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If you are under investigation for a sex crime in Texas, you might be asked to take a polygraph test(a.k.a. “lie detector test”). The request might come from a police detective, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or Child Protective Services (CPS). While it is natural to want to clear your name… Read More »

I get at least 10 of your scam emails a day, claiming you have a divorce settlement action, or a collection action ‘in your jurisdiction.’ I’m fed up, and fighting back. I will respond, and have you waste your time and money going to post offices, paying postage and fed-x fees, and wasting time with… Read More »

I am constantly amazed at how some people dress when they go to court. Defendants charged with drug offenses show up in baggy t-shirts with pictures of Bob Marley smoking a joint. Some look like they got dressed to stand on a street corner selling cocaine, in football jerseys and baggy shorts and sporting gold… Read More »

In a civil case (as opposed to a criminal case), a court may enter a summary judgment when the undisputed facts show that there is no genuine issue of any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The party seeking summary judgment files a motion that states… Read More »

Nearly 5,000 cases “may all be jeopardized” by DPS lab worker misconduct Gritsforbreakfast (the best blog on Texas criminal law) reports that potentially all of the 4,944 cases worked by a since-discredited DPS crime lab worker may be thrown out, and this morning an appellate case summary posted at the prosecutors’ association agreed that those… Read More »

They say that confession is good for the soul. The 12 step programs enshrine this idea in the Fifth Step, where the recovering alcoholic or addict “admits to God, ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” What if the penitent has committed a crime? Take, for example, Michael Skakel, a… Read More »

I practice law in a small town (20,000). In the past 18 months, I’ve represented two Legal Permanent Residents (LPR’s) who came to me after they plead guilty to minor offenses, were placed on probation, and shocked when immigration agents arrested them and locked them up pending deportation. One was a 20 year old woman,… Read More »

Sometimes you’ll hear defendants and their lawyers and prosecutors talk about “3g offenses.” They’re referring to Sec. 3g of Article 42.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, captioned Limitation on Judge Ordered Community Supervision. A judge cannot order probation to a defendant adjudged guilty of numerous serious offenses, including murder, indecency with a child,… Read More »

Hey, Can You Spare a Couple of Xanax Bars? National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction, or how a minor drug offense can ruin your life. Collateral consequences are the bad things that happen to a person convicted of a crime, in addition to the criminal penalties themselves (direct consequences). If you are charged… Read More »

For a good exploration of the idea of a trial as a truth seeking inquiry, I recommend an online essay by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, described by Frontline as a clear and compelling explanation by renowned legal expert Alan Dershowitz on how there are several kinds of “truths” in a criminal trial — as… Read More »