Category: Criminal Charges
Date rape allegations are taken very seriously by authorities, particularly if a drug is used. In Texas, the authorities are investigating allegations of date rape at the Texas Capitol. The TV station KVUE reported a Capitol staffer claimed she was drugged with a date-rape drug by a lobbyist during a meeting in downtown Austin. The…
As criminal defense lawyers, we do everything in our power to keep defendants out of jail. We realize that Texas’s jails and prisons are hazardous places that can harm inmates. This was again illustrated by the tragic death of Marvin Scott III in Collin County. Police arrested Scott, a Black man, in Allen for allegedly…
Thousands of prisoners have been exonerated in recent years for wrongful convictions, amounting to almost 25,000 lost years behind bars. Texas leads the nation on exonerations. In 2019, the most recent year figures are available for, Texas had the joint second highest number of exonerations in the country. However, the state leads the table of…
For more than four decades Texas Rangers have used the controversial practice of hypnosis to interrogate crime suspects and witnesses. The Texas Department of Public Safety has finally stopped using the technique. The Dallas Morning News reported the decision comes less than a year after its two-part series “The Memory Room” which raised troubling questions…
Homicides increased in many major U.S. cities during 2020, the pandemic year. Cities in Texas were no exception. This month, NPR reported on an alarming increase in homicides in 2020 which left many communities searching for answers given that the pandemic put many people on lockdown. Rising murder rates were recorded n Chicago, Los Angeles,…
Moves to strengthen Dallas’ no cruising laws to clamp down on prostitution and sex trafficking in recent weeks have provoked a lively debate. While supporters said an extension of the city’s ordinance would help police to tackle sex crimes, opponents claim they are a threat to civil liberties comparing them to maligned stop and frisk…
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 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…
The violent crime spike experienced in Dallas in 2019 appeared to be random. However, a new study reveals it follows patterns and was linked to apartment complexes, used-goods stores, gas stations, and car washes. The study by Child Poverty Action Lab found the incidence of violent crimes to be higher around certain places. However, it…
Coercing a student to consume alcohol or take drugs during initiations known as hazing, is linked to a steady stream of deaths in Texas. Legislation passed in 2019 toughened up the laws against hazing on state campuses. This month, the House Higher Education Committee met at the Capitol to discuss if the new legislation went…