No one saves a drug search like our Supreme Court. It seems that few Constitutional protections apply if the police find drugs. . The latest example is Virginia vs. Moore. SCOTUS in their own words Held: The police did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they made an arrest that…
Recently, the 6th Court of Appeals (Texarkana) released an opinion in.39 acres vs. the State of Texas . In Texas, asset forfeiture cases list the property as the defendant. For example, The State of Texas vs. Ford F-150, or The State of Texas vs. $24,762 are potential forfeiture case names.…
DMN reports that Dallas County Criminal courts have a growing backlog of felony cases.. Even with the addition of two new felony courts in 2005 the number of pending cases is still growing each year. DMN estimates there are 24,126 pending felony cases in Dallas. What could possibly cause such…
I haven’t contributed to the blog discussion on the West Texas Polygamy raids because I know very little that is not on CNN. However, I have dealt with CPS in Kaufman County and in East Texas. It’s that experience I’d like to share. I am not sure if this experience…
Collin County has jumped on the Vampire Prosecutor bandwagon with “no refusal” DWI weekends. A recent DMN story featured a Collin County ADA talking about their new tough on DWI blood draw program. I filed an open records request for communications, documents, memos etc regarding implementation of this program. After…
Yesterday, I had two cases on the docket in the 422nd District Court in Kaufman. I quickly browsed through the courts docket and noticed that around 15 criminal cases were set to be heard that afternoon. A quick glance at the State’s file bucket showed that roughly 8 of those…
RateMyCop.com lets citizens rate and review police officers. Some Texas prosecutors don’t like the idea. I think it’s great. Police have a troubled history of policiing themselves. More information helps everyone. RMC could prevent future Tulias from happening. Here is an interview with founder Gino Sesto. 1. Name/Background/Resume Gino Sesto.…
I have long argued that the Standard Field Sobriety Tests (SFST) used in DWI detection are a fraud. The science is garbage that has never been peer reviewed. However, tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth. In Texas 3 SFSTs are used in almost every DWI case;…
One reason I prefer freedom over government is accountability. If a business does not provide the goods and services the public wants customers take their money elsewhere and the business fails. Government is the opposite. Failing programs see their budgets increased and almost never close. DARE is one such program.…
Here is a column I wrote for the Ellis County Press. It should run soon. Imagine you are a juror for a criminal case. The evidence is clear that the defendant broke the law. However, your conscience tells you the law is unjust and should not be enforced. What do…