Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

April 20, 2010

Happy 4/20!

Today is April 20th, the annual day of marijuana celebration around the country. To the hundreds of thousands of Texas cannabis consumers, know that as a member of the NORML legal committee I am working tirelessly to a) defend you if you get caught and b) reform our state’s hopelessly inane and morally repugnant marijuana laws (until b happens, try really hard not to get caught).

I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. As a former prosecutor/defense lawyer I have seen first how we destroy people by putting them into the criminal “justice” system for possessing a plant. The effects are most devastating to our nation’s young adults who end with criminal records that often last a lifetime.

Many DA’s offices, realizing how idiotic our state’s cannabis laws are, now offer pre trial diversion (or memo agreement) programs to help these defendants avoid a lifelong conviction. On the end of the rationality and deceny spectrum Williamson county uses their CPS goons to kidnap the children of cannabis advocates for teaching their children “not to trust the government”.

April 14, 2010

Kaufman Voters Elect A New District Attorney, Again

by Robert Guest

For the third straight election cycle Kaufman voters have decided to vote out the incumbent District Attorney. Each situation was unique, but if there one thing you can count on in Kaufman county, it’s change.

To that end, the Kaufman electorate nominated Mike McLleland as the GOPs candidate for DA next November. Sans opponent (where are my Kaufman Libertarians?), Mike has already won the November election and will be sworn in in January.

I have a lot of good friends and colleagues at the Kaufman DA’s office. I know many are worried about what to expect, and if they will have the same gig come January. In this economy, I wouldn’t wish job insecurity on anyone. Fortunately, Mr. Mclelland has already promised not to make any personnel changes.

April 12, 2010

Texas Class B Range of Punishment

by Robert Guest

For a class B misdemeanor in Texas the range of punishment is up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. ROPs are the legislatures way of telling us exactly how outraged they are at particular conduct. They are in no way reflective of the harm caused to society or the victim.

Can you think of a reason that any person should serve 180 days in jail for-

DWI 1st?

March 30, 2010

Policing For Profit

by Robert Guest

Asset forfeiture is a cancer on our criminal justice system. When you remove constitutional protections and allow the government to steal private property and keep the proceed, you can expect injustice every time. Here is a video from the merry band of libertarian lawyers at the Institute for Justice detailing the problems inherent in civil forfeiture laws.

March 25, 2010

I want to thank you in advance for your tax dollars

by Robert Guest

I just received my acceptance letter for the CJA (federal court appointed criminal defeense) panel. I am awaiting my first federal criminal appointment and devouring as much federal law as I can in anticipation. One book I highly recommend is “Busted by the Feds” by Larry Fassler.

BBTF was written by a federal inmate and offers a first hand look at the federal criminal process. Highly cynical and often dispararing of lawyers (prosecutors and defense alike), BBTF offers a first hand look into the perils of plea negotiations and sentencing. If you have a family member of loved one facing federal prosecution BBTF is a great place to start.

Why the wheel?

March 17, 2010

Kaufman County Bar Association Runoff Endorsements

by Robert Guest

From Kaufman Bar President Keena Greyling

The Kaufman County Bar Association endorses Rick Harrison for District Attorney, Wade Gent for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2 and Joe Windham for Commissioner of Precinct 4.

We had a secret ballot at the meeting today.

March 17, 2010

Ron Washington- Driving that train, high on cocaine

by Robert Guest

Texas Ranger’s Manager Ron Washington recently admitted that he used a little blow last year and that it was a one time deal. He’s really sorry and promises not to do it again.

At least one local sportstwriter calling for Ron’s immediate termination. That’s a position that can be debated. Baseball is entertainment and if the Rangers, a private business, want their employees to not use blow, so be it.

That argument aside we should all be grateful that Ron didn’t get arrested. Bosses and employers can be forgiving and understanding. The criminal justice machine, not so much.

March 14, 2010

Affirmative Links- I hope this works

by Robert Guest

Austin DWI lawyer Jamie Spencer has started Texas’ first collborative criminal defense lawyer blog- Affirmative Links.Until now every blawger had to be a solo publishing machine; capable of generating interesting new content on a regular basis. No other media model works this way. Newspapers, magazines, bar journals- are all collborative efforts. It’s one reason that so many new blawgs fail. It’s hard to manage an active law practice and dedicate time to regular updating, posting, editing, etc.

Jamie is asking for a post a week from those interested. The idea being that if we can get mad SEO cred the right way- by producing compelling content together, we all win. I hope it works and puts more distance between real defense bloggers, and the ghostwritting dreck blawging SEO scamsters.

Will AL be successful? Organizing defense lawyers can be like herding cats and the murky nature of returns on such a setup may prove unworkable in the long run. But I’m proud of Jamie for his innovation.

March 3, 2010

Kaufman District Attorney Run Off April 13

by Robert Guest

District Attorney vote totals from last night’s GOP primary-

Rick Harrison- 3,110

Andrew Jordan- 2,764

February 26, 2010

Public Intoxication, Racial Profiling, Mother Jones, and Me

by Robert Guest

Mother Jones writes an alarming expose on the abusive police tactics used in PI arrests. As part of their story they quoted an expert on the subject, yours truly. From Mother Jones-

State courts have not only upheld the practice but expanded the definition of public intoxication to cover pretty much any situation, says Robert Guest, a criminal defense attorney in Dallas. “Having no standard allows the police to arrest whoever pisses them off and call it PI,” he says, adding, “If you have a violent, homophobic, or just an asshole of a cop and you give him the arbitrary power to arrest anyone for PI, you can expect violent, homophobic, and asshole-ic behavior.”

I’m going to trademark the word asshole-ic(TM). I’m pretty sure that’s an RG original. Enough about me. Let’s talk about PI.