Category: Criminal Defense
Family members said they knew Julie Ann Rodriguez’s life was in danger. She was a potential witness in a homicide trial involving an ex-boyfriend. But reports suggested they did not think the worst would happen. Tragically, she was gunned down in the driveway of her home a week ago. Associated Press said police reports identified…
Defense attorneys are constantly on the lookout for evidence of police and prosecutors discriminating against defendants on the grounds of race or gender. This was demonstrated at a recent trial of a man from Prosper when defense attorneys claimed Garrick White from McKinney was singled out because he is black. A jury determined that Garrick…
A teenager who was arrested following the homicide of 6-year-old Alanna Gallagher, has also been accused of shooting a police officer who attempted to arrest him. The recent killing of Alanna Gallagher shocked the Texas community of Saginaw after her body was found wrapped in a tarpaulin on a street corner. Associated Press reported Tyler…
A high profile investigation into the killing of a 6-year-old in Saginaw, Texas, highlights the increasing complexity of evidence gathering in the modern era. The death of Alanna Gallagher has shocked a Texas community. Her body was found earlier this month in the middle of a Saginaw road, naked and wrapped in a tarp. The…
The important role played by a Texas forensic lab has been highlighted in relation to a high profile murder investigation in Massachusetts. Fox News reported the authorities in Massachusetts are sending evidence from the Molly Bish homicide investigation to the Orchid Cellmark lab in Dallas. Bish was just 16 in 2000 when she disappeared at…
The case of a female Texas trooper who faces a sexual assault trial reveals the thin line law enforcement officers can tread between performing their job and breaking the law. CBS 11 News reported Dallas County Grand Jury recently indicted trooper Kelley Helleson on two counts of sexual assault and two counts of official oppression….
Texas has a bad record for wrongful convictions with more than 100 coming to light in recent years. And the revelations keep coming. This week in Corsicana a 58-year-old Texas man walked free from jail after serving almost 30 years for a crime he didn’t commit. Back in 1984 Randolph Arledge was sentenced to 99…
Criminal Justice reforms due to be considered in Texas this year could help prevent defendants making false confessions to police officers. While it makes no sense to confess to a crime you didn’t commit, criminal defense lawyers often see cases in which people who are arrested are persuaded to confess by heavy handed interview techniques….
A Texas school bus driver is just the latest in a string of female school employees in Texas to be charged with having sexual contact with a student. Diana Almanza, a 47-year-old bus driver, has been charged with sexual assault of a child, reported KPRC.com Almanza worked for Pearland Independent School District. School officials said…
Texas inmate Michael Blair ended up on death row for the gruesome murder of a 7-year-old Texas girl. His protestations that he was innocent fell on deaf ears until more than 10 years later genetic tests proved he did not kill the girl. Now he is asking the state of Texas for nearly $1 million…