Category: Criminal Defense
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…
Those who seek sex with children may be prosecuted at a federal level in the future if a bill introduced in Congress last week becomes law. In the wake of an FBI operation that rescued over 100 children from sex trafficking, Texas Rep. Ted Poe formally announced new legislation to help end what he termed…
In a case that attracted considerable media interest, a 44-year-old former stripper was recently convicted of attempting to kill her fiancé with the help of her teen son and his friend. Vicky Renee Miller, 44, was found guilty of attempting to kill Paul Key in November 2011. She received the maximum sentence of 20 years…
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…
DNA and the question of when and under what circumstances it can be taken from suspects has occupied many hours in the U.S. Supreme Court of late. This month the Supreme Court upheld the controversial police practice of taking DNA samples from people who have been arrested but not convicted of a crime. The justices…
Mistrials are rare but we see them from time to time. In a high profile case in Texas a mistrial has been declared after a jury was deadlocked in the trial of a woman charged in the 2011 stabbing death of a Huston-Tillotson University athlete in Austin. In the case, the jury deadlocked 11-to-1 on…
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….
Domestic violence has been in the news recently after Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings announced he is hosting an anti-domestic violence rally tomorrow. It’s part of a wider campaign that is targeting men, according to the Dallas Morning News. Rawlings expects 10,000 men to join him at City Hall on March 23, the newspaper reported. Those…