The U.S. Supreme Court in June 1992 established the “Daubert Rule” in its landmark decision Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. The Rule created the evidentiary premise that scientific testimony, including the testimony of “medical experts,” is admissible so long as…
Category: Criminal Law
2023
Crime occurs all year in Texas, especially over the holidays. There are many reasons for this, from celebrating a little too much to being with family with whom you may not get along.
No matter the reason, what all…
2023
Category: Appeals | Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
The legal question before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“CCA”) in a November 2, 2022 decision, State v. Hardin, was straightforward and constitutionally significant:
“Does a driver commit a traffic offense if the car’s right-rear tire briefly but safely…
2023
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law | Death Penalty
This past November, we posted a blog about the death penalty conviction of Ariel Escobar, who was sitting on Texas’ death row at the time, awaiting execution.
Escobar was convicted for the May 31, 2009, rape and murder of 17-year-old…
2022
An arrest can be a traumatic experience.
Last year NBC News reported about the arrest of 16-year-old Trevor Lawrence in Washington, D.C. The Black teenager was standing in line in a sandwich shop when two white police officers entered…
2022
On November 14, 2022, Taylor Renee Parker became the seventh woman to arrive on Texas’ death row. The 29-year-old Parker was convicted on October 4, 2022, of capital murder by a Bowie County jury. On November 9, 2022, the jury …
2022
Category: Capital Crimes | Criminal Law | Death Penalty
On November 9, 2022, the State of Texas executed 61-year-old Tracy Lane Beatty. He was the 577th person put to death by lethal injection in this State since 1982. Scores of these individuals were executed despite highly credible evidence of…
2022
Category: bail reform | Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
In current reelection campaign ads, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tries to bolster his artificial “law-and-order” bona fides with assertions that he stopped dangerous criminal predators from being released from jail through a “cashless” bail system. The campaign ad is vintage…
2022
Category: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law | Federal Criminal Law
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides five distinct procedural safeguards for those accused of a crime and to secure life, liberty, and property. Those safeguards are:
right to grand jury indictment for capital or infamous crime;
double jeopardy,…
2022
Category: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
The August 8, 2022 search and seizure at former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-A-Lago private club/residence by the FBI has put the issues of search warrants, subpoenas, and probable cause at the forefront of political debate and social discourse across…