Crime reached unprecedented levels in the 1980s and early 1990s before it began a precipitous decline beginning in 1995. Experts from every field in the nation’s criminal justice system have offered reasons or speculation about what caused the decline. The…
Category: Criminal Law
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law | Sex Crimes
The State of North Carolina does not believe registered sex offenders should enjoy access to social media. State lawmakers made this clear in 2008 when they passed a law banning the use of social networking websites by registered sex offenders.…
2016
On August 11, 2016, the Fourteenth Court of Appeal, based in Houston, issued an opinion in Ex parte Donaldson[1] that set out the legal rules governing excessive bail.
Texas Constitution Prohibits Excessive Bail
The right to be free…
2016
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law
There are times when courts of appeals entertain certain issues of the law because the trial court failed to take reasonable steps to safe guard to appearance of impropriety. The decision handed down by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
The killing of a mentally ill, 66-year old, African American woman by police has been officially criticized as violating NYPD police policy. Deborah Danner was shot after she dropped a pair of scissors she was holding during the psychiatric episode…
2016
In 1997, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Authority held that law enforcement officers who fabricate evidence against a criminal suspect are liable for damages under the federal civil rights statute. The constitutional principle established…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
Last month, on the heels of a string of high-profile police killings, the nation again witnessed two fatal police shootings: one in El Cajon, California and the other in Charlotte, North Carolina. Both fatal encounters triggered street protests and acts…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
The Harris County Jail (“Jail”) houses more than 9,000 inmates and is the third largest jail in the country. We have previously stated the human shortcomings of this facility. In particular, we have discussed the prospect of those dying from…
2016
Category: Criminal Law
The Houston Chronicle carried a recent report that the Harris County District Attorney’s Office had dismissed 90 misdemeanor and felony drug cases because a local Constable’s Office “improperly destroyed evidence.”
The evidence destruction was brought to light when attorney…
2016
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
The Harris County Jail (HCJ)is the third largest jail in the United States, and the largest in the State of Texas. It houses roughly 9,000 inmates, nearly 7,000 of whom are pretrial detainees, of which close to 80 percent are…