Author: Broden & Mickelsen, LLP
Illegal voting is taken very seriously in Texas and can land suspects in jail. A Fort Worth woman who claims she cast her ballot while she was ineligible is seeking to have her conviction overturned. Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in prison for illegal voting. She cast a provisional ballot in the 2016…
Prosecutions of white-collar crimes are often complicated, lengthy, and intricate. However, even by the standards of these offenses, the federal prosecution of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been a drawn-out affair. Paxton, a Republican, was indicted on felony security fraud charges in 2015. Five years later, the case has still not gone to trial…
The highest court in the nation has again overruled the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in a death penalty case, siding with a Houston man on death row for a double killing. The court sent Terence Andrus’ case back to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for further review. In a 6-3 ruling, the court…
Illegal street racing is a major problem in Dallas where scores of events were reported last month. Racers can end up with criminal records and even spectators can be hit with citations. The City of Dallas has approved measures to further crack down on the activity. Dallas Police reported the death of one person and…
The Innocence Files, a Netflix original documentary, has highlighted wrongful convictions across the United States including a case in Texas. Defense attorneys are acutely aware of the high number of people who are convicted based on flimsy or falsified evidence, junk science, or coerced confessions. Now the Netflix series is educating a wider audience about…
Psychological and IQ tests can play an important part in criminal trials. Juries, judges, and lawyers are not experts in psychology and these tests often prove persuasive. However, recent research suggests courts are failing to properly screen out this evidence, allowing ‘junk science’ to influence court proceedings. A study published in February in the journal…
It can be scary to be charged with aggravated assault in Texas. One of the first questions you might ask is how aggravated assault differs from a simple assault and what kind of enhanced penalties you might face if you’re convicted. Aggravated assault means a more serious form of assault. If someone is charged with…
Police and civic leaders have highlighted a rise in domestic violence in Dallas as a factor behind a spike in the city’s homicide rate in 2019. A new approach entails more warrants for domestic abusers and agencies working more closely together. The Dallas Morning News reported domestic-violence slayings made up at least 32 of the…
Prosecutions for white-collar crimes are continuing to fall in the United States, according to a university that has tracked the figures for the last three decades. Syracuse University predicts the number of federal prosecutions for crimes like fraud and insider dealing is on course to fall to 5,175 by the end of the year, half…
Few crimes have caused the degree of national outcry and soul-searching as the killing of 22 people at a Walmart store in El Paso last summer. Now the North Texas man accused of the mass shooting has been charged with hate crimes and nearly 100 federal crimes. Patrick Crusius has been charged with both federal…