Category: Criminal Defense

The arrest of teachers inevitably makes news headlines. The Dallas Morning News recently reported on how a Richardson ISD teacher who was arrested last week on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy later told police that he has HIV. The news report said Roger Kessler, 43, told investigators he hadn’t revealed his medical condition…

How to Write a Character Letter of Support to a Judge Prior to your sentencing, you may have friends and relatives write character letters of support to the judge which the judge will consider in imposing sentencing. Because of the sentencing guidelines, the judge does not have a great deal of discretion as to your…

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When it comes to the ultimate punishment, Texas sets many unenviable benchmarks. Last month the state made headlines by executing a woman when it put Lisa Coleman to death. The Washington Post reported on how she was the ninth person executed by Texas in 2014. The Lone Star State has executed more people than any…

Texas hit the headlines last week for one of the worst crimes seen in the Lone Star State for some time. A 33-year-old man stands accused of killing six members of his former wife’s family, including four children in a home in suburban Houston. Reuters reported on an appearance in court by 33-year-old Ronald Lee…

Murder for hire cases can be difficult to prosecute as demonstrated by a recent case in Texas in which the Collin County District Attorney’s Office dismissed a felony charge against man from Garland who was accused last year in a murder for hire plot in Allen. The Dallas Morning News reported that Robert Wayne Bass,…

GPS tracking devices were used in stolen phones to track down two robbery suspects in Dallas, according to media reports. The Dallas Morning News reported a robbery at an AT&T store in the 8500 block of Abrams Road, when police are said to have tracked the suspects and apprehended a car. The suspects were accused…

Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, has become the latest state governor to face criminal charges after an indictment was brought against him alleging an abuse of power. Perry has dismissed the indictment as a “farce.” He faces two counts of abuse of power and coercion over a funding veto he imposed last year, which…

Few crimes shock society more than the killing of a child. We were saddened to read about how police in Dallas found the body of a 5-year-old girl at an apartment complex on Sunday. Dallas police were called to look for Kathrine Alejandra Gonzalez about 11:30 a.m. at the Sontera Palms apartments in the 9500…

DNA technology allows investigators to match up evidence of old crimes as well as contemporary ones. Recently the Dallas Morning News reported on how investigators say a state prisoner has admitted to raping two women at gunpoint during a robbery in 2005. The prisoner in question is William Thomas Beane, a 36-year-old who is currently…

When a crime is judged to be motivated by factors such as race or sexual orientation, it may be dealt with by federal prosecutors as a hate crime. Under federal law the hate crime legislation may be used in offenses linked to actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin or perceived religion, national…