAAS to be used, as it has been in some states, as a diagnostic tool to tell juries in criminal trials that sexual abuse has in fact occurred. The five CSAAS characteristics are listed below: more...
January 19, 2008
CHILD PREDATORS AND PUNISHMENT
Disparate Treatment of Sex Offenders, Punishment and Public Policy
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
“Child predator” is now among the two worst words in the American lexicon. A 42-year-old Houston resident, we will call him John Doe, recently learned as much. According to allegations by law enforcement, the Magnolia High School institutional aide decided last October to look up former students on Facebook from high schools where he had worked. more...
January 14, 2009
SAME CLIENT: ANOTHER TRIAL, ANOTHER ACQUITTAL
Client Falsely Accused of Child Sexual Abuse Wins Second Acquittal Against Determined Public Integrity Unit Prosecutor
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In early 2008 the Harris County District Attorney’s Office launched an investigation into alleged sexual abuse of inmates housed at a county detention facility. It is unclear exactly what prompted the inquiry, but a reasonable assumption can be made that the decision was influenced by the massive media and legislative attention given to evidence uncovered in 2007 by the Texas Rangers about widespread sexual abuse of inmates by staff in the state’s juvenile detention facilities.
January 10, 2009
NO RIGHT TO SUE INTERNET SEX SERVICE
Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places, Turning a Blind Eye
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and
Paralegal Billy Sinclair
SexSearch is an “online adult dating service.” It charges a fee to assist its paid members in their search of sexual encounters. An Ohio gentleman identified only as John Doe became a “Gold Member” of SexSearch in October 2005 for a fee of $29.95 per month. John Doe accepted the “Terms and Conditions” of the website which included a “promise” that he was at least 18 years of age. more...
January 8, 2009
STANDARDS OF PROOF
Reasonable Doubt; Foundation of a Free Society
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Every one has heard of the phrase “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” But there are three primary standards of proof: preponderance of evidence; clear and convincing evidence; and reasonable doubt. Black’s Law Dictionary (8th Ed. 1990) provides the definitions of each in order of importance: more...
January 2, 2009
ONLINE SOLICITATION OF A MINOR
Online Solicitation of a Minor Statutes and Free Speech
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 2005 the Texas Legislature enacted Article 33.021, Texas Penal Code, which prohibits “sexually explicit” communications between someone who is 17 years or older and someone who “represents himself or herself to be younger than 17 years of age.” Some respected legal bloggers have opined that such online sexually explicit “communications” may violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech. more...
December 24, 2008
HISD CONSIDERS RANDOM DRUG SEARCHES
The War on Drugs at School vs. Teachers’ Expectation of Privacy
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...
December 17, 2008
A DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN NEED OF REFORM
Ethical Lapses, Forensic Impropriety and Extreme Carelessness; Another Day at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center
By Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In October 2002 two young boys were playing together in downtown Houston when they were approached by a stranger who offered them money in exchange for removing some trash. One of the boys, who was eight years of age at the time, was lured into a nearby vacant house and sexually molested by the stranger. more...
December 14, 2008
THE CONFLICTING FACES OF CRIME
Slain Police Officer, Exonerated Convict
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The front page of the December 13, 2008 Houston Chronicle, in bold headlines, presented a stunning paradox: two tragic, conflicting faces of crime in Harris County. The first face was captured in the headline “A Touching Tribute to Slain Policeman.” The second face was captured by the headline “Freed by DNA to Life as an Innocent Man.” The two faces inevitably evoked a torrent of conflicting emotions in the average reader. more...
December 12, 2008
PROBATION ELIGIBILITY: NEW LIMITATIONS
Texas Juries Can No Longer Recommend Community Supervision When Victim is Child Under 15, Elderly or Disabled
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Community supervision, or probation as most people know it, has been defined by federal courts as an “imprisonment substitute” because the criminal sentence is not served in a penal institution. See: United States v. Elkins, 176 F.3d 1016, 1020 (7th Cir. 1999). more...
December 5, 2008
INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN CAPITAL CASES
Failure to Properly Prepare for Trial, Basis for Federal Habeas Relief
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 2001 the two female justices on the U.S. Supreme Court spoke out about the quality of legal representation afforded to criminal defendants facing the death penalty in this nation. more...
November 30, 2008
THE WAR ON TERROR ENJOYS RECENT VICTORIES
Government Finally Reaches the Holy Land in Complex Case of Providing Financial Support to Terrorist
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
America has a disposition toward war. The nation was created through war, and except for brief periods of respite, America has been at war with itself and other countries throughout its history. When not at war with other nations, America has found a need to declare “war” on one social ill after another, particularly over the last five decades. Beginning with President Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty” through President George W. Bush’s “war on terror” following 9/11, government officials have consistently used a war slogan to justify one social crusade after another. more...
November 23, 2008
RIGHT TO EXPUNCTION OF CRIMINAL RECORD UNDER § 55.01
Erasing Criminal Records After Dismissal, Acquittal, Pardon or False Identification
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Criminal Defense Lawyers often get call from potential clients wanting their criminal records expunged/destroyed. However, the expunction statute in Texas is very specific and applies only to records of arrest when a case against a defendant is dismissed with no probation, no billed by a grand jury, acquitted by the trial court or the court of criminal appeals or the result of identity theft. more...
November 18, 2008
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
Supreme Court Discusses “Pre-Existing 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 13, 2008
YES WE CAN
Now what do WE Do with It
By Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The “election” is over. Former Illinois Senator Barack Obama is now President-elect Obama. While it was a tremendous victory for the “Audacity of Hope” movement, it was an even greater victory for those who believe that social justice, racial tolerance, political unity, and strong presidential leadership are needed for this nation to heal its daunting economic woes and restore its proper role as moral leader in the world community. more...
November 8, 2008
CAN ONE SPOUSE BE MADE TO TESTIFY AGAINST THE OTHER?
The Spousal Privilege in Criminal Cases
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...
November 3, 2008
PROSECUTORIAL OVERCHARGING
Multiple Counts, Lesser-Included Offenses and Double Jeopardy
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
One of the quiet abuses in the nation’s criminal justice system is prosecutors overcharging criminal defendants. In their zeal to prosecute and convict, prosecutors file multiple counts against a defendant in a single indictment involving the same criminal conduct knowing – or least possessing the duty to know – that two convictions based on the same conduct will almost always be reversed on appeal. Criminal defense lawyers argue that many prosecutors charge multiple counts against a defendant in an attempt to prejudice a defendant, insinuating that the defendant must have done something to justify the multiple counts. There were two recent examples of this prosecutorial abuse – one involving a Texas case and the other involving a federal case in California. more...
October 24, 2008
THE JUDICIAL WARS INVOKED BY CRACK SENTENCING
Supreme Court: Federal Judges Have Discretion at Sentencing
By Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, a federal district court judge must consider each of the factors prescribed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) when imposing an appropriate criminal sentence. The § 3553 factors are: more...
October 18, 2008
THE PITFALLS OF DELAYED OUTCRY TESTIMONY
Hearsay Statements of Child Abuse Victims and Delayed Outcry
By Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
“Hearsay” is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at a trial or hearing, offered into evidence to prove the truth of some matter being asserted. See: Tex. R. of Evid. 801. In English, hearsay is testimony about what somebody heard from somebody else. Hearsay testimony is generally inadmissible in a criminal trial. See: Tex. R. of Evid. 802. However, Article 38.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure provides an exception to the hearsay rule by allowing hearsay testimony in the prosecution of an offense committed against children twelve years of age and younger. more...
October 15, 2008
FABRICATION:
The Only Defense In Sexual Assault Cases Not Subject To Rebuttal Evidence, Keeping Extraneous Crimes, Wrongs, and Acts Out
By Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Writing in her book “The Cross-Examination of a Young Child in a Sexual Assault Case: Voice for the Defense” (Oct. 1999), Annabelle Hall said that jurors following a sexual assault trial involving a child raise the following questions: more...
October 9, 2008
THE ACQUITTAL
John Floyd Secures Not Guilty After Jury Trial, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child younger than 14, 263rd District Court, Harris County, Case No. 1156699
A former Precinct 4 deputy accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child was found “not guilty” after three days of trial and six hours of jury deliberation. The State argued the defendant, in 2000, sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl when he was a detention officer at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center where the girl was detained. more...
October 6, 2008
A DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S PROFESSIONAL INDISCRETION
Prosecutor Hands Jury Sour Grapes After Not Guilty Verdict
By Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The John T. Floyd Law Firm faced a recent difficult three-day trial in a Harris County courtroom. The District Attorney’s office had charged a defendant with aggravated sexual assault of a child. It was a classic delayed “outcry” case. The case was assigned to one of the very best prosecutors in sexual assault cases. She signaled early in the motion practice stage of the case that she would be a determined adversary willing to go to extraordinary lengths to secure a conviction against our client. more...
October 4, 2008
DOES CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE LEAD TO FUTURE MENTAL ANQUISH?
By Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
If you were raped at age nine by your local YMCA counselor, do you think you would endure what is known in legal parlance as “future mental anguish?” more...
October 2, 2008
CYBERSEX CONVERSATIONS NOT A CRIME?
“Role Playing” in Cybersex Conversations Could be a Legitimate Defense in § 2422(b) Internet Solicitation Cases
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) prohibits the use of a computer by an adult to send messages on the Internet to “persuade and entice” a person under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity that constitutes a criminal offense. more...
September 19, 2008
PAST WRONGS BEYOND THE REACH OF PROSECUTION
Fifth Circuit Orders Acquittal in 1964 Mississippi Murder Case, Cold Case Initiative Fails, Statute of Limitation Prevails
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Several years ago the Federal Bureau of Investigation created a Cold Case Initiative designed to bring to justice persons who committed horrific racially motivated crimes during the 1950s and 1960s civil rights era. One of those cases involved James Ford Seale, a former Mississippi deputy sheriff, who was convicted in June 2007 of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the disappearances of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee. more...
September 11, 2008
CPS VERSUS FLDS
Enormous Mismanagement of the FLDS Case, Loss of $12 Million to Taxpayers, And an Egregious Affront to Fundamental Principles of Law
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John T. Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Since the April 2008 military-styled raid, led by the Texas Rangers and the state’s Child Protective Services, on the Yearning for Zion Ranch owned by Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (FLDS) in Eldorado, Texas, we have been consistently been critical of the methods used by law enforcement and the CPS efforts to destroy the FLDS church. These official efforts stem from allegations that some male FLDS members used religious practices to engage in “spiritual marriages” with underage teenage girls. CPS reported in August 2008 that it was still investigating 10 cases involving marriages of girls ranging in ages from 12 to 16. As we have previously reported, these investigations have already cost Texas taxpayers at least $12 million. more...
September 10, 2008
THE AFFAIR OF A JUDGE, DA, AND A KILLER
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Would you want a Judge presiding over a criminal case against you sleeping with the District Attorney prosecuting that case?
Didn’t think so. Most people wouldn’t. You expect a Judge to be neutral, free of the slightest appearance of impropriety. You expect a District Attorney to be zealous, honest, and even-handed in the prosecution of criminal cases. Those general expectations – what the State Bar calls the rules of ethical conduct – are compromised when a District Attorney prosecutes a case before a Judge with whom the District Attorney is having a sexual liaison. more...
September 6, 2008
MORE FLDS INDICTMENTS: THE UNHOLY SAGA CONTINUES
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In July 2008 a Schleicher County grand jury indicted five members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, on sexual assault of children charges and a sixth member for failure to report a child abuse charge. more...
August 28, 2008
FEDERAL SENTENCING: DISCRETION MAKES A COMBACK
Following Booker, Kimbrough, Rita and Gall; District Courts Exercising Power to Sentence as Deemed Appropriate, Considering Case-Specific Factors, § 3553(a)
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Before 1984, criminal sentencing in federal courts was heavily criticized because of the disparate sentences imposed for similar conduct and because of the uncertainty as to the length of time offenders would actually serve in prison. But Congress changed all that with the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. The Act was designed to produce a more even-handed determinate sentencing scheme. To accomplish this legislative objective, the Act imposed an absolute duty on federal district court judges to consider each of the seven sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), required federal judges to accept the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines as mandatory, and abolished the federal parole system as well. The end result of the Act, however, quickly proved to be even more draconian than hodgepodge sentencing practices it had replaced. Federal prison sentences grew longer because of the mandatory Guidelines, and because of the abolition of parole, longer stays in federal prison became the order of the day. more...
August 22, 2008
DNA FREES ANOTHER INMATE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED OF RAPE
False Allegations of Rape, Convictions Based Exclusively on Uncorroborated Testimony
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
18 years ago Robert McClendon, then 34 years of age, was convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life in Franklin County, Ohio for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl. Prosecutors charged that McClendon took a 10-year-old relative from her backyard and drove her to another house where he raped her. There was no physical evidence linking him to the alleged rape. The prosecution relied almost exclusively on the testimony of the child victim. The prosecution’s belief that it had the “right man” was influenced by the fact that McClendon, when he was 19 years of age, had been convicted of “corruption of a minor” involving consensual sex with a 15-year-old girl. more...
August 19, 2008
THE GALVESTON BABY KILLERS
Two Cases of Child Murder; Only One Faces Death Penalty
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The District Attorney’s Office in Galveston, Texas, has in recent months confronted death penalty decisions in two high profile cases involving parents brutally murdering their children. Both cases allegedly involved parents killing their children in a calculated, premeditated manner. In April 2008 the District Attorney elected not to seek the death penalty in one case but in August 2008 decided to seek the death penalty in the other. Why?
August 13, 2008
ANOTHER HORRIFIC BUS CRASH ON A TEXAS HIGHWAY
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Most people automatically assume that when they board a commercial or chartered bus, they will safely reach their destination. Greyhound and Trailways over a four decade period from the 1940s through the 1970s ingrained that assumption in the American psyche. Before the explosion of air travel in this country in the 1980s, bus travel was considered an economically efficient and fairly comfortable way of traveling across a nation that spans four time zones. more...
August 9, 2008
TWO EXECUTIONS WITH INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
By Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
The State of Texas executed two foreign nationals during the week of August 5 and 7, 2008. Both men, Jose Ernesto Medellin and Heliberto Chi, were found guilty of committing brutal murders. There was little doubt about their guilt. Had they not been foreign nationals, their executions would have passed under the Texas execution radar basically unnoticed. This is a sad fact in this great state where executions have become all too common. more...
August 5, 2008
THE INEQUITY OF ONE DEATH, ONE LIFE; Inequities in the Application of the Death Penalty
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
On July 23, 2008 the State of Mississippi executed Dale Leo Bishop for his involvement in the beating death of 22-year-old Marcus James Gentry. The Bishop execution was significant only because he became the third person put to death in this country who did not actually kill the victim while the actual killer received life imprisonment. more...
August 2, 2008
THE RULE OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW GETS OPPORTUNITY TO BE RESTORED; Designation of Enemy Combatant Status
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
How would you feel if you had never been a member of any nation’s military, had never fought alongside any nation’s armed forces, and had never borne arms against the United States anywhere in the world but were suddenly designated an “enemy combatant” by the President of the United States, placed in solitary confinement in a military prison for five years, subjected to torture, held incommunicado from family and attorney, and never had any formal charges brought against you? more...
July 30, 2008
JUSTICE DENIED TO RAMOS AND COMPEAN BY A FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS RULING
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Fabens, Texas is located thirty miles southeast of El Paso just across the Rio Grande from Mexico. 95 percent of the people living in the town of 8,000 are poor and Hispanic. It’s a young town – the median age is 24 years compared to the median Texas age of 32. The average household income is $18,000 annually compared to $43,000 for the rest of Texas. In a nutshell, it’s a “dusty, little Border town” that stands as open invitation for major Mexican drug traffickers like Oswaldo Aldrete-Davila. more...
July 25, 2008
FLDS MEMBERS INDICTED BY GRAND JURY
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd
and Mr. Billy Sinclair
The grand jury is a powerful weapon in the hands of state and federal prosecutors. An old legal adage says that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich if it the “target” of a criminal investigation. more...
July 18, 2008
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE REBUFFED BY TEXAS OFFICIALS
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
The International Court of Justice recently issued an order staying the execution of five Mexican nationals held on Texas’ death row in response to a petition filed by the Mexican government. The Mexican government is seeking a review of these particular cases to determine whether the State’s denial of the condemned inmates access to the Mexican Consulate after their arrest adversely impacted their defenses. more...
July 14, 2008
RACIAL PROFILING AND THE FBI
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses FBI’s Push to Legitimize Racial Profiling
On July 3, 2008 the Associated Press reported that the United States Justice Department was considering adoption of new rules that would allow the FBI to investigate persons without any probable cause of wrongdoing. FBI officials said that being able to target for selective investigation Muslims, Arabs and other racial and ethnic groups that fit a “terrorist profile” would enable the agency to fulfill a post 9/11 Congressional mandate to “root out” terrorists before they strike. more...
July 8, 2008
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA’S DISSENT FROM THE DARK SIDE
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Scalia’s Blistering Dissent Accusing Justices of Aiding Terrorist
The Supreme Court on June 12, 2008 issued a decision that marked the first time in the nation’s history that the constitutional right to the writ of habeas corpus was conferred on enemy aliens detained abroad by American military forces engaged in an ongoing war. See: Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. ____ (2008) [Slip Opinion No. 06-1195 & 06-1196]. more...
July 5, 2008
FALSE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses False Child Sexual Assault Allegations and Defending the Wrongly Accused
In April 2008, after coming home late from a party, a Wunsche High School student told her father that she had been sexually assaulted at the party by a fellow student. The following day 54-year-old Ruben Cuellar-Romo went with his daughter to her school, and when the daughter pointed out a student as her attacker, Cuellar-Roma stabbed the male student in the chest, stomach and hand. Police quickly determined that the assaulted student, Joshua Chapa, had not been at the party and, therefore, could not have assaulted the girl. Cuellar-Roma was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and remains in the Harris County Jail under a $30,000 bond. more...
July 1, 2008
JOE HORN FREE OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses the Tragedy of the John Horn Case and the Implications of Grand Jury No Bill
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.
June 27, 2008
FLDS GRAND JURY TAKES NO ACTION, YET
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney Discusses Latest Developments in FLDS case and the Beginnings of a Grand Jury Investigation
A West Texas grand jury sitting in Schleicher County heard testimony from a few of the dozens of witnesses subpoenaed to testify concerning allegations made by the Attorney General’s Office that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints forces underage girls into “spiritual marriages.” more...
June 23, 2008
PRIVILEGE OF HABEAS CORPUS EXTENDED TO GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Boumediene v. Bush,
The Balance of Powers
In a sharply divided 5-4 ruling, the United States Supreme Court recently extended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus to “detainees” held Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – commonly referred to as “Gitmo.” The decision marked the first time in the court’s history that it has ruled that non-citizens held in custody by the United States in a territory over which another country has de jure sovereignty enjoys the protection of the Constitution.
June 18, 2008
AMERICA’S TORTURED POLICY OVER TORTURE
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Bush Administration’s “Torture” Policy and Downstream Consequences
In 1994 America ratified a treaty entitled “Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.” This treaty defined “torture” as “ … any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession," when it is "inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity."
June 12, 2008
BARRY BONDS: HOME RUN KING OR STEROID USER?
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Perjury, Obstruction of Justice and the Barry Bonds Case
Barry Bonds was 21 years of age when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He was lean, mean, and fast – and certainly not considered a fearsome home run slugger. During his first seven years in the majors, he averaged 25 home runs a year. Then in 1998 St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGuire eclipsed Roger Maris’ record of 61 home runs in a season by pumping out 70 home runs. The following year Bonds showed up for spring training with the San Francisco Giants with a “bulked up” upper body. In 102 games that year, he still managed to hit 39 home runs. In 2000, Bonds appeared in 143 games and the new “Giant slugger” hammered out 49 home runs. The following year Bonds’ “ballooned up” upper body looked awkward in what appeared to be match-stick legs but it was enough for him to easily breezed by McGuire’s record with 73 home runs. During his last seven full playing seasons (not including 2005 in which he played only 14 games and hit a meager 5 home runs), Bonds averaged 44 home runs. More...
June 8, 2008
FLDS: A LOOK AT AN UNNECESSARY TRAGEDY
Swift Justice? Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Opines on the FLDS Debacle
This column has examined the FLDS case extensively since the military-style raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas on April 3, 2008. There are two things that stand out about this tragic case: First, the raid was totally unnecessary and most certainly unlawful; and, second, the financial cost to the state of Texas is a staggering $7 million and the emotional cost to the FLDS parents and children is immeasurable. More...
June 3, 2008
TERRORISM: WILL THE PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION PREVIAL IN UPCOMING DEATH TRIAL?
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses War on Terror and Insult to the Constitution and Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self Incrimination
The Miami Herald recently reported that the Pentagon has formally approved the application of the death penalty for charges brought against Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the reported architect of 9/11 terror attacks, and four others charged in the conspiracy to carry out those attacks. More...
May 30, 2008
THE JUAN LEONARDO QUINTERO CASE
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses a Juries Decision to Sentence Convicted Cop Killer to Life in Prison
Everyone, including Juan Leonardo Quintero, was unhappy about the May 20, 2008 jury verdict that spared the convicted cop killer an appointment with a state executioner and insured that he would spend the rest of his natural life in a maximum security state prison. More...
May 28, 2008
A DEATH PENALTY TRIAL
By Mr. Billy Sinclair
The death penalty trial in this essay actually occurred. It is based the well-publicized facts, offense reports, and the trial transcript concerning my arrest, indictment, prosecution, and sentence to death for the December 5, 1965 shooting death of a convenience store clerk in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The trial was marred by documented suppressed mitigating evidence, perjured testimony, and ineffective assistance of counsel. The death penalty verdict, I believe, was obtained by the State of Louisiana because of these constitutional violations. By the time I was able to establish these violations in a court of law in 1984, they were considered “harmless errors” because the death sentence had been vacated.
But a significant number of the 1100 inmates executed in this country since 1976 were sent to their deaths because of suppressed mitigating evidence, perjured testimony, fabricated forensic evidence, or grossly inadequate legal representation. Further, as was the case in 1965, it was the social status or the race of their victim that influenced the decision by prosecutors to seek the death penalty against them. The following capital trial illustrates not only the harsh reality of how the death penalty is often prosecuted but how the process can be politicized. It presents the best argument for the abolishment of the penalty. It is the only punishment in these United States that can never, ever be prosecuted equitably and justly. More...
May 25, 2008
FLDS: THE RULE OF LAW FINALLY PREVAILS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses In Re Steed: Texas Court of Appeals Finds No Evidence to Support Finding of Danger to Physical Health or Safety of Children at FLDS YFZ Ranch, CPS Failed to Take Reasonable Efforts Short of Separation from Parents
(Read the Opinion: In re Sara Steed)
The FLDS case began with two anonymous telephone calls from a “16-year-old” girl on March 29, 2008 to a local hot line crisis center in Eldorado, Texas. The anonymous caller told a terrified tale of being forced into a “spiritual” marriage to a man named Dale Barlow who she said frequently beat and raped her at the Yearning for Zion Ranch owned by the FLDS church. The anonymous caller said she was forced into this marriage at age fourteen, had an eight-month-old child, and was pregnant again by Barlow. The hot line crisis center reported the anonymous calls to law enforcement officials. More...
May 24, 2008
THE FLDS CASE: THE TEXAS SOLUTION,
PRISON FOR THE MEN, SHAME FOR THE WOMEN
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John T. Floyd Discusses Potential Bigamy Charges Facing Those Living on the Yearning for Zion Ranch
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) is the largest Mormon fundamentalist denomination. The FLDS broke from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“LDS”) in the 1930s. Located in southern Utah and northern Arizona, the fundamentalists rejected the LDS’s renunciation of polygamy. After the ex-communication of members who continued to practice plural marriages, the fundamentalists decided break all their religious ties to the LDS Church. More...
May 20, 2008
EXECUTIONS: THE UGLY REALITY AND RACIAL IMPLICATIONS CONTINUE
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd Discusses Race to Restart the Death Penalty, Ugly Reality of the Ultimate Penalty
Just 19 days after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lethal injection protocol used by most states to carry out executions, the State of Georgia put to death William Earl Lynd on May 6, 2008. Interestingly enough, the Supreme Court said that when lethal injections are carried out “properly,” the result will be an immediate, humane death. Lynd was pronounced dead at 7:51 p.m. – some seventeen minutes after the first drug, sodium thiopental, was administered. Three to five grams of this barbiturate is supposed to induce immediate unconsciousness. Media reports did not indicate that Lynd was immediately rendered unconscious. More...
May 15, 2007
FLDS: EXPLORING THE SUBJECT OF ABUSE
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney Discusses FLDS Fiasco and the Disproportionate Resources Spent by the State to Persecute this Misunderstood Religious Group
The law enforcement raid last month in Eldorado, Texas on the Yearning for Zion ranch operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ for Latter Day Saints has morphed into the largest child custody case in state history. Charges of polygamy, sexual and physical abuse of children, and forced “spiritual” marriages between older FLDS men and underage girls have become part of the national political and social debate, particularly with respect to sexual and physical abuse of the church’s children. More...
May 11, 2008
SERIOUS OVERCROWDING IN THE HARRIS COUNTY JAIL
HOUSTON CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER John Floyd Discusses Overcrowding in the Harris County Jail and Texas Prisons; Non-Violent Drug Offenders Wasting Away in Prison and Costing Society Billions, Community Treatment Centers and PR Bonds Could Save You Money!
The Houston Chronicle recently reported that the Harris County Sheriff’s Department requested, and received, permission to transfer an additional 1,130 inmates to the West Carroll Detention Center in Epps, Louisiana. The private Louisiana-based detention center is already the home to 600 Harris County inmates at an annual cost of $6 million to local taxpayers. The additional 1130 inmates will cost taxpayers another $15.5 million annually. More...
May 8, 2008
SUPREME COURT RULING ON LETHAL INJECTION WILL PROVE LETHAL
HOUSTON CRIMINAL ATTORNEY John Floyd Discusses Ruling by Supremes in Base v. Rees; Poisoning not Cruel and Unusual Punishment
The Baze Ruling
The United States Supreme Court on September 25, 2007 granted certiorari in the case of Ralph Baze and John C. Bowling, two convicted double murderers, who challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection as it is administered in the State of Kentucky. See: Baze, et al. v. Rees, Comm’r Ky DOC, et al., WL 2075334 (U.S.Ky. 09/25/07). More...
May 5, 2008
FLDS: A TEXAS-SIZED LEGAL DILEMMA
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Continues the Discussion about Government Raid at Yearning For Zion and the Potential Criminal Charges to be Filed Against FLDS Members
There have been a series of startling developments in what has become known as the “FLDS case.” This unprecedented child custody case began on March 29, 2008 when an anonymous female caller, identifying herself as a pregnant 16-year-old, reported twice to a hot line crisis center in Eldorado, Texas that she had been a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the local Yearning for Zion ranch by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Those anonymous telephone calls triggered a massive military-styled police raid on the YFZ compound several days later resulting in mothers being separated from children and fathers accused of being “pedophiles” for allegedly marrying girls as young as thirteen. More...
May 3, 2008
“ICE” FLEXES DEPORTATION MUSCLE
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John T. Floyd Discusses Efforts to Increase Deportation of Illegal Immigrants Convicted of Crimes and Implications on Texas Prisons
The United States Homeland Security unit known as ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) announced a recent $3 billion effort to deport approximately 450,000 illegal immigrants who are locked up each year in the nation’s jails and prisons. More...
May 1. 2008
CHILD RAPE, THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE POPE
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Constitutionality and Morality of Death Penalty for Non-Homicide Sex Crimes Committed against Children
While on the papal plane (Shepard One) heading for his first visit to America this April, Pope Benedict XVI informed reporters that he is “deeply ashamed” over the sexual abuse scandals which have rocked the Catholic Church of the United States over the past 25 years. He said the scandals caused him “great suffering.” These scandals involved priests sexually abusing young, mostly male children. A number of these priests were convicted of a litany of sex-related offenses, including aggravated rape. Most of their child victims were under the age of 12 years. Since 2002, when the most infamous scandals surfaced in Massachusetts, the Catholic Church had paid out more than $2 billion to settle civil lawsuits brought by the victims and their families. At least five dioceses were forced to declare bankruptcy. More...
April 30, 2007
FOURTH AMENDMENT: U.S SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES ISSUE OF SEARCH/SEIZURE IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Search and Seizure Issues Presented in Virginia v. Moore and Implications on Texas Suppression Claims; Justice Scalia Views Constitution as “Dead” Document.
The Moore Rationale
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
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney, John Floyd, Discusses Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Finding Reversible Plain Error in Improper Statements of Prosecutor.
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 22, 2008
FLDS: THE VICTIM THAT WASN’T
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Developments in FLDS Case; Anonymous Hoax Caller Used to Support Warrant Illustrates Why Probable Cause Requires More Evidence
The largest child custody case in Texas began with at least two telephone calls on March 29, 2008 from a terrified voice claiming to be a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the Yearning for Zion ranch by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Eldorado, Texas. The calls made to a local hot line crisis center triggered a massive military-styled police raid on the YFZ compound several days later that resulted in mothers being separated from children and fathers accused of being “pedophiles” for allegedly marrying girls as young as thirteen. More...
April 18, 2008
DALLAS JUSTICE GIVEN TO THOMAS JOE MILLER-EL
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd discusses the Saga of Miller-El and the Historical Practice of Racism in the Jury Selection Process
Background and Plea
It was a brutal crime. According to public records, Dorothy Miller-El set it up on November 16, 1985. She had previously worked at the Holiday Inn near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. She provided her husband Thomas Joe Miller-El and Kennard Sonny Flowers with inside information about the motel. The two men entered the motel in the early morning hours where they robbed, bound and gagged two employees: 25-year-old Douglas Walker and 29-year-old Donald Ray Hall. Miller-El asked Flowers if he was going to shoot the two men. When Flowers hesitated, Miller-El shot Walker in the back of the head twice, killing him instantly, and then shot Hall in the side, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. More...
April 13, 2008
The FLDS Raid and the Extension of the Police State
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Military Style Raid on Eldorado FLDS Compound, Illegal Arrests and Fabricated Probable Cause
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) is the largest Mormon fundamentalist denomination. The FLDS broke from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“LDS”) in the 1930s. Located in southern Utah and northern Arizona, the fundamentalists rejected the LDS’s renunciation of polygamy. After the ex-communication of members who continued to practice plural marriages, the fundamentalists decided break all their religious ties to the LDS Church. More...
April 10, 2008
PROSECUTORS, MISCONDUCT, AND RACE
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Improper Use of Race as Factor in Exercising Juror Strikes
The Harris County District Attorney’s office has found itself embroiled in political controversy over the last six months: racially charged and sexually explicit e-mails, the resignation of Chuck Rosenthal, a feud with a grand jury, involvement in a civil rights lawsuit that will cost the county several million dollars, and media criticism of prosecutorial tactics utilized to secure criminal convictions at any cost. More...
April 8, 2007
TERROR, TORTURE AND TRANSFERS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Continued Litigation Caused by the Bush Administration’s Handling of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
In 2006 the Congress passed the Military Commissions Act. § 7(a)(1) of that Act, applicable through 28 U.S.C. § 2241(e)(1), deprives courts from having jurisdiction over any “application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained in the United States who has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.” More...
April 4, 2008
KEEP THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF OUR BEDROOMS
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Fifth Circuit Decision Striking Down Obscenity Statute Prohibiting Promotion or Sale of Sex Toys, the Right to Private Sexual Privacy
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
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses the Shadow of the Scandal, Damaged Reputation of D.A’s Office and Concerns of Failure to Disclose Evidence Favorable to the Accused
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 27, 2008
MEDELLIN: TEXAS LAW TRUMPS PRESIDENT’S PEN
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T Floyd Discusses Medellin v. Texas; United States Supreme Court Devastates Mexican National’s Rights Under Geneva Convention While Simultaneously Limiting Presidential Power
Jose Ernesto Medellin, a Mexican national, took part in one of the most brutal and horrific crimes to have ever occurred in Harris County. A January 8, 2008 column on the John T. Floyd website outlined the facts of the June 24, 1993 murders of 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena and Medellin’s role in those murders. There is no need to recount those terrible details in this column. More...
March 20 2008
PROSTITUTION, POLITICIANS AND PUNISHMENT
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd discusses Prostitution in light of the Eliot Spitzer Scandal; Selective Prosecution?
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer recently became the 22nd governor in the history of the United States to leave office under a cloud of scandal before their term ended. He is the 12th governor to resign because of political or legal problems. The other ten governors were either legally removed from office or impeached. Spitzer was forced to resign after it was revealed that he was “Client 9” who paid as much as $80,000 to a $1,000-an-hour call girl under federal indictment in an Internet prostitution ring. Interestingly, six other governors in modern times have survived “sex scandals” while in office and managed to complete their terms. More...
March 16, 2008
THE VALUE OF A DIRECT VERDICT STRATEGY
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses His Recent Victory by Instructed Verdict; After State Rests Judge Instructs Jury to Acquit on Charges of Sexual Assault and Find Not Guilty
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...
March 13, 2007
COURT ALLOWS WRONGFUL CONVICTION LAWSUIT TO PROCEED
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Civil Rights Lawsuits Brought by Those Wrongly Convicted of Crimes.
Dennis Patrick Brown, an African-American was convicted in Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana in 1984 for the crime of aggravated rape of a white woman and given a mandatory life sentence without the benefit of parole. Twenty years later he was exonerated by DNA evidence and released from custody. See: Brown v. Miller, 2008 LEXIS 4169 (5th Cir., Feb. 27, 2008) More...
March 7, 2008
IS WATERBOARDING TORTURE?
Houston Criminal Attorney Discusses Reality of Waterboarding, Torture and the Taint on Confessions Obtained from its Use
The United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights certainly believes that waterboarding is torture. Louise Arbour in January joined with UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak in the wake of admissions by CIA Director Michael Hayden that the agency had used waterboarding on three terror detainees. Despite the Hayden admissions, the CIA called upon the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether statements by former CIA agent John Kiriakou to various media organizations about waterboarding violated laws prohibiting the release of classified information. More...
March 5, 2007
VIOLENT SEX OFFENDERS: IS CIVIL COMMITMENT A LEGITIMATE SOCIAL RESPONSE?
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Offenders
The New York Times reported last year (March 4, 2007) that there are approximately 2,700 pedophiles, rapists, and other sexual offenders being held indefinitely by 19 states, mostly in medical treatment centers. The NY Times report was in response to the State of New York joining the parade of states that use “civil commitment” as a way of “protecting” society from “dangerous” sexual predators. Several New York legislators hailed the state’s decision to adopt civil commitment as an opportunity to create a “national model” for not only in isolating dangerous sex offenders but in treating them as well, including “intensive supervision” of those who secure release from their commitment. The following bullet points from the Times report offers a glimpse of “civil commitment” programs nationwide: More...
March 1, 2007
THE WALSH ACT AND ITS “SORNA” IMPLICATIONS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Sex Offender Registration Act
In July 2006 President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“Walsh Act”). Title I of the Walsh Act is called the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) which expanded the National Sex Offender Registry and established sanctions up to a maximum of twenty years for sex offenders who do not comply with the law’s registration requirements. More...
February 27, 2008
THE CASTLE DOCTRINE:STAND YOUR GROUND AND SHOOT TO KILL
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd discusses the Castle Doctrine and the Growing Support for the Use of Deadly Force in Self Defense
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”
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses the Dangers of Pleading Guilty to a Court Without a Plea Bargain as to Sentencing.
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
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Denial of Bail in a Family Violence Cases
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
Houston Criminal Lawyer John T. Floyd Discusses Excessive Bail in Texas Courts
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...
February 3, 2007
PROSTITUTION: “THE WORLD’S OLDEST PROFESSION” AND NOW A VERY SERIOUS CRIME
HOUSTON CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY John T. Floyd Discusses Federal Prosecutions of Prostitution Rings
Eric Hayes and Terrence Williams were “pimps” in a nationwide prostitution ring until they were convicted last October in a Toledo, Ohio federal court. In fact, they referred to themselves as “pimp partners.” Their prostitution ring used both juvenile and adult women who were trained and disciplined to live off the earnings from their “johns.” The pimp partners ran a lucrative criminal enterprise that set a fee schedule for particular sexual services, controlled certain areas where only their prostitutes could work, and shared information with other pimps about the activities of the police in their area.
Their immense area of operation spanned 12 states, including Texas, and the District of Columbia. More...
January 30, 2007
ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM BY A CONVICTED FELON
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses the Current State of the Law Regarding Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
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...
January 25, 2008
CAN DELETED PORN BE USED IN A POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE?
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses How Deleted Computer Files Can be Used in the Prosecution of a Child Pornography Case
FBI agent Randall Clark is part of the Houston Area Cyber Crimes Task Force. His job is to track and catch sex predators looking for child victims on the internet. In a recent interview with the Houston CHRONICLE, Clark said that “we know whenever there are kids online, there will be predators, so we try to get into those places [like MySpace].” More...
January 20, 2007
ATHELETES, STEROIDS, FALSE STATEMENTS AND PERJURY: THE NEED FOR COUNSEL
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Lying About Steroids; Recent Criminal Investigations and Convictions
Marion Jones was an astounding Olympian sprinter who captured five Gold medals. She was the darling of not only the international sports world but of the American people as well. Then the world collapsed around this charming sports figure. In 2003 a federal criminal investigation was initiated in Northern California concerning the distribution of anabolic steroids, other illegal performance-enhancing drugs, and related money-laundering activities. The investigation centered on Balco Laboratories, a corporation that performed blood-tests for athletes. More...
January 18, 2008
DESTRUCTION OF THE CIA INTERROGATION TAPES: A SAGA OF OFFICIAL ABUSE OF POWER
Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Whether Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes Could Lead to Criminal Culpability for the President or his Crew
The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 on the New York World Trade Center’s Twin Towers not only inflicted a terrible human tragedy on America but set into motion reactionary forces within our government that would undermine this nation’s fundamental moral, ethical, and legal obligations to the international community. More...
January 13, 2008
WHEN WILD ANIMALS ATTACK
Houston Defense Attorney John Floyd discusses Potential Texas Tort Liability for Zoo Attacks. What if it happened in Texas?
THE ATTACK
It was last Christmas evening. Most of the visitors at the San Francisco Zoo had given way to the approaching chill of evening and left for a dinner meal with family and friends. Rather than spending the evening with his family as they wanted, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa joined two brothers, 23-year-old Kulbir Dhaliwal and 19-year-old Paul Dhaliwal, for a trip to the zoo. More...
January 4, 2008
THE MEDELLIN CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Consular Notification Under the Article 36 of the Vienna Convention
They were called the “Black and Whites” in 1993 – a Harris County predatory street gang. There were eight of them, including Jose “Joe” Ernesto Medellin. It was 11:30 p.m. on the evening of June 24. Earlier in the evening 17-year-old Raul Villareal has been initiated into the gang by fighting a rival gang member. The Black and Whites were in a city park drinking beer and celebrating the outcome of that initiation ritual. More...
December 31, 2007
THE AGE OF STEROIDS OR STEROID RAGE?
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Due Process
in Light of Major League Baseball and the Mitchell Report
On December 13, 2007 former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell submitted to Major League Baseball what has become known as “the Mitchell Report.” The “report” is the culmination of a 20-month investigation into the illegal use of steroids by major league baseball players. The Mitchell Report named 86 current and former players from all 30 major league teams as having used steroids during their playing careers. Two of the most prominent players named in the report are seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens and current Yankee and former Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte. More...
December 19. 2007
SUPREME COURT CRACKS BARRIER ON CRACK SENTENCING
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Significant Developments Effecting Crack Cocaine Sentences from U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Sentencing Commission
The United States Supreme Court on December 10, 2007 issued a ruling in a case that will effectively reduce some of the crack cocaine sentences for nearly twenty thousand federal inmates – 85 percent of them African-American. See: Kimbrough v. United States, No. 06-6330 (2007). The following day the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to allow these inmates to immediately apply for sentence reductions. Slightly more than 2500 of them will be eligible for early release over the next year. More...
December 17, 2007
IN THE WAKE OF THE JOE HORN SHOOTINGS
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Continues Discussion of Deadly Force in Self Defense in Light of More Recent Shootings
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 14, 2007
HOW FAR DOES THE POWER OF HABEAS CORPUS EXTEND?
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Latest Gitmo Appeals before Supreme Court: Will America Remain Symbol of Liberty?
The United States Supreme Court on December 5, 2007 heard oral arguments in a case that will ultimately answer this critically important constitutional question. See: Boumediene v. Bush, 2007 WL 4252686 (U.S. 2007). More...
December 9, 2007
JOE HORN’S SELF-DEFENSE SAGA CONTINUES
Part Two: Discussion of Use of Deadly Force and Self Defense by Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd
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...
December 5, 2007
TEXAS STIFFENS PUNISHMENT FOR SEX OFFENDERS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Lynch Mob Mentality of 2007 Texas Legislature Handling of Sex Offenders
The 2007 Texas Legislature enacted a number of measures that severely increased the punishment for sex offenders. One of those measures makes second convictions for first-degree "sexually violent offenses" involving victims 14 years of age or younger a capital crime punishable by death or life without parole. A "sexually violent offense" is indecency with a child involving contact, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual performance by a child, aggravated kidnapping involving intent to violate or abuse sexually, and first-degree burglary committed with intent to commit one of the sex offenses in this list. More...
November 29, 2007
IN DEFENSE OF THY NEIGHBOR
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Texas Self Defense Law in Light of the John Horn Shooting
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
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses the Ethical Dilemma of Representing the Cooperating Witness
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...
November 13, 2007
THE RESPONSE TO JUVENILE CRIME AND YOUTH VIOLENCE
Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd
In the 1970s, when crime and violence had turned the nation’s big cities into urban arenas of fear, suspicion and distrust, Former Houston Police Chief B.K. Johnson told TIME Magazine (March 23, 1981) that “we have allowed ourselves to degenerate to the point where we’re living like animals. We live behind burglar bars and throw a collection of door locks at night and set an alarm and lay down with a loaded shotgun beside the bed and then try to get some rest.” Former Louisiana Corrections Secretary C. Paul Phelps said that “the most dangerous creature in the world is the 16 or 17 year old kid who comes from the ghetto. It makes no difference whether he’s white, black, Hispanic or Chinese.” More...
November 7, 2007
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd
The Houston CHRONICLE, in a front-page October 28, 2007 article entitled “Houston a Major Hub for Human Trafficking,” reported that the U.S. State Department estimates that approximately 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year. More...
November 2, 2007
POLICE CUSTODY DEATHS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney’s Perspective, Allegations Police Abuse in the Jail
This past summer Houston police were summoned to a “disturbance call” at a home in the 9200 block of Denton. The call had been placed by the mother of 35-year-old Johnell Patrick, a thrice-convicted drug offender. More...
October 25, 2007
THE HOLY LAND FOUNDATION VERDICT
Criminal Defense Attorneys in Dallas Raise Reasonable Doubt and Force Mistrial
Under its original name Occupied Land Fund, the Holy Land Foundation was established in California in 1989 by Ghassan Elashi and other Palestinian Muslims. The purpose of the Foundation was to provide assistance to Palestinians displaced by a Palestinian uprising against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The uprising became known as the “intifada.” The most aggressive, and violent, resistance in the intifada came from the Iranian-backed organization called Hamas which had been established in 1987. The leader of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook, was married to Elashi’s cousin. More...
October 22, 2007
U.S. CONSTITUTION IMPALED ON THE SWORD OF FANATICISM
HOUSTON CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY Discusses The United States Supreme Court’s Refusal To Hear El-Masri And Allegations Of CIA Torture
Last April we reported about the case of Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent, who in December 2003 was traveling in Macedonia when he was taken into custody by that nation’s law enforcement officials on some technicality concerning his passport. They held El-Masri in their custody for twenty-three days at a hotel in Skopje before turning him over to American CIA operatives. That began an odyssey of torture for El-Masri and an official plundering of time-honored principles of law set forth in this nation’s Bill of Rights and its Constitution. More...
October 17, 2007
SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE THE 100:1 CRACK/POWDER COCAINE RATIO
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses the Inherent Tragedy Caused by the Crack/Powder Cocaine Ratio and the Unreasonably Long Prison Sentences for Low-Level, Non-Violent First Offenders.
Derrick Kimbrough was arrested in Norfolk, Virginia on two offenses involving of possession crack and powder cocaine as well as a single firearm offense. State authorities dismissed their case in favor of federal prosecution. The federal drug offenses exposed Kimbrough to a sentence range of 10 years to life imprisonment and a mandatory sentence range of 5 years to life imprisonment on the firearm offense to be served consecutively. More...
October 12, 2007
“MISTAKES” IN A LAST-MINUTE DEATH APPEAL
Grievances Filed by Criminal Attorneys across the State; Intentional mishandling of the request for an extension of the filing deadline by Judge Sharon Keller reflects the mean-spirited, biased, and callous nature of not only those who advocate but those who enforce the ultimate punishment. More...
October 11, 2007
YET ANOTHER HARRIS COUNTY DNA EXONERATION
Houston Criminal Defense Attorneys Beware! Exoneration Marks Third Criminal Defendant Wrongfully Convicted Because of Mishandling of Evidence by the Houston Police Crime Lab
In May of 1993, in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas, a 38-year-old woman was asleep in her home when she was abruptly awakened by a man who put a knife to her throat. The intruder raped the woman and fled the residence. The victim called the police to report the sexual assault. Two police officers arrived at the scene one hour later. The officers identified a “wet spot” on the sheet where the rape occurred. The rape victim told the officers that she had felt the assailant’s features during the attack but had only gotten a brief glimpse of him while he was in her home. The only light in the victim’s residence came from a street light across the street. More...
October 9, 2007
CRIMINAL ATTORNEYS STILL WATCHING THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, DECISIONS EFFECTING SENTENCING GUIDELINES
Rita v. United States, 125 S.Ct. 2456, 2463, 168 L.Ed.2d 203 (2007)
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Booker gave many defense attorneys hope that the often draconian Sentencing Guidelines would soon be pronounced dead, they still remain largely intact. Judges must still consult and consider the guidelines and, with Rita’s “presumption of reasonable” standard, any sentence they hand down within the guidelines will most likely withstand appellate review. However, the Supreme Court has created a real opening for “thorough adversarial testing” of the sentencing procedure by allowing judges to depart from the guidelines if given good reason under the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Defense attorneys must take this opportunity to effectively present their clients’ best case at sentencing before the federal courts. After all, criminal defendants and their offenses of conviction are unique and individual and should be treated as such by the courts when assessing a just punishment. More...
October 5, 2007
HOUSTON CRIMINAL ATTORNEY DISCUSSES CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, DEATH PENALTY BY LETHAL INJECTION
The United States Supreme Court on September 25, 2007 granted certiorari in the case of Ralph Baze and John C. Bowling, two convicted double murderers, who challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection as it is administered in the State of Kentucky. See: Baze, et al. v. Rees, Comm’r Ky DOC, et al., ___ Ct. ____, 2007 WL 2075334 (U.S.Ky. 09/25/07). More...
September 30, 2007
CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS KNOW FIRST HAND THE FBI CANNOT BE TRUSTED WITH UNCHECKED INVESTIGATIVE POWERS, ADMINISTRATIVE SUBPOENAS
The USA Patriot Act was became law on October 26, 2001 – some six weeks after the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The Act increased the government’s surveillance powers in both criminal and intelligence investigations, permitting an easier process for the law enforcement and intelligence communities to share information while conducting these two types of investigations. More...
September 29, 2007
THE LAW AND CONTRADICTION
It has been said that the law is a mystery. One thing is certain: those who make and interpret the law often reach contradictory and antipodean results. This reality frequently reduces the law’s noble pursuit of justice irrelevant. Two recent news stories underscores this reality: the decision by the United States Senate to block efforts by a bipartisan effort to restore the right of terrorism suspects to utilize habeas corpus to challenge their detention and other remedies to challenge conditions of their confinement; and the decision by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger declaring unconstitutional the three-drug protocol used to execute condemned inmates in Tennessee. More...
September 24, 2007
PENILE PLETHYSMOGRAPHY:BIG BROTHER AND PUNISHING THOUGHT
Criminal Defense Attorneys Keep Eye on Conditions of Probation, Parole and Supervised Release, Sex Crimes Convictions
What kind of condition is penile plethysmography? More to the point, what is plethysmography?
The word “plethysmograph” Greek words “plethysmos” and “graphos.” The former mean “enlargement” and the latter means “to write.” A penile plethysmorgraph, therefore, is an instrument that measures the volume of the penis (or its erection). See, Odeshoo, Jason D., “Of Penology and Perversity: The Use of Penile Plethysmorgraphy on Convicted Child Sex Offenders, 14 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L.Rev. 2004, p. 6. More...
September 19, 2007
POLICE POWERS VERSUS RIGHT OF PRIVACY/FREE SPEECH
Criminal Defense Attorneys Will Face Expanded Use of State WireTapping
The Texas Legislature recently increased the powers of law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance. The new legislation (SB823) allows cities with populations of 500,000 or more to operate their own “pen register” devices that have the capacity to capture real time outgoing telephone numbers dialed from a targeted telephone. More...
September 14, 2007
A 2007 TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
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
Criminal Defense Lawyers Must Diligently Investigate Facts Supporting Possible Defenses, Witnesses
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
Federal Criminal Appeal Lawyers Struggle With “Harmful” Errors
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...
September 1, 2007
STATEMENTS OF CO-CONSPIRATORS
Criminal Defense Attorneys must Fight to Prevent Admission of Prejudicial Statements of Unindicted Co-Conspirators
In December 2001 the Dallas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development was shut down after being accused by the federal government of being a fund-raising front for Hamas, a militant Palestinian group the United States has designated as a terrorist organization. The government charged that the self-described Muslim charity organization had funneled $12 million in illegal aid to Hamas. Another approximately 250 Muslim groups and individuals were named as “unindicted co-conspirators.” More...
August 28, 2007
THE MICHAEL VICK SAGA
A Criminal Defense Lawyers Perspective
Michael Vick and Don Imus. What do they have in common. Well, to begin with, soup for the goose, soup for the gander.
Both became well known public figures, celebrities of sorts – one as a highly proficient NFL quarterback and the other as a quasi shock-jock. Both used their special talents to become icons in their individual professions; both shocking and astonishing people inside and outside their respective media- driven careers with individual bad choices.
Then they both suffered an ignominious fall from public grace because of incredibly stupid personal behavior. Imus chose to refer on-the-air to the ladies of the Rutgers University basketball team as “nappy-headed ‘hoes” and Vick chose to fight dogs (pit bulls, mostly; some of whom were killed) and operate a gambling enterprise around this criminal enterprise.
But beyond these stupid personal choices, the two men enjoyed yet another bond – both were victims of orchestrated public outrage. More...
August 25, 2007
THE JOSE PADILLA CONVICTION: A BUSH VICTORY OR A DEFEAT FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
Criminal Defense Lawyers for Padilla Argue for Dismissal Due to Outrageous Conduct of the Government
Jose Padilla was initially arrested in 2002 at the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, with a lot fanfare by the U.S. Justice Department, on a charge that he was involved in a plot to plant a radiological “dirty bomb” in the United States. He was declared an “enemy combatant” and transferred to military custody at a naval brig in Charleston, South Carolina. Reportedly, he was subjected to physical torture, relentless interrogations, and a litany of other physical/psychological abuses and deprivations over the next three years before both military and intelligence investigators, as well as federal prosecutors, concluded there was no “dirty bomb” plot. More...
August 22, 2007
Expert Testimony in Child Pornography Cases
In a previous Web Front Page Column (CHILD PORN: WHAT IS VIRTUAL, WHAT IS REAL), it was pointed out that in federal child pornography prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(B) the Government is under no statutory or constitutional obligation to present “expert testimony” that the alleged pornographic images are of a real child. See, United States v. Rodriquez-Pacheco, 475 F.3d 434 (1st Cir. 2007). While the government has a constitutional burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged pornographic images are of a real, non-virtual child, the matter is an issue of fact to be decided by the jury and those determinations can be based on the actual images, videotapes, photographs, etc., absent expert testimony. Id,, at 444. More...
August 20, 2007
CHILD PORN: WHAT IS REAL, WHAT IS VIRTUAL?
Criminal Defense Lawyers Must Closely Examine Evidence In Child Pornography Cases to Rule Out Virtual Images: Government Retains Burden to Prove Images of a Real Child.
It is a federal crime to possess child pornography. See: 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(B). See also: Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2251.
The United States Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234, 122 S.Ct. 1389 (2002) held unconstitutional those provisions of § 2252(a)(B) that extended child pornography to any sexually explicit image that “conveys the impression” that it depicts “a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.” Id., 535 U.S. at 258. See also: United States v. Rodriquez-Pacheco, 475 F.3d 434 (1st Cir. 2007). More...
August 15, 2007
TERRORISM SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT
Federal Criminal Lawyers Must be Prepared to Fight the Terrorism Sentencing Enhancement Found in USSG § 3A1.4.
Sabri Benkahla was convicted on charges of making false statements to a federal grand jury and lying to the FBI and for obstructing justice with statements that he had never seen or received military-type training in Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan in 1999. See, United States v. Benkahla, 2007 WL 2254657 (E.D.Va. Aug. 3, 2007). More...
August 11, 2007
FISA AND THE PROTECT AMERICA ACT OF 2007
Criminal Defense Lawyers Will Find Evidence Obtained By Secret FISA Warrants Can Be Used In Domestic Criminal Prosecutions
On August 5 President George W. Bush signed into law The Protect America Act of 2007.
“We know that information we have been able to acquire about foreign threats will help us detect and prevent attacks on our homeland,” President Bush said upon signing the controversial legislation. “Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, has assured me that this bill gives him the most immediate tools he needs to defeat the intentions of our enemies. And so in signing this legislation today, I am heartened to know that his critical work will be strengthened and we will be better armed to prevent attacks in the future.” More...
August 6, 2007
MEDICARE/MEDICAID FRAUD:
Criminal Defense Lawyers Defending Medicare and Medicaid Fraud.
Fraud has been woven into the fabric of the federal health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, since their inception. Congress in 1977 conducted a series of hearings to examine the infestation of theft and patient abuse prevalent in the Medicaid program. See, Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse § 6.11 (2007)[Alice G. Gosfield] {hereinafter MedFraud}. More...
August 1, 2007
DEFENDING TERRORISM CRIMES
Criminal Defense Lawyers Begin Fight with Aggressive Pretrial Litigation
United States v. Abdi
Defending any criminal case is a monumental undertaking, even those seemingly “open-and-shut” cases. But defending a terrorism case demands not only the utmost professional skill but a reserve of personal courage. A criminal defense lawyer in a terrorism case understands at the outset that the Government will bring to bear all its awesome prosecutorial resources to secure a criminal conviction. The defense lawyer must be prepared to attempt to match resource with resource in defense of his client. Further, the lawyer representing a person accused of terrorism, like others accused of heinous crimes which stir public demands for punishment, must remain focused and stand fast to defend and protect this most vulnerable client if the rule of law and principles of fairness and justice are to survive. More...
July 27, 2007
INDICTMENTS FOR MORTGAGE FRAUD ON THE RISE
Investigations and Indictments for mortgage fraud are on the rise in the current climate of the sub-prime mortgage scandal. From high profile investigations involving the powerful to small time straw buyers, the government is showing a zero tolerance policy when it comes to investigating and prosecution of allegations of mortgage fraud. More...
JULY 25, 2007
A RIGHT OF CONFRONTATION
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...
July 17, 2007
THE CRACK COCAINE LEGACY: PUINISHMENT DISPARITY IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
In 1986 University of Maryland basketball sensation Len Bias was found dead from a cocaine overdose. Despite toxicology reports showing that the drug overdose resulted from powder cocaine, media reports connected the basketball star’s death to a “crack” cocaine overdose and continued to spread that misperception. More...
July 12, 2007
INTERNET SEARCH FOR TEEN SEX A COSTLY PROPOSITION
Chris C. was really a small town gentleman living in a big city, Houston, Texas. He was married, mid-40s, professional with a nice home, and a secure job. All outward appearances indicated he was a normal, hard-working husband/father, but he had a problem. He had a perverse desire to have sex with a teenage girl. He wanted the sex to be safe, anonymous, and away from home. He had heard of the opportunities to find such sex on the Internet. He was initially hesitant, afraid, knowing that the Internet was filled with traps. More...
July 2, 2007
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF POST-CONVICTION APPEALS
The first, and perhaps most important, statute a criminal defendant should become aware of following an arrest is Rule 103 of the Texas Rules of Evidence. Rule 103(a)(1) requires that an objection be made to any pretrial, trial or post-trial error in order for it to be heard on direct appeal. A criminal defendant should stress to his attorney, whether appointed or retained, that he/she expects the attorney to object to any adverse rulings made by the trial court throughout the criminal proceedings against the defendant. While some of the objections clearly will not have a basis in law, the defense attorney should nonetheless make the objection, research the issue, and be prepared to present it on direct appeal. The failure to object by a defense attorney will haunt a criminal defendant throughout the post-conviction process.
June 28, 2007
THE “GREAT WRIT” SURVIVES TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri is a Qatari national and a legal resident of the United States. He lawfully entered the United States with his wife and children on September 10, 2001, to pursue a master's degree at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he had obtained a bachelor's degree in 1991. The very next day, September 11, terrorists hijacked four jet airliners and ruthlessly attacked the sovereignty of the United States. More...
June 22, 2007
HOUSTON CRIME LAB NEEDS SPECIAL MASTER
Two years ago the “crime lab” for the Houston Police Department was a national scandal. Its shoddy analysis and unprofessional investigation protocol had apparently resulted in the conviction of scores of innocent criminal defendants. Mayor Bob White vowed to clean up the disgraceful mess and restore law enforcement integrity to the crime laboratory. Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice Department inspector, was assigned the task of investigating the crime lab, its procedures, and issue recommendations. Bromwich fulfilled his commission on June 13, 2007 when he issued a 400-page report whose recommendations were not readily embraced by the very city officials who pushed for Bromwich’s investigation in 2005. More...
June 18, 2007
THE INFORMANT IN THE NEW YORK TERROR PLOT
Earlier this month (June ’07) the federal government indicted four men – one from Trinidad, another from Tobago, and the other two from Guyana – in a “terror plot” that targeted New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Labeled “homegrown terrorists,” the four men were introduced to the American public with sensational media fanfare and boogaboo warnings from federal law enforcement officials. More...
June 9, 2007
Punishments for Convictions Upon Multiple Counts of Indecency with a Child, Sexual Assault of a Child, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, and Incest Can be Stacked and Run Consecutively
Multiple counts in an indictment can charge different discreet and specific criminal acts. Multiple instances of certain sex crimes involving children have been specifically defined as arising out of or being part of the same criminal episode. Section 3.03 of the Texas Penal Code expressly authorizes sentences arising from convictions on multiple counts of sex crimes against children to run concurrently or consecutively. Stacking punishments can therefore be authorized in cases involving multiple acts against a single victim or single acts committed upon multiple victims. Therefore, it is possible that a single indictment against a single defendant could allege hundreds of counts of sexual assault of a child upon which a conviction could be had on each count and the sentences for each count stacked. More...
June 9, 2007
BRYAN MILLER: A REAL GANGSTA’
Essay by Billy Wayne Sinclair
E-mail Billy Wayne Sinclair Billy@JohnTFloyd.com
It was not much of a house. There were no “nice” houses in the “ghetto’ of East Los Angeles. Simply called “the hood,” it was the home of more than a half-million economically deprived residents who lived daily in the crossfire of rival gangs and under the corrupt abuses of the 77th Division of the city’s police department. One of those ghetto residents was Alice Miller – a young woman with an enormous capacity to love and protect her fatherless family. More...
June 9, 2007
TWO CASES OF INNOCENCE
Essay by Billy Wayne Sinclair
E-mail Billy Wayne Sinclair Billy@JohnTFloyd.com
Nearly two hundred innocent persons have been freed from the nation’s prison system over the last two decades through DNA evidence – dozens had been condemned to die and awaiting execution at the time their innocence was discovered.
The nation’s criminal justice system, dangerously infected with an unbridled law-and-order virus, has sent scores of innocent people to prison because of unethical, and criminal, tactics of prosecutors who knowingly fabricated evidence, suppressed favorable evidence, or used perjured testimony to secure these convictions. More...
June 4, 2007
THE EXECUTION OF ROBERT WAYNE WILLIAMS
Essay by Billy Wayne Sinclair
E-mail Billy Wayne Sinclair Billy@JohnTFloyd.com
The death penalty is state lynching.
It is an evil response to the primal need in man to take revenge. This need was graphically illustrated in a dank, foul-smelling Iraqi death chamber moments before Saddam Hussein’s neck was snapped by the hangman’s noose in December 2006 as his enemies celebrated. More...
June 4, 2007
GOTTI CRIME FAMILY TAKES A HIT
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...
June 1, 2007
A PALESTINIAN IN AN AMERICAN PRISON
Essay by Billy Wayne Sinclair
E-mail Billy Wayne Sinclair Billy@JohnTFloyd.com
He was short.
I was tall.
He was an Arab.
I was an American.
He was a Muslim.
I was a Christian.
We had nothing in common. Or so I thought when Mazen Hamdan became my “cellie” in the summer of 2004 at the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center at DeQuincy, Louisiana. We were both assigned to Dorm H-2 in Unit One at the penal facility. I slept in Bed 50, a top bunk, and Hamdan moved into Bed 49, the bottom bunk. That made us “cellies” in the prison vernacular. He called himself “Ali” to keep his real name from becoming known in the prison community. More...
June 1, 2007
THE LETHAL INJECTION PROTOCAL
Philip Ray Workman was executed in the Tennessee death chamber on May 9, 2007.
Twenty-six years before, on August 5, 1981, Workman robbed a Wendy’s restaurant in Memphis. He forced all the employees and a customer into the manager’s office where he collected the day’s receipts into a bag. See, Workman v. Bredesen, ____ F.3d _____, 2007 WL 1311330 (6th Cir. Tenn.) [May 7, 2007]. More...
May 28 2007
THE TERROR ATTACK ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
America has lauded itself as a country that cherishes individual liberty. Our constitution and the Bill of Rights are held out as models for the rest of the world to immolate. But America has never been comfortable protecting civil liberties in times of national crises. More...
May 15, 2007
Online Solicitation of a Minor The Impact of Adam Walsh on 18 U.S.C. § 2422(B)
It was a perfect photo op: President George W. Bush surrounded by crime victim advocates and key Congressional leaders as he signed on July 27, 2006 the “Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.” More...
May 11, 2007
IMPACT OF DNA EXONERATIONS ON THE NATION’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
In 2000 a free lance writer named J.J. Maloney wrote a piece entitled, “Will DNA Evidence Revolutionize Criminal Law” for the online publication CRIME Magazine.
In the ensuing decade the nation’s criminal justice system has witnessed the dramatic way DNA evidence has indeed revolutionized the way criminals are prosecuted and defended in a court of law. More...
May 1, 2007
Government Continues Assault on Writ of Habeas Corpus
Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri is a resident alien in the United States. He was arrested in this country and labeled an “unlawful enemy combatant.” He has an appeal pending before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This appeal raises several significant issues:
Can the provisions of the Military Commissions Act which foreclose habeas corpus relief to an “enemy combatant” be applied to an individual who has not been “properly determined” to be an enemy combatant? more...
April 27, 2007
State Secrets Privilege Used to Protect Executive Misconduct, Invites use of Torture
The Fourth Circuit in El-Masri v. United States, 479 F.3d 296 (4th Cir. 2007) recently issued a decision that brings into focus the dangerous threat posed by the “war of terror” to the United States Constitution and our historically sacred Bill of Rights. more...
April 22, 2007
Rule Against Multiplicity and Child Pornography Crimes, United States v. Buchanan, No. 04-41364 (5th Cir. 04/10/07)
18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) provides:
(a) Any person who –
(2) knowingly receives or distributes, any visual depiction that has been mailed, or has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or which contains materials which have been mailed or so shipped or transported, by any means, including computer, or knowingly reproduces any visual depiction for distribution in interstate or foreign commerce or through the mails, if – more...
April 17, 2007
Court Allows U.S. Citizen to be Executed in Iraq
Mohammad Munaf is an American citizen. In 2005 he traveled to Iraq where, one year later, he was convicted on kidnapping charges and sentenced to death by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. See, Munaf v. Green, WL 1029074 (D.C. Cir. 04/06/07)
Munaf is being held in the custody of the United States military which is “serving as part of the Multi-National Force-Iraq.” He filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Id. He named the Secretary of the Army and others as respondents. He did not challenge his conviction. He challenged his “custody” by the U.S. military. more...
April 12, 2007
Evidence of Torture may become Public at Padilla Trial
In May 2002 Jose Padilla arrived at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport abroad an international flight from Zurich, Switzerland where he was taken into custody by federal law enforcement authorities on a Material Witness Warrant. The federal authorities had allegedly obtained information, through torture interrogation, from al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah that implicated Padilla in suspected terrorist activity against the government of the United States. The U.S. Justice Department released information that Padilla was part of an al-Qaida plot to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in an American city. more...
April 11, 2007
JURY CONVICTS HOUSTON MAN OF PASSPORT FRAUD AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
(Houston, TX ) A jury has returned its verdict convicting James Maceo Ramey, 60, of Houston, Texas, also known as “Joe Hill”, an attorney, to his employees, of multiple counts of passport fraud, false statements to federal officials, and obstruction of justice, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
April 10, 2007
Incident at 2102 McCarty
Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of one man and wounding of another at 2102 McCarty Drive about 8:20 a.m. on Friday . more...
April 9, 2007
Suspect Identified in 1988 Houston Murder Case
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
The suspect has been identified as Travis D. Green (b/m, DOB 11-1-68), who is currently an inmate at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas prison system. more...
April 8, 2007
Nicholas David Mosquera is charged with murder in Houston
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of a man at 13319 Barnesworth about 10:25 p.m on March 9. more...
April 5, 2007
DESPERATE DAD ROBS WACHOVIA BANK BRANCH
The FBI Bank Robbery Task Force needs the public’s assistance in identifying the “Desperate Dad” who robbed the Wachovia Bank branch, address 4906 San Felipe, Houston, Texas, on 03/06/2007. Bank surveillance captured a short video of the entire robbery. more...
April 4, 2007
Juan Felipe Saenz has been charged with a Houston murder
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect in the fatal shooting of a man at 6500 Victoria about 11:05 p.m. on Saturday. more...
April 3 , 2007
FELON SENTENCED TO MAXIMUM PRISON TERM FOR POSSESSION OF MACHINE GUN
(Houston, TX ) James Keith Martinez, 39, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, without parole, the statutory maximum sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a fully automatic and loaded machine gun, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
April 2, 2007
TWO HOUSTON RESIDENTS SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR DEFRAUDING HURRICANE RELIEF PROGRAMS
Brings to 14 the number sentenced to prison in the Southern District
for Hurricane Katrina and Rita fraud more...
April 1, 2007
GUILTY PLEA ENTERED FOR FILING FALSE TAX RETURN
[HOUSTON, TX] – Stephen Paul Glover, 54, formerly of Spring, Texas, entered a plea of guilty to a charge that he had filed a false 1999 income tax return and evaded paying thousands of dollars in income taxes on gains realized through the sale of stock received as payment for legal service, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
March 29, 2007
NIGERIAN NATIONAL SENTENCED FOR IDENTITY THEFT
(HOUSTON) U. S. Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced today that Christian Ifeanyi Okpalaku, age 23, a resident of Missouri City, Texas, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Sim Lake. Okpalaku pled guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on July 24, 2006. Okpalaku was ordered to serve 5 years under the supervision of the United States Probation Office after he is released from prison and to pay $160,500 in restitution to Southwestern National Bank and Farmer’s National Bank. At the time of his arrest, Okpalaku was a lawful resident alien of the United States. It is expected that he will be deported after he has served his term of incarceration. more...
March 28, 2007
Surveillance Photos Released in Incident at 3202 Chimney Rock
Houston police homicide investigators have released surveillance photos from the scene of a fatal shooting at 3202 Chimney Rock about 3 a.m. on March 21. more...
March 27, 2007
Ignacio Gomez-Guiterrez is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of failure to stop and render aid in the 180th State District Court.
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in a fatal traffic accident in the 22600 block of the Eastex Freeway (Highway 59 North) about 3:40 p.m. on Sunday (Mar. 25). more...
March 26, 2007
DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY NETS HOCKLEY MAN LONG PRISON TERM
(HOUSTON) Markus Roberts, 28, of Hockley, Texas, has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography and a life time of supervised release with strict conditions, Untied States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
March 22, 2007
JURY CONVICTS AFRICAN NATIONAL OF AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT
(HOUSTON, TX) Prince Artman Latoya, 34, of Houston, Texas, was convicted of mail fraud, fraud in connection with identification documents and access devides and aggraaved identity theft by a jury’s verdict, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
March 21, 2007
FORMER BANK EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO BANK FRAUD
(HOUSTON, TX) Arsalan Ahmed, 23, a former senior teller at the Westwood Branch of Washington Mutual Bank, has been convicted of bank fraud and faces prison, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
March 20, 2007
“COURTEOUS” BANK ROBBER SOUGHT IN Houston AMEGY BANK ROBBERY
The FBI Bank Robbery Task Force needs the public’s assistance in identifying a bank robber who is being dubbed the “Courteous Robber” for his polite manners used throughout the bank robbery. At approximately 1:30PM this afternoon, the lone black male entered the Amegy Bank located at 1801 Main in Downtown Houston. more...
March 19, 2007
Dasmin Hikiem Pierre charged with murder at 8700 Gustine Lane
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect in the fatal shooting of a man at 8700 Gustine Lane about 10:45 p.m. on Thursday (March 15). more...
March 16, 2007
Incident at 8700 Gustine Lane
Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man at 8700 Gustine Lane about 10:45 p.m. on Thursday (March 15).
The victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he later died. His identity is pending notification to family members by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office. more...
March 15, 2007
Additional Charges Filed Against Sexual Assault Suspect
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Houston police homicide investigators said an additional sexual assault charge has been filed against a suspect arrested and charged in six other sexual assaults in the city's Acres Homes area. The new charge stems from a sexual assault at 9205 Sandle on May 26, 2004 about 10:15 p.m. more...
March 14, 2007
Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man at by a A licensed uniformed-armed security guard
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
The victim is identified as Bernardo Mondragon, 20. He sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. more...
March 13, 2007
Attorney General Abbott's Investigators Arrest Houston Man for Medicaid Fraud
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Emeke Agboh arrested in Tomball, suspected of stealing more than $200,000
HOUSTON – Investigators with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit arrested the owner of two Houston-based rehabilitation centers Thursday for defrauding the state Medicaid system of more than $200,000. more...
March 12, 2007
Suspect arrested in the fatal stabbing at 11311 Harwin #23
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in the fatal stabbing of a man at 11311 Harwin #23 about 4:35 p.m. on Thursday (Mar.8). more...
March 11, 2007
HOUSTON MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEAR PRISON TERM IN HOSTAGE TAKING CONSPIRACY
HOUSTON – Carlos David Morfin, 25, of Houston, has been sentenced to a ten year prison term for his role in an illegal alien hostage-taking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle Jr. announced today. more...
March 7, 2007
Update on Incident at 5911 Southlark
One of two victims of a shooting at 5911 Southlark on March 3, 2007 about 12:20 a.m. has died.
Kenneth Robinson, 27, of 4026 Barberry suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at Ben Taub General Hospital about 6:45 a.m that morning. A second victim was also wounded and is reported to be in stable condition at the same hospital. more...
March 6, 2007
Rudolf Leon Smith was arrested in the fatal stabbing of a woman at 4601 Yellowstone
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in the fatal stabbing of a woman at 4601 Yellowstone about 4:20 p.m. on January 29. more...
March 5 , 2007
TWO ARRESTED AFTER HIGH SPEED CHASE CHARGED IN 10 TON MARIJUANA SEIZURE
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Yellow school buses used to store marijuana in remote area of Southeast Houston more...
March 4 , 2007
HOUSTON AREA MAN CHARGED FEDERALLY FOR DISTRIBUTING AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
(HOUSTON) A Houston area man, indicted for distributing and possessing child pornography, has been arrested, United States Attorney Don DeGabreille announced today. more...
March 2, 2007
CALIFORNIA MAN CHARGED IN HOUSTON FOR TRANSPORTING AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
(HOUSTON) A California man who arrived at Bush International Airport with a laptop containing child pornography has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with transporting and possessing images of child pornography, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
March 1, 2007
Suspect arrested in a fatal traffic accident at 8200 La Porte Freeway
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in a fatal traffic accident at 8200 La Porte Freeway about 2:45 a.m. Sunday, February 4, 2007. more...
February 27, 2007
INDICTMENT IN $2 MILLION BOGUS TAX REFUND SCHEME UNSEALED
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
[HOUSTON, TX] – Anthony Quinn Welch, 47, of Sugar Land, Texas has been indicted for allegedly using the tax returns of two former professional football players to obtain more than $2 million in bogus tax refunds for himself over a six year period, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 26, 2007
Media Advisory: Robert Perez Scheduled For Execution
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Robert Martinez Perez, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, 2007. more...
February 25, 2007
Enrique Lopez arrested in the death at 9134 Kentshire
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Charges are pending against a suspect arrested in the death of a woman at 9134 Kentshire about 12:01 a.m. Saturday (February 24). more...
February 23, 2007
WOMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR AIDING AND ABETTING THE FILING OF A FALSE TAX RETURN
(HOUSTON) Deanna Ellen Dick has been sentenced to prison for knowingly making a false claim against the United States by aiding and abetting the filing of a false income tax return, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 22, 2007
JURY CONVICTS TWO IN FRAUDULENT BUSINESS LOAN SCHEME
(HOUSTON) Yerisoibi FLORENCE HAMILTON, 46, and IGBANIBO C. NATHAN, 47, both of Houston, have been convicted by a jury’s verdict of conspiracy, bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering arising from a scheme to defraud a federally insured bank and the Small Business Administration of more than $1.8 million, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 21, 2007
One of two men shot at 8800 Hammerly about 11:35 p.m. on Saturday has died from his injuries.
The victim, Prisiliano Arizmendez, 47, of 8800 Hammerly #1205, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died on Tuesday (February 20) at Ben Taub General Hospital. The identity of the second victim, who also suffered multiple gunshot wounds, is still unknown at this time. He remains hospitalized. more...
February 19, 2007
A suspect has been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of a man at 5607 South Acres about 5:40 p.m. on Saturday.
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
The suspect, Zachary Marquis Spears (b/m, DOB 11-13-86), is charged with murder in the 262nd State District Court. He is accused in the killing of Christopher Bradshaw, 19, of 5607 South Acres. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he was pronounced dead. more...
February 18, 2007
Homicide, Arson Investigators Nab Two Suspects in Student's Death
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Following a lengthy criminal investigation, Houston Police Department homicide and Houston Fire Department arson investigators announced today (Feb. 15) charges against two suspects in the capital murder of a college student at 12900 Trail Hollow in December 2003. more...
February 16, 2007
NINE CHARGED WITH HARBORING MORE THAN 40 ILLEGAL ALIENS IN EAST HOUSTON RESIDENCE
"The following articles include allegations as released by the government
and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt.
As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a
court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
(HOUSTON) Seven Mexican nationals and two United States citizens have been charged with harboring more than 40 illegal aliens at an East Houston residence, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 14, 2007
IMMIGRATION LAWYER AND HER ASSISTANT FOUND GUILTY OF VISA FRAUD
(HOUSTON, TX) - A federal jury has convicted a Houston immigration attorney of conspiracy and fraud arising from a scheme in which false and fraudulent documents were filed with visa applications to permit foreign nationals to enter and remain in the United States, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 13, 2007
US CITIZEN CHARGED WITH TRAINING TO FIGHT JIHAD IN SOMALIA
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
(HOUSTON) A United States citizen has been arrested and charged with receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization and conspiring to use an explosive device outside the United States, Don DeGabrielle, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division of the Department of Justice, and Joseph Billy, Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Counterterrorism Division, announced today. more...
February 12 , 2007
FOUR IN CUSTODY ON DRUG AND MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
(HOUSTON) The joint efforts of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCEDTF) and Strike Force investigation has resulted in the arrest of four persons for their alleged involvement in the distribution of cocaine from Texas to Alabama and New York and the laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 10 , 2007
FORMER JACKSON HEWITT INCOME TAX RETURN PREPARER PLEADS GUILTY TO PREPARING FALSE RETURNS
(Houston, TX) Yvette M. Cooper, 42, a former employee of Jackson Hewitt and ExpressTax, has pleaded guilty to two counts of preparing false income tax returns for her clients, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
February 8, 2007
Incident at 5215 Lyndhurst
Charges are pending against a juvenile suspect in an incident that left a child critically injured at 5215 Lyndhurst on Wednesday (February 7).
The victim, Daveon Adams, 2, of 5215 Lyndhurst, suffered major internal injuries and possible head trauma and was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in critical condition. The 14- year-old suspect is Daveon’s cousin. more...
February 8, 2007
Incident at 1800 Milam
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Houston police have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman at 1800 Milam about 2:40 a.m. today (February 8). more...
February 6, 2007
Attorney General Abbott’s Cyber Crimes Unit Arrests Houston-Area Daycare Worker For Child Pornography
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Cybertip leads to discovery of hundreds of images of child pornography more...
February 4, 2007
WANTED CHILD PREDATOR POSSIBLY IN HOUSTON AREA
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Fugitive David John Sprong, Jr., a convicted felon and registered sex offender in the state of California, may be traveling in the Houston area with his longtime girlfriend, Lynn Rodaer, and their ten-year-old daughter, Justine. Investigation revealed Sprong was most recently living under the alias name of John Ellison in a rented home in the 20000 block of Roxette Court in Humble, Texas. He was also recently operating an auto repair shop on Isaacs Road in Humble, Texas. Sprong has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and is listed on her Child Sexual Predator Watch List. Oprah Winfrey is offering a $100,000 reward of her own money to any citizen who assists in providing information which leads to Sprong's arrest. This past Saturday evening, Sprong was featured on the America's Most Wanted television program. Sprong is believed to have left his rented home in Humble, Texas shortly after the show was broadcast on 01/27/2007. more...
February 2, 2007
Update on Incident at 503 El Dorado Boulevard #1600
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Houston police have arrested both suspects involved in the fatal shooting and stabbing of a man at 503 El Dorado Boulevard #1600 on January 31, 2007 at 9:10 p.m. more...
February 1, 2007
ELEVEN CONVICTED IN MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACY TIED TO MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME
(HOUSTON) Eleven defendants have pleaded guilty to being part of a money laundering conspiracy tied to an identity theft scheme causing millions in bank losses, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
January 31, 2007
PAKISTANI STUDENT CONVICTED OF UNLAWFULLY POSSESSING FIREARM
(Houston) Shiraz Syed Qazi, 29, a Pakistani national in the United States on a student visa, has been convicted of unlawfully possessing a firearm, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
January 30, 2007
BAYTOWN RESIDENT CONVICTED OF DEFRAUDING FEMA
(HOUSTON, TX) - Daniel Darnell Kendrick, 26, of Liberty County, TX had pleaded guilty to making a false claim to obtain emergency government assistance following Hurricane Rita, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
January 26, 2007
Composite Sketch of Wanted Sexual Assault Suspect
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Investigators with the Houston Police Sex Crimes Unit have released a composite sketch of a suspect wanted in at least three aggravated sexual assaults in southwest Houston.
The suspect is described as a black male, about 30 to 35 years of age, approximately 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, between 180 and 200 pounds. He has short black hair. The victims claim he speaks broken Spanish to make his demands and wears eyeglasses with clear lenses and dark frame. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans and a baseball cap. The composite sketch is attached to this news release. more...
January 26, 2007
LOCAL SUGARLAND ATTORNEY INDICTED FOR BANKRUPTCY FRAUD
HOUSTON, TX – A Federal Grand Jury has charged Sugarland, TX attorney with bankruptcy fraud, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.
Jose Antonio Villalon, 58, a resident of Sugarland, TX, has been charged in a three count indictment with bankruptcy fraud arising from a scheme he allegedly devised to conceal assets and defraud a Trustee appointed to oversee the administration of the bankruptcy estate and his creditors. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Houston on Wednesday, January 24, 2007. Notified of the outstanding warrant for his arrest, Villalon turned himself at the federal courthouse this morning. At a hearing this morning before U. S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy, Villalon was arraigned and ordered released on bond upon depositing $5,000 into the registry of the court. Trial is set for March 19, 2007. more...
January 25, 2007
FIVE CHARGED IN CONSPIRACY TO FILE MORE THAN 100 FRAUDULENT FEMA CLAIMS FOR HURRICANE DISASTER ASSISTANCE
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Brings to 43 the number of persons charged in SDTX with Hurricane Katrina and Rita Fraud
(HOUSTON, TX) - Five Houston area residents have been indicted for conspiring to file more than 100 fraudulent claims for hurricane disaster assistance, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
January 24, 2007
Chief Hurtt Updates Status of Investigation at 4600 Knoxville
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
The Houston Police Department holds the sanctity of human life above all else and it is in fact one of the core values listed in our mission statement. We also realize that the authority to police our community is granted to us by the very public we serve. This trust to act appropriately and judiciously is something we take very seriously and hold dear. Given that, anytime deadly force is employed by a Houston police officer we have an obligation to our community to ensure that a thorough and complete investigation is conducted to determine all relevant factors leading up to and during the event are revealed. Unfortunately, this is not a quick process. There are factors within the judicial process that prevent the full disclosure of all the specifics of one of these events until that process has been completed in order to ensure justice is served. more...
January 23, 2007
SMUGGLER IN VICTORIA, TEXAS SMUGGLING TRAGEDY SENTENCED
[HOUSTON, TX] – United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr., announced today that Fredy Giovanni Garcia-Tobar, 31, a Guatemalan national residing in Harlingen, Texas, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, without parole, for his role in recruiting Tyrone Mapletoft Williams for a smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of nineteen (19) undocumented aliens in May 2003 in Victoria, Texas. more...
January 20, 2007
Incident at 6310 Dumfries #128, Houston
"The following article includes allegations as released by the government and should not be taken as truthful evidence or as any indication of guilt. As these allegations remain unanswered by the accused and unadjudicated by a court, they remain unproved and are just as likely false."
Houston:Charges have been filed against a suspect in connection with the murder of a male at 6310 Dumfries on January 14, 2007 at 6:15 p.m. more...
January 20, 2007
More Than Two Dozen Members of Violent Street Gang Plead Guilty
Following a nearly three-year long investigation, investigators in the Houston Police Department’s Gang Division announced today (Jan. 12) that most of the 27 members and associates of a dangerous criminal street gang arrested during a massive sweep have pleaded guilty to a slew of federal and state crimes.
The suspects, from one of the nation’s most violent street gangs called “The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation,” were arrested during law enforcement raids last summer. With the cooperation of the U.S. Attorney and the Harris County District Attorney’s offices, nearly every suspect has pleaded guilty to committing crimes that include murder, engaging in organized crime, federal drug conspiracy, possession and sale of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs, to the sale and use of prohibited and stolen weapons. more...
January 18, 2007
TYRONE WILLIAMS SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
(HOUSTON) After several days of deliberation, the federal jury which convicted Tyrone Mapletoft Williams of transporting and smuggling in undocumented aliens in his tractor trailer which resulted in the death of 19 in May 2003, has decided Williams’ fate and imposed a life sentence without parole on each of the 19 counts of conviction, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. The verdicts were announced today in open court at approximately 2:20 p.m. by United States District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, who presided over the lengthy trial. more...
January 17, 2007
COMPANY AND THREE EMPLOYEES PLEAD GUILTY TO HIRING ILLEGAL ALIENS
(HOUSTON) Hillman Shrimp and Oyster Company, along with company president Clifford Hillman and two other employees, have pleaded guilty to charges associated with the company’s pattern of hiring aliens who were not authorized to work at the company, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
January 15, 2006
YEARS IN PRISON FOR HOSTAGE TAKING
HOUSTON, Texas – A 23 year-old Houston man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for his role in a hostage-taking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle Jr. announced today.
Late Friday, January 12, 2007, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake sentenced Carlos Gallegos, who had previously been convicted after pleading guilty, to serve 324 months (27 years) in federal prison without parole to be followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. The Court further ordered this sentence to run consecutive to a 2-year sentence Gallegos was already serving for a harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage conviction. That sentence was imposed in August 2005. more...
January 14, 2007
THREE CHARGED WITH CONSPIRING TO FILE FIVE FRAUDULENT FEMA CLAIMS
New charges brings to 37 the number of persons charged with Katrina and Rita Fraud in SDTX
(HOUSTON, TX) - A federal grand jury recently returned an indictment charging Linda West, age 54 of Pasadena, Texas; Michael West, 29 of League City, Texas; and Melissa Findley, 27 of League City, Texas, with conspiring to file fraudulent claims with FEMA for Hurricane Rita disaster assistance, United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced today. more...
January 11, 2007
HOUSTON MAN SENTENCED IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME
(HOUSTON, TX) United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced today the sentence of a Houston man for his role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. At a hearing held on Friday, January 11, 2007, before United States District Judge Ewing Werlein, Jr., Lawrence Randall Benham, 42, was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to wire fraud and mail fraud involving a financial institution. The court sentenced the defendant to 97 months imprisonment, and restitution of $412,800.00. Benham, who has been in federal custody without bond since his arrest in September 2005, will remain in federal custody to serve his sentence. more...
January 11, 2007
THREE CHARGED WITH CONSPIRING TO FILE FIVE FRAUDULENT FEMA CLAIMS
New charges brings to 37 the number of persons charged with Katrina and Rita Fraud in SDTX
(HOUSTON, TX) - A federal grand jury recently returned an indictment charging Linda West, age 54 of Pasadena, Texas; Michael West, 29 of League City, Texas; and Melissa Findley, 27 of League City, Texas, with conspiring to file fraudulent claims with FEMA for Hurricane Rita disaster assistance, United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced today. more...
January 9, 2007
FORMER PRESIDENT OF BROKERAGE FIRM PLEADS GUILTY TO WIRE FRAUD
(HOUSTON, TX) United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced today that Juan Carlos Martinez, former president of MBM Investment Corporation (“MBM”), pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge David Hittner to committing wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. more...
January 9, 2007
RODERICK FOUNTAIN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON
HOUSTON, TX – Roderick Terrell Fountain was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. announced today.
At a hearing held this afternoon, Judge Nancy Atlas sentenced Fountain, who has been in federal custody since April 21, 2006, to a 180 month term of imprisonment. Judge Atlas held that the Armed Career Criminal Act, which provides a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years for individuals who possess firearms after having been convicted of three felonies that are either violent felonies or serious drug offenses, applied to Fountain because of his 1992 Louisiana conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, his 1994 Louisiana robbery conviction, and his 1997 California robbery conviction. Judge Atlas also sentenced Fountain to five years supervised release after his prison term is completed. more...
January 8, 2007
Houston WHITNEY BANK SECURITY GUARD HELD HOSTAGE DURING ROBBERY
The FBI Bank Robbery Task Force is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the man who took a security guard hostage and robbed the Whitney Bank, address 5115 Main Street, Houston, Texas, today. At approximately 11AM, a lone black male entered the bank and grabbed the security guard at gunpoint. While holding a semi automatic pistol to the guard’s back, the robber demanded money from the tellers, threatening money or the guard’s life. The robber forced everyone inside the bank to get down on the floor before he fled the bank with the cash. Witnesses observed the robber drive off in an older model green minivan. more...
JANUARY 5, 2007
SCCI HEALTH SERVICES & SUBSIDIARY PAY U.S. $7. 5 MILLIONFOR KICKBACK & FALSE CLAIMS ACT VIOLATIONS THAT OCCURED IN HOUSTON
Houston – Texas-based SCCI Health Services Corporation (SCCI) and its subsidiary, SCCI Hospital Ventures Inc., have paid the United States $7.5 million to settle allegations that the companies violated the Stark self-referral statute and the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today. SCCI, which was purchased by Triumph Hospital in 2005, operates long term acute care facilities across the United States. more...
January 4, 2007
Surveillance Photo of Bank Robbery Suspect Released
Investigators with the Houston Police Department Robbery Division and the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force are seeking the public's assistance in identifying a robbery suspect wanted in an incident at the Washington Mutual Bank located at 3636 Old Spanish Trail on January 2, 2007 at 12:35 p.m. more...
January 2, 2007
Five Suspects Arrested in Aiport Luggage Thefts
Houston police have arrested five suspects and say more arrests are possible in connection with the thefts of dozens of pieces of luggage from Bush Intercontinental Airport. more...
December 24, 2006
Incident at 6600 Ludington
Charges have been filed against a suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of a man at 6600 Ludington about 8:55 a.m. Friday (December 22).
The suspect, Carl Michael Williams (b/m, DOB 4-19-77) is charged with murder in the 339th State District Court. He is accused in the killing of Lester Zabadiah Gordon, 30, who died from a gunshot wound to the head. more...
December 24, 2006
Suspect arrested for attempted murder at 10700 Rosehaven, Houston texas
Charges are pending against a suspect arrested after he tried to run over a Houston police officer at 10700 Rosehaven about 1:30 a.m. today (December 24).
The suspect, Fredrick Douglas Branch (b/m, DOB 10-19-64) faces aggravated assault on a public servant and auto theft charges. more...
December 22, 2006
Charges have been filed against two suspects charged with capital murder at 14600 Goldfarb, Houston
Charges have been filed against two suspects wanted in the fatal shooting of a man at 14600 Goldfarb about 2:30 a.m. on November 18, 2006.
The suspects, Korregan D. Washington (b/m, DOB 3-19-89) and Patrick O. Farriott (b/m, DOB 12-26-88), are each charged with capital murder in the 184th State District Court. They are accused in the killing of Corey Pattum, 29, of 10215 Beechnut. more...
December 21, 2006
McALLEN DENTIST PAYS DAMAGES FOR MEDICAID VIOLATIONS AND IS PERMANENTLY EXCLUDED FROM FEDERAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS
HOUSTON, Texas – Dr. Roberto Ramirez, Jr. paid the United States $30,000 in damages for violations of the federal False Claims Act, and he will be permanently prohibited from participating in Medicare, Medicaid and any other federally funded health care programs, announced U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle today. more...
December 20, 2006
U.S. FILES CIVIL SUIT AGAINST GALVESTON RESIDENT FOR VIOLATING CLEAN WATER ACT AND RIVER AND HARBORS ACT
GALVESTON, Texas – A civil suit was filed against Galveston resident Charles K. Scruggs seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties of $25,000 a day per violation for allegedly causing the discharge of dredged or fill material and altering or modifying the navigable waters of the U.S. without the necessary permits in violation of the Clean Water Act and the River and Harbors Act, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. The civil complaint was filed Dec. 12, 2006, in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. more...
December 19, 2006
Michael Deshawn Morse is charged with murder at 6240 Antoine
Charges have been filed against a suspect arrested in fatal shooting of a man at 6240 Antoine about 12:50 p.m. on December 14, 2006. more...
December 15, 2006
FORMER ENRON EXECUTIVE PLEADS GUILTY IN $3 MILLION WIRE FRAUD SCHEME
HOUSTON, Texas – Christian Deeb Rahaim, 38, of Mandeville, La., and formerly a Senior Director of Benefits in Enron’s Human Resources Department, has been convicted of wire fraud arising from a scheme he devised to defraud Enron of approximately $3 million, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
December 15, 2006
HOUSTON AREA RADIOLOGIST SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON ON TAX CHARGES
United States Attorney Johnny Sutton and the Department of Justice announced that Charles Thomas Clayton, MD, of The Woodlands, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for tax crimes relating to the claim that his domestically-earned income was not taxable. more...
December 14, 2006
Suspect wanted in the homicide at 4175 Uptown, Houston
December 8, 2006 -- Houston police homicide investigators have determined a suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of a man at 4175 Uptown about 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 6) committed suicide less than two hours later. more...
December 13, 2006
PASSENGER ARRESTED FOR INTERFERING WITH CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
HOUSTON, Texas – A Japanese national was arrested and charged with interfering with the flight attendant aboard a Continental Airlines flight inbound to Houston from Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
December 12, 2006
JURY CONVICTS FORMER ATF AGENT FOR ILLEGALLY POSSESSING EXPLOSIVE DEVICES
HOUSTON, Texas – Former ATF agent Eugene H. Williams, Jr., 44, of Magnolia, Texas, was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court today of illegally possessing and storing explosive devices, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
December 11, 2006
FORMER KATY AREA SCHOOL TEACHER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
HOUSTON, Texas – Former Katy area school teacher Denzial Ray Tittle, 50, was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
December 8, 2006
FORMER TEAMSTER’S PRESIDENT CONVICTED BY JURY FOR ELECTION FRAUD AND UNION EMBEZZLEMENT FOR TAKING KICKBACKS
HOUSTON, Texas – Charles “Chuck” Crawley, 56, former president of the Teamster’s Local Union 988, was convicted by a jury on all counts related to union corruption, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. The verdict convicting Crawley was returned this afternoon following a five-day trial over which U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon presided. more...
December 7, 2006
FORMER BORDER PATROL AGENT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR BRIBERY AND UNLAWFUL TRANSFER OF ID DOCUMENTS
HOUSTON, Texas – David Duque, Jr., 36, a former U.S. Border Patrol agent, was sentenced to a total of 14 years in federal prison, without parole, for using his official position to assist others in smuggling cocaine from Mexico through the Falfurrias, Texas, border checkpoint in exchange for money and for illegally transferring identification documents, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
December 6, 2006
LOCAL PHYSICIAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR
MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIR FRAUD SCHEME
HOUSTON, Texas – Lewis Gottlieb, a Houston area psychiatrist, was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions to the Medicare and Medicaid health care benefit programs for his involvement in a motorized wheelchair fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. more...
December 4, 2006
Grand Jury Indicts Three Sexual Predators Caught By Attorney General Abbott’s Cyber Crimes Unit
One suspect lured young victim on MySpace.com, brought gun to illicit meeting
HOUSTON – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Montgomery County District Attorney Michael A. McDougal today announced grand jury indictments against three men who used Internet chat rooms and Web sites, including MySpace.com, to meet and sexually proposition undercover investigators who had assumed the online identities of young children. more...
December 4, 2006
TYRONE WILLIAMS CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS
Trial Recessed until Wednesday when Punishment Phase Begins
HOUSTON, Texas – A federal jury found Tyrone Mapletoft Williams, the driver of the tractor trailer in the deadliest alien smuggling operation in the district, guilty of all 58 counts, including all 20 of the death penalty eligible counts alleged in the indictment. The jury’s verdict was announced at approximately 11:00 a.m. today, Monday, Dec. 4, 2006. more...
December 01, 2006
Surveillance Photo of Bank Robbery Suspect
Investigators with the Houston Police Department Robbery Division and the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force are seeking the public's assistance in identifying a robbery suspect. This suspect is wanted in an incident that took place at the Wachovia Bank located at 808 Travis Street on November 29, 2006 at 10:35 a.m. more...
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