Year: 2017

What Do You Know About Your Right to Counsel

When your blood pressure is spiking and your heart is beating out of your chest, it’s easy to forget your rights. No matter how many police or courtroom dramas you’ve watched, few things can truly prepare you for being taken into police custody or questioned by the cops. When your blood pressure is spiking and…

Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer Mick Mickelsen Discusses Extradition

Extradition involves two countries cooperating to transfer an individual from one country to another to stand trial for a crime. Hollywood director Roman Polanski recently made headlines again when the Supreme Court of Poland rejected the Polish government’s request to extradite Polanski to the United States. The extradition battle has been ongoing since 1978, when…

hate crime

The scope of hate crimes in Texas will expand if a bill to make all attacks on first responders hate crimes becomes law. The bill introduced in the Texas legislature would increase penalties for attacks against any first responder, including police, firefighters and EMTs, and make them hate crimes. Texas governor Greg Abbott spoke in…

Texas Jury Reform Would Limit Prosecutors in Grand Jury Proceedings

Grand jury proceedings were originally designed to provide checks and balances against oppressive prosecution or potential witch hunts. If passed, a proposal that’s currently before Texas lawmakers would make it mandatory for prosecutors to share evidence that could help a suspect’s case with grand juries. According to a Texas Tribune report, two versions of the…

Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer Answers Is Flag Burning a Crime

There is no question that flag-burning is controversial but should there be consequences when individuals choose to do so? Whatever your political leanings, you have probably heard numerous news reports about the aftermath of the presidential election, as well as the status of President-elect Trump’s transition into the White House. For Trump, who is a…

typing on laptop

The rapid growth of social media and apps has to a raft of new cyberstalking laws at federal and state levels. Offensive tweets, Facebook posts, and texts have been linked to teen suicides and other consequences. However, in a recent case involving a Dallas-based reporter, a tweet is linked to direct harm. A man from…

Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Clint Broden Discusses New Study about Solitary Confinement

Some of the prisoners in the study were in solitary confinement for three or more continuous years. A new study released from Yale Law School and the Association of State Correctional Administrators casts doubt on the efficacy of solitary confinement. As many criminal justice experts have claimed for a long time, the report finds that…

Dallas White Crime Lawyers Explains White Collar Crime Should Criminals Do the Time

One of the difficulties surrounding white collar crimes is that many people convicted of financial misconduct have no prior criminal background. White collar crimes have dominated news headlines in recent years, as the economy continues to struggle back from the 2008 housing crisis and subsequent collapse. Most recently, Wells Fargo drew attention and sharp criticism…

SCOTUS Hears Arguments on State Law Banning Sex Offenders from Facebook

Those who oppose the law claim it has a chilling effect on the First Amendment. It may be hard to believe, but the social networking site Facebook has only been around since 2004. Since its founding, it has accumulated 1.86 billion monthly active users. The site has become a popular way to communicate with friends,…

People Think Crime Is Going Up But It’s the Opposite

It can be tough to put things into perspective when violent crimes dominate news headlines. According to the Pew Research Center, the public perception of crime rates in the U.S. is dramatically different than the reality. Crime has dropped by double digits since 2008, however, most people believe crime is actually getting worse. Here are…