A recent appeal from Kaufman County highlight the dangers of self representation in criminal cases. In misemeanor cases it’s alarmingly common for defendants to walk into court and sign away their right to counsel. These pro se defendants talk to the prosecutor and almost always end up accepting whatever plea…
Criminal defense clients come into consultations with a lot of anxiety about the process, and they want to know what they can to do to help their case. I get it, being arrested is a traumatic experience and you have a strong impulse to “do something” to make this better.…
Some prosecutors will seek to punish a Defendant who demands a trial and start digging through the case to find an “enhancement” (enhancement increase the possible sentence or limit parole etc). This is more common for Defendants with lengthy criminal histories, but some prosecutors apply this approach to anyone who…
Good question. One of the ways our criminal justice system extorts guilty pleas out of defendants is by wasting their time. The biggest time waste in the criminal justice system is requiring Defendants to show up at every court setting. It’s most ridiculous is misdemeanor cases and it’s a huge…
Mark Bennett runs my favorite Texas defense lawyer blogs, Defending People. Mark has been arguing that part of the Texas law regarding Online Solicitation of a Minor is unconstitutional since 2008. Today, the Court of Criminal Appeals agreed and ruled 9-0 that part of the statue, 33.021(b)(1) is a violation…
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…
I’ve been getting of questions about this issue. Texas allows certain sex offenders to deregister, which means what it sounds like, you no longer have to register as a sex offender or appear on the registry. First, it’s important to understand that deregistration is not the same as an expunction. Some…
Corey Freeman had a bench trial and was convicted of online solicitation of a minor. Corey challenged the law as being unconstitutional for two reasons. One, was that he claimed the law was a strict liability offense in that there was no requirement that he actually believe he was talking…
Texas has over 600 news laws going into effect this month. One law aims to reverse our State’s wrongful conviction epidemic by allows writs to be filed challenging convictions based on junk science. From the article- “I’m going to predict right now that at least several hundred people over the…
Improper Photography Law Found Unconstitutional Grits for Breakfast has a story on a 4th Circuit decision finding our State’s “improper photography” statute unconstitutional. The Defendant in the case was arrested for taking picture of people at Sea-World in their swimsuits. This definitely sounds creepy. But photography is an important part…