I knew in law school that I was going to be a criminal defense lawyer. My criminal law class was a painful study in how our constitutional rights were sacrificed to help save dope cases. Decades of weakening the 4th and 5th amendment (to the point of absurdity) all in…
Did you know the police are allowed to lie to you? It’s true. The police can make up facts out of whole cloth and present them as fact. What if the police wanted you to open the door to your house so they could peek inside? One would think that…
Court of Criminal Appeals judge Sharon Keller has been described as “Texas’ Judge Dread”. A self described “pro prosecutor” judge who not only shown a reckless disregard for innocence claims, but infamously closed the courthouse denying a death penalty appeal for Michael Richards. From the Star Telegram- Fort Worth State…
Today’s case of the day is…. State of Texas vs. James Ray Deeds- Facts- Balch Springs officer Palfreyman was working late one night when a motorist flagged the officer down. The motorist was concerned about a possible DWI driver in a red pickup. What facts did the concerned citizen tell…
If you were on trial for a misdemeanor assault, and a witness accused you of murder, would that prejudice your case? Would you feel better if the judge told the jury to “disregard” the murder allegation? That brings us to our case of the day, Hecht v. State, No. 05-07-00431-CR.…
Blawgers are still sifting through the 4th amendment wreckage from the Herring disaster. How would a similar situation play out under Texas law? Would our exclusionary rule (38.23) protect the public from illegal searches based on non existent warrants? This brings us to White vs. State, a 1999 case from…
SCOTUS has a sorry history of eviscerating constitutional protections to save dope cases. Today’s case, Herring vs. US, is textbook SCOTUS drug war/police apologetics. Facts- The police really wanted to arrest Herring because they had arrested him before. Once a criminal always a criminal right? The police knew that Herring…
Hat tip to the TDCAA website for highlighting this recent COCA DWI opinion. In a remarkable decision the Court of Criminal Appeals actually upheld the rights of a DWI defendant. Unbelievable. Case-Roy Bob Bartlett vs. The State of Texas Facts- Roy Bob was charged with DWI. Roy Bob refused a…
First, a capital murder primer. Capital murder cases are those in which the death penalty is available, but not required. If the State waives the death penalty and a defendant is convicted of capital murder, the sentence is automatic life in prison. On capital appeals it too often seems that…
I check the fresh opinions from the Dallas Court of Appeals almost daily. TCDLA helps me stay on top of opinions from across the State. Today, a TCDLA member shared an interesting DWI case with the defense bar. Kurt Wells vs. The State of Texas– This opinion was handed down…