The purpose of a criminal trial is to see that justice is achieved through a truthful fact-finding process, either before a jury or judge. Innocence or guilt must be established in an ethical adversarial process overseen by a fair and…
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
Criminal Jurisdiction:
A Criminal Law Blog from a Defense Perspective
2021
Category: Corruption | Police Misconduct | Uncategorized
Two icons of the 1960s used the term “by any means necessary”: the French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and Black Muslim activist Malcolm X.
Sartre first used the term in his 1963 play “Dirty Hands,” and Malcolm X used…
2021
Corruption is in the DNA of the American political system. The English pilgrims and other Europeans, who saw America as a “land of opportunity,” brought their corrupt governance to this country. Long before the American Revolution occurred, “Royal governors and…
2021
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Hate Crime
Hate crimes unfortunately have become a fixture in the United States – and there does not appear to be an immediate law enforcement remedy to the escalating numbers. President Biden’s Justice Department, however, has announced a hard-line stance in the…
2021
Category: Fraud | Money Laundering | Wire Fraud
Romance offers many avenues in which to travel, but federal prison is not normally considered one of them. Eleven defendants in Texas learned recently that federal prison is where theymay be headed because of their involvement in a romance scam.…
2021
Category: Constitutional Law | Corruption | Government
Julian Assange is a complex character whose work at WikiLeaks has attracted enemies from divergent political parties, movements, and elected officials worldwide. Regardless, the relentless persecution of Mr. Assange and the threat it forbodes for freedom of the press and…
2021
The Twin Towers terror attacks on September 11, 2001, changed America’s Center Intelligence Agency (CIA) forever. The “agency,” especially during the height of the Cold War and its waning years, has a sordid history of either engaging in or supporting …
2021
Category: Bail / Bail Laws | bail reform
Starting December 2. 2021, posting bail in Texas is going to be a lot more complicated.
This year, Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that is designed to keep those who have been arrested with a…
2021
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Defense of Property | Homicide/Murder | Self-Defense
The nation is watching two trials involving four defendants who killed three innocent people who posed no threat to them: the Kyle Rittenhouse trial underway in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the Ahmaud Arbery trial underway in Brunswick, Georgia. Each defendant is…
2021
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Prisoners Rights
The 2021 Texas Legislature was no different than its predecessors. The Republican-controlled body passed another 666 new laws that became effective on September 1—most of which did very little, if anything, to improve public safety or enhance the quality of…