With the passing of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the legal landscape in Texas has undergone significant transformations. Notably, there has been a marked increase in remote court hearings and adjudications, a trend that persists even as the threat of illness has diminished. The increase in the number and scope…
It’s hard to second guess a defense lawyer’s work on a case, and it’s something we are asked to do often. When someone takes has a trial or enters an open plea to the court (pleading guilty with no agreed sentence) and gets a result they don’t want they usually…
Probation offices have a terrible amount of control over the fate of a probationer. Like so many human relationships some people just don’t work well together. Probation officers are people and suffer from the usual human frailties, some enjoy the power of ordering others around and making their lives miserable.…
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…
My first job out of law school was as a public defender in Wichita Falls. Inmates often lack a technical understanding of the law, but they have a very pragmatic understanding of what it takes to get out now. I was asked often about 12.44(a) and (b) deals to help these…
You know, I can be pretty hard of appellate decisions I don’t agree with. One of my main sources of blog inspiration is outrage at the loss of civil liberties through appellate decisions. It’s only fair that I point out when our State’s highest criminal court does something right, and…
Everyone on paper wants the same thing, to be off paper and done with probation. The best way to finish probation is to apply for judicial clemency under 42.12(20). This provision allows the judge to not only terminate your probation early, but to do so in a way that effectively…
Probation can be tough for a lot of reasons. From failing drug tests, to failing to report, to missing a meeting there are dozens of ways to get your probation revoked. It has come to my attention that the revocation process is not well understood by probationers. Let me hit…