DWI, Drugs, Assault, Probation Revocation, Sexual Offenses, Theft, Juvenile Defense. Felony and Misdemeanor Offenses in State and Federal Court
Driving While Intoxicated, DWI and Your Drivers License Forney, Texas DWI Defense Lawyer.
Sexual Offenses, Drug Offenses, Assault and Violent Crimes, Theft, Truancy/School Related Criminal Charges.
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.
I am starting work on a new open records project for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Texas already has many individual defense lawyers doing some great open records work. However, these records are not easily shared with other defense attorneys. Ergo, the benefits of these records are not reaching the maximum number of attorneys/defendants.
A central database of open records PDF files seems long overdue. I am going to the December TCDLA executive committee meeting in Denton to pitch this project.
I want to start with Intoxiylzer records. I am seeking maintenance, failure, repair records for all counties in Texas. I’m also seeking TCLEOSE records, training manuals etc.
No one plans on getting arrested in Kaufman County. If you do, be sure and check out this recommended bond schedule for Kaufman County.
Kaufman County Recommended Bond Schedule
Are you considering possessing marijuana in Forney? If you get caught and have no prior convictions your recommend bond amount will be $750.
Austin’s Scott Henson is the author of Texas’ leading criminal justice blog, Grits For Breakfast.
Scott Henson is also white. Scott has a two year old granddaughter who is black.
Yesterday, while walking his granddaughter to a park in Austin, Scott was interrogated, detained, and harassed by no less than 3 officer in 3 separate patrol cars. The officers demanded to know what Scott was doing and where he was going.
Nothing excites Texans like football (especially Red Raider football). Nothing excites the Texas legislature like creating a new criminal law for every perceived societal problem. Combine the two and you get…
32.441. ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT OF AN ATHLETE.
(a) A person commits an offense if, without the consent of the governing body or a designee of the governing body of an institution of higher education, the person intentionally or knowingly solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit from another on an agreement or understanding that the benefit will influence the conduct of the person in enrolling in the institution and participating in intercollegiate athletics.
A new case from COCA shows why it’s best not to write down your feelings in jail. Especially if those feelings are violent rap lyrics, and you are on trial for murder.
Such were the facts from Mendoza vs. State, which was handed down today. The defendant was found guilty of murder. During punishment the State offered numerous rap lyrics found in the defendant’s cell. The issue was whether these lyrics were relevant, and if the State could prove the defendant wrote them.
Here is a sampling of what the jurors read-
Barack Obama is our next President. Like the outgoing President, Mr. Obama is an ex pot smoker. America’s current pot smokers will be glad to find out that our nation’s voters supported common sense marijuana form last night. With help from the Marijuana Policy Project, here is an overview of three marijuana ballot initiatives that passed last night.
Massachusetts Question 2: Remove the threat of arrest or jail for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, replacing it with a $100 fine, which could be paid through the mail without lawyers or court appearances, just like a speeding ticket.
It’s too bad Texans can’t get a similar law passed. Court time, police time, prosecutor time, defense attorney time are wasted on simple pot possession cases. In my experience 95% of marijuana prosecutions are for less than 2oz (class B).
Any defense attorney will have some of his motions denied. I have the option to appeal these decisions to a higher court. Often, my client can’t afford such a measure. However, it never occurred to me to simply seek a new hearing in front of a defense friendly judge.
Here is a recent quote from the TDCAA message board. Freudian slip maybe? I’m hoping it’s a joke, or a typo.
My cops seized items at a drug dealers house and then had a property hearing under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 18.16 (2007) to see if they should be returned to the defendant. Well the judge decided to return the property but my officers want to let a less impartial judge decide. can we appeal? what do we do? got any authority? thanks.
Steven Nicely is one of the top drug dog experts in the country. His testimony led a recent suppression victory in Arizona. The judge ruled that the State’s drug dog was unreliable, despite the fact that the drug dog had all the standard training and certification. I asked Steven for a Q&A.
1. Why did the judge rule that the drug dog was not reliable?
There were different reasons the main one was the certification process. They put a dog on the street that responded incorrectly when only six targets had been placed. Also, those responsible for the certification process did not take steps to correct the problem.
You had a trial, you were found guilty, and your defense lawyer didn’t meet your expectations. She may have slept through trial, been drunk, or failed to present any evidence at all. What remedy does a defendant have for such a situation? An appeal or Writ claiming Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
If you want to argue IAOC on appeal your lawyer’s performance must have violated constitution standards. For this the Texas courts apply a test from the Strickland vs. Washington case.
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog