Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The Kaufman County Bar met for lunch today at the courthouse. We have a great group of local attorneys. It is a pleasure to work with them. I need to attend more local bar meetings. I end up forgetting too often.

Today we watched a video on lawyers and depression. I can understand why lawyers would get depressed. The practice of law can be very stressful.

Think of the worst thing someone could do to you. Take away your kids or take away your freedom. My job is to take your worst problems, and make them my problems.

Here is a disturbing email I received from the NORML list serv. An Austin citizen is concerned about the police using electricity bills to justify home invasion searches. I’m trying to verify this story, until then here is the email.

I live in Austin Texas and the police have signed an agreement with the local utility company Austin Energy. They now have their own account login that they use without getting a subpoena. The narcotics department is using this to data mine the utility records for high utility usage. This in my opinion is a warrant less search. This is enough for them to get search warrants for those residents looking for marijuana indoor grows. They have performed dozens of raids based on this and are ramping up and expanding their task force due to the massive amounts of properties and $$$ seized in the raids. They are now getting the DEA involved which is splitting a slice of the pie because they have a lot less oversight and the overwhelming negative odds of winning at the Fed level.

Think the war on pot only affects cannabis consumers? When the police raid the wrong home, citizens die. When the police steal private property, freedom dies.

As part of the jury selection process I often ask potential jurors if they have ever driven after drinking. The vast majority of potential jurors answer yes.

The truth about DWI is that most jurors have committed DWI in their past but did not get arrested. They only difference between them and the defendant is luck.

When I inquire into the reason they chose to drink and drive most will say they were “young and stupid.” I often wonder at why jurors are so ready to ruin the lives of defendants who are on trial for DWI, when they have committed the same crime themselves.

I went to trial today in Collin County. We actually went from voir dire to closing argument all in the same day. Very efficient, but also very tiring.

The Collin County courthouse is aesthetically indifferent. It does not strive for courthouse grandeur. It is content in its functionality. The outward appearance is what I would describe as bureaucratic apathy.

The inside of the courthouse is highly functional. The courtrooms have a great set up for laptops at the counsel tables. I could access the internent and play videos as needed for the jury as needed. The jurors were well positioned and the witness stand had a good central location. Microphones for the judge and witnesses maintained good acoustics.

In order to balance the budget a few years ago the Texas Legislature instituted an oppresive and regressive tax scheme called the “Driver Responsibility Program“. The DRP issues “surcharges” (taxes) ranging from $200-$2000 for various traffic offenses.

So far, the program has taxed $900M, and collected ….$300M. Not paying the “surcharge” results in a driver’s license suspension. Driving without a license is a separate offense that can result in jail time (after 9/1/07 it can be a class C misdemeanor). In essence, we have created a new debtor’s prison for drivers.

Senator Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, who sponsored the legislation, said the massive noncompliance with the surcharges exemplifies a “big problem” for state government. “If we could only collect all the fines and fees the state is owed, we could cut taxes because we would have a lot more money than we have now,” he said.

It looks like I will keep the blog name, at least for now. Therefore, I feel the need to give out my resume. I do not want to create the impression I was a career prosecutor or trying capital murder cases for the State.

After law school my first job was…. with the Public Defender in Wichita Falls. Then I spent a year at the Bowie County DA, and another at the Kaufman County DA.

I have been in private practice for 18 months.

An 18 year old Stephen F. Austin student died Sunday night of alcohol poisoning. Despite years of MADD propaganda and tough underage drinking laws Nikloas Gallegos still chose to consume alcohol. Texas law does not stop young adults from drinking, only from drinking responsibly in public.

MADD likes to argue that the 21 drinking age stops drunk driving. MADD should acknowledge their role in causing deaths from binge drinking.

When you are under 21 you have a tendency to treat every party with booze as your last. Instead of legislating alcohol abstinence we need to allow young adults the freedom to learn to use alcohol responsibly.

MADD is a strong proponent of age discrimination. To MADD 18 year olds are an underclass of adults who lack the ability to use alcohol. MADD’s “Why 21” site MADD explains to young people why is necessary to criminalize their alcohol use.

MADD uses a tried and true method to justify age discrimination- brain science. In 1850 Robert Knox wrote that the “dark races” suffered from a “lack of quality” in their brain. What Mr. Know did not know is that his book, “The Races of Man” was at the forefront of a movement that sought to justify everything from Eugenics to Jim Crow laws with science.

MADD seeks a similar neurological foundation for tee totalling totalitarianism.

Most criminal cases still end with a Plea Bargain. In order to accept a plea bargain you must sign various documents. Most of these documents detail the crime you are charged with (range of punishment etc) and the rights you are giving up.

As a society we are used to ignoring forms and just signing what in front of us. Unlike the recent Mastercard you signed up for plea papers are a little more important. Today we are going to discuss a typical waiver of rights.

Remember the Bill of Rights? Before you accept a plea bargain you must waive it.

MADD feigns outrage to the Department of Justice report on racial profiling. MADD only opposes racial profiling because it is a roadblock (pun intended)to universal implementation of their beloved sobriety checkpoints, inter alia.

As MADD works to enact these lifesaving efforts through effective legislation,

we encounter resistance from representatives and constituents concerned that