In law, must and shall are important words. Must and shall indicate that an action is required, it has to happen, it is a part of the process, proceeding, or hearing that can’t be ignored. Contrast that with “may”, which implies that it doesn’t matter if the thing happens or…
What is a stacked sentence? Good question. A stacked sentence is one in which two sentences are to be served consecutively or one after another. So if Bob has two cases for possession, and gets 5 years TDC in each case, then a stacked sentence would require him to serve…
Elections matter, and in Texas we elect appellate judges. We’ve been electing extremist conservative authoritarians for a few decades now. The result is that even when the State cheats at trial or a trial judge makes a clear mistake, it’s nearly impossible to get a conviction overturned. Today we are…
Most people assume that the criminal justice system in Texas is fair, or at least makes sense. It’s only when they get arrested do they discover how FUBAR this “justice” system can be. Here is one example, say you get arrested for a DWI, you end up pleading to a…
One of the most frustrating aspects of criminal defense work is the double standards that abound between what we expect of government (cops and prosecutors) and what expect of citizens. Which leads us to the case of the day….. Today’s SCOTUS disaster is Heien vs. North Carolina. The issue was-…
In Texas our pro conviction appellate courts have blessed the practice of law enforcement profiling drivers and investigating routine traffic stops as drug trafficking. This practice involves an officer deciding that you are a drug dealer and then following you until you commit a traffic violation. I thought racial profiling…
So you have a trial and you are found guilty and the judge sentences you to 45 years in jail. You file an appeal and win, and you get a new trail. However, you are found guilty again but this time the judge sentences you to 50 years in jail.…
It’s strange to talk about speedy “trials” in probation revocation cases, because a probation revocation hearing is nothing like a criminal jury trial. For example, in probation cases your only audience is the judge, you have no right to a jury, and the burden of proof is much lower to…
Remember last week’s post about a DWI case where the State violated a discovery order and hid evidence from the defense and violated a discovery order that required them to turn over evidence in a timely manner? If you don’t, here’s my post about it. Long story short, the Dallas…
One reason we needed the Michael Morton Act (which improved on our State’s horrible discovery rules in criminal cases) is that the State was hiding evidence which convicted innocent people. One problem with the Michael Morton Act, and the prior discovery rules is that there is no penalty if the…