Source: Dallas’ Black Population Faces Much Higher Odds of Arrest for Marijuana than Whites You can tell who the politically powerless are by who gets arrested for petty bullshit, like simple pot possession. Actually, I shouldn’t say “simple” pot possession. The conservative brain trust in Austin has fought attempts to…
One area of growth in the criminal justice system is speciality courts for probationers. It started with drug courts, which were a way of accepting the idea that the drug war is a monumental failure without legalizing anything. Drugs courts have flourished and found their way into counties across Texas…
A majority of Dallas City Council members said today that they’d like police to try a pilot program that’d ticket people caught with marijuana instead of arresting them. Some council… Source: City Council members give first nod to pilot program that’d allow tickets instead of arrests for marijuana possession…
One of the stranger local practices in Kaufman County is the requirement of paying court costs up front in misdemeanor cases. That is, you are supposed to pay court costs on the day you plead guilty. This local preference is often a requirement to enter a plea, with some exceptions…
There was an arrest of a North Forney student for exhibition of a firearm today. It’s not a law you see often so let’s talk about it here, and discuss the juvenile process as well. First, what is the law on guns in schools? To the Education Code we go-…
Calculating back time is an issue that slows down many a plea bargain. It’s not as simple as just adding up the days you were in jail. There are issues of when the warrant was issued, figuring out all the different jails you may have been in, getting those agencies…
As any believer in sound money will tell you, inflation eats away at the purchasing power of your dollar. But without indexing for inflation, a thief who steals $49 worth of good 15 years ago, got a lot better deal than one who stole something 15 months ago. In acknowledgement…
Now that gays are guaranteed the right to marry and protected by the US Constitution, would it be illegal for a county clerk to refuse to offer a gay couple a marriage license? Has Ken Paxton (our admitted felon AG) opened up county clerks across the State to criminal liability…
In Texas a blue warrant has long been the enemy of all those who are on paper. A blue warrant is what we call a warrant issued for a parole violation. Allegedly, they used to be issued on blue paper, hence the name. The Governor recently signed SB790, so after…
You’d think we were all watching different videos given the reaction to the McKinney pool party videos. Conservatives and authoritarians lining up to defend Casebolt against the THUGS (which feels like a substitute for a racial slur) and libertarians/liberals standing up for the individuals affected by Casebolt’s recklessly aggressive form…