In Dallas, a lot of things are possible that don’t happen in other counties. One of those things, is that it is possible to clear a warrant without the time wasting bookin process at the county jail. It’s an efficiency move that recognizes how useless it is to waste time…
Texas has a lot of terrible laws, but one thing we don’t allow is DWI checkpoints. The Supreme Court has decided that these can be constitutional but the state legislature must approve them. Hopefully ours never will. In case you ever think they are a good idea, here is what…
A pair of stories highlight how much our criminal justice system has been taken over by unrestrained government greed. When I talk to a defendant about the costs of the average DWI plea, the $450 court costs, the $1,000 fine,$50 a month for community service, the $3,000 surcharge, most are…
Clients of mine who have experienced the criminal justice system in multiple Texas counties are often surprised by how different the process is in each locality. The Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure are the same across the State. However, judges still have a lot of discretion in…
Most criminal defendants never planned on getting arrested. But if you are a forward looking recreational drug user or retailer, It may help to know how much bail money you need to set aside when LEO shows up. I’ve attached a copy of the Dallas County recommended bond schedule to…
So you’re facing pen time in Texas and you want to know when you are eligible to get out. It’s not as easy to calculate as you would think. Different offenses have different rules for parole eligibility, some allow for early release, some require more time be served. What you…
I used to live in Ellis County and I had a few criminal cases there. Not as many as I had in Kaufman and Dallas, but enough that I quickly learned the Ellis County District Attorney’s had little regard for justice or preventing wrongful convictions. Why? They had a closed…
Judge Wiley will be sworn in as Kaufman County District Attorney on April 22nd at 1pm in the County Court at Law. All are invited to attend. I began my career in Kaufman County as a prosecutor in Judge Wiley’s court. I learned quickly that Judge Wiley will not suffer…
Our State’s highest criminal court recently reversed a marijuana conviction out of Kaufman County Court at Law 2, just in time for 4/20. Whenever I discuss marijuana prohibition I always mention how much court time, prosecutor time, appointed lawyer time, police time and tax dollars we waste we waste prosecuting…
Economics is the study of scarcity and choices. That is, the world has a limited amount of stuff, so what are we going to do about it? One of those limited resources is law enforcement. We only have so many police man-hours in any given year, how are we going…