Photographed outside the State Office of Administrative Hearings in Dallas (where DWI ALR hearings are held). EVE was not nearby. I often worry about the militarization of our police forces. I’m glad to see DPD going the complete opposite direction with the Lt. Jim Dangle inspired police segway.
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A Dallas Morning News story lays out the simple arithmetic of wrongful convictions. Lack of discovery for defendants plus prosecutors who hide Brady material= Wrongful conviction.
Antrone Lynelle Johnson twice was convicted of sexual assault as a high school student, earning him a life sentence.
Texas appellate courts have a longstanding tradition of throwing out issues on appeal because the defense didn’t object correctly at trial. The law is- to raise an issue on appeal you must specifically object to that issue at trial.
It’s a logical fallacy to believe that a defendant is intentionally waiving an error at trial because his attorney doesn’t make the perfect objection. However, that is the law.
That brings us to the case of the day- Unique Elmore vs. State.
Specialized courts are all the rage. We have DWI courts, Drug Courts, and more recently a new speicalized court for prostitutes. DMN reports
Dallas court helping put prostitution in the past
06:41 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I read most of the new criminal opinions from the Dallas Court of Appeals. Many defendants want to appeal not just their trial, but their sentence. A common example is a defendant who goes to the judge for punishment and receives a long jail sentence instead of probation.
The defendant will then claim the sentence is cruel and unusual punishment or that the judge abused her discretion. Ergo, the sentence is unconstitutional and should be changed.
Week after week I see these appeals denied for the same reason. The defendants do not object to the sentence when it is pronounced.
The Cherry Pit prosecution has reached a new low. Not content with mere code violations the police have invented an organized crime charge. This new charge carries a possible sentence of 99 years in jail. From DMN
According to the arrest warrant affidavits for Jim Trulock, 59, and Julie M. Norris, 30, the pair runs the Cherry Pit more like a business, with employees, staff meetings and donations that totaled more than $102,000 over 16 months.
The Duncan ville police department’s investigation accuses them of operating a sex club, possessing large amounts of alcohol, promoting prostitution and engaging in organized crime and money laundering.
I had court in Dallas this morning. Like many mornings with court I didn’t eat breakfast at home. Luckily, Frank Crowley has a restaurant with breakfast served until 10:30.
As a public service, and to fill space, here is a quick breakfast review.
I ordered 2 eggs with 3 pieces of bacon, and a diet coke. Very low carb. The total was $4.32.
The police pull you over for speeding. The officer checks your criminal history and you have some old drug convictions. The officer thinks you look “nervous” and ask to search your car. You say no. The cop calls for the drug dog and 30 minutes later finds 200 grams of meth. Is that a legal search?
Such are the facts of The State of Texas, Appellant v. Gregory Daivd Pierce, Appellee. This is an unpublished opinion, but still a useful example of search and seizure. The trial court suppressed the search and all the evidence (drugs) founds. The State appealed and the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed that the search was indeed illegal.
“But they found drugs!! A lot of drugs!”
The Dallas Jail continues to vie for the title of the worst run jail in Texas. Recently, a jury awarded $900,000 to a man who was denied medical care while in custody. Grits has a great breakdown of the verdict.
To make matters worse, Dallas uses this dangerous jail to incarcerate those with outstanding traffic fines. The Dallas city council has chosen to arrest their way to fiscal responsibility. The annual expenditures for kickbacks and corruption must contribute to the need for revenue. To fill the coffers Dallas launched the ill conceived “Operation Pay or Stay” program. The result is that one of the most dangerous jails in Texas, is now being used a debtors prison.
Tarrant County has already had a traffic ticket arrest turn into a death sentence. It is only a matter of time before Dallas experiences a similar tragedy.
I recently received the DPS racial profiling data for Collin, Dallas, and Ellis County- Click here for the google spreadsheet. This covers stops, tickets, and searches by DPS troopers only; not local police or sheriff deputies.
Do you want the racial profiling stats for your county? The process is simple.
1. Email pio@txdps.state.tx.us
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog