Category: News
Capital murder is one of the most serious crimes that can be committed in the state of Texas. Understanding the laws can help with your defense. According to Texas law, all types and degrees of murder are classified as a criminal homicide. Any crime of murder is serious, and if issued a conviction, it can…
Defendants in Texas are entitled to a fair trial but that does not always happen. This month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out the capital murder conviction and death sentence imposed on Clinton Young, a man on death row. The court heard how one of his prosecutors also worked for the judge. The…
Police reform bills were introduced across the country after the shocking death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year. Texas was no exception. At the end of last month, the Texas House approved three reform measures that form part of a larger raft of legislation relating to police conduct. A jury convicted Derek Chauvin, a…
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…
Hate crimes again made headlines in recent weeks when a gunman killed eight people, including six Asian women, in Atlanta. The Biden administration faces pressure to bring hate crime charges against shooter Robert Aaron Long, 21, over the killings. However, the incident demonstrated flaws in the federal legislation, according to the Washington Post. The hate…
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…
The system of cash bail for defendants is controversial. Opponents say those who cannot afford to pay languish in jails even if they have been charged with minor crimes. However, the system is being overhauled nationwide after Illinois became the first state to abolish it, and a large Texas jurisdiction is allowing people to be…
Drunk driving again made headlines in Dallas this month when a police officer was killed by an allegedly intoxicated driver. The Dallas Police Department said an officer who was working an accident scene was killed in the early hours on Feb. 13. In a tweet, Chief Eddie Garcia said a police officer was “struck and…
Drug crimes are taken very seriously in Texas, particularly when they are prosecuted at the federal level. The federal courts typically deal with drug cases when a federal officer makes the arrest, the offenses cross state lines, or the charges involve large quantities of drugs, trafficking, manufacturing, or intent to distribute narcotics. Two roommates from…
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,…