On February 17, 2007, paramedics in Harlingen, Texas, responded to a call at an apartment shared by Melissa Lucio and her husband, Robert Alvarez. The EMTs found the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Mariah, unresponsive and, according to police reports, covered with…
Category: Criminal Law
2021
Category: Appeals | Criminal Law | Homicide/Murder
In the late afternoon hours of August 1, 2015, Christopher Rion was driving his Dodge Challenger in Dallas, Texas, when he collided with a Toyota Highlander. The collision left the Highlander driver, Claudia Loehr, and a passenger, Claudena Parnell, seriously…
2021
Category: Criminal Law | Federal Criminal Law
It is interesting to note that most federal cases never proceed to trial in a courtroom. That’s because roughly 90 percent of federal criminal cases are resolved with a plea bargain.
Federal prosecutors like to find resolution via plea…
2021
Category: Criminal Law | Sex Crimes | Sex Crimes Against Children
There are roughly 3,000 certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (“SANEs”) in the United States. SANEs now operate in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. The past decade has seen SANEs become both ubiquitous and controversial in criminal trials…
2021
Category: Crimes Against Children | Criminal Law | Sex Crimes | Sexual Abuse
Following the horrendous kidnapping and murder of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005, Florida enacted Jessica’s Law. The statute was intended to create tough penalties for sex offenders, such as 25-year minimum sentences for certain offenses and a lifetime of electronic…
2021
Category: Criminal Law | Police Misconduct | Qualified Immunity
The death of George Floyd took place in Minnesota, but it sent shockwaves across the country. In many places, its effects will redefine police roles in the community and consequences for crimes on duty.
In Texas, a bill called…
2021
Category: Criminal Law | Juvenile Criminal Law | SCOTUS
According to the Sentencing Project, there are more than 206,000 people serving life sentences in the United States—6,000 of whom are women. More than 53,000 of those life sentences are without the possibility of parole. In addition to these life…
2021
Category: Criminal Law
The terms “motive” and “intent” are often used interchangeably, but in the realm of criminal law, they mean two very different things. Only one is used as an element of a crime that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt…
2021
Category: Criminal Law | Jury Selection
In the Constitution of the United States, the Sixth Amendment guarantees many protections for those accused of crimes, including the right to have your case heard by an impartial jury. The Texas State Constitution also codifies this right for every…
2021
Category: Corruption | Criminal Law
The January 6, 2021, violent assault on the nation’s Capitol Building—a day that will forever be etched in shame in American history, was created, supported, instigated, and led by Trump Republicans, including the racist President himself.
These Republicans, like Sens.…