Category: News
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…
Police in Texas have struggled since last year to arrest people for the possession of marijuana following the state legislature’s legalization of hemp. The process may become easier after March when new testing equipment will allow police to make the distinction between legal hemp and unlawful marijuana. Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, who is a…
Hundreds of defendants appeal court decisions every year. At Broden & Mickelsen, LLP, our criminal defense lawyers represent many people who fight their convictions in higher courts. The appeals process is far from straightforward. This month, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a decision by the 7th Court of Appeals reversing the murder-for-hire conviction…
The decision of Texas lawmakers to legalize hemp last year had wide-ranging and unforeseen consequences. Although the legislation did not address marijuana, prosecutors started to drop hundreds of low-level marijuana possession charges. Now the City of Austin is considering its own solution by effectively decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot altogether. The Austin City…
Scammers who use false numbers to make calls are a daily annoyance for many people in Texas. Making spoof calls can now be an offense after two new bills were enacted in 2019. One of the new, little-known laws imposed civil penalties on telemarketers who violate the rules while the other imposed criminal penalties. State…
Cesar Fierro spent four decades on death row in Texas. The threat of the death penalty was abruptly removed in late December when Texas’ highest ranking court decided he was given faulty jury instructions at his trial. Judges at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the Mexican national’s death sentence in December, citing incorrect…
Hate crimes are rising in Texas and Dallas saw more than any other city in the state in 2018, according to recently-released figures. The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ statistics for 2018 showed the number of hate crimes committed in Texas rose by nearly 240% from 2017 to 2018. The figures in the Uniform Crime Prevention…
Homicides in Dallas are on course to hit a 10-year high by the year’s end, sparking a demand by Mayor Eric Johnson for a plan to cut violent offenses. The Dallas Morning News reported Mayor Eric Johnson wrote a letter to City Manager T.C Broadnax highlighting the stark rise in violent crime in the Dallas…
Texas has made moves to reduce its massive prison population in recent years. Some experts say the state’s reforms don’t go far enough as prisons struggle with rising health care costs associated with older inmates. Texas Department of Criminal Justice revealed the cost of prison health care rose more than 50% over the last seven…
The case of Rodney Reed, a Texas man facing execution, has made headlines across the nation in recent weeks as millions of people signed online petitions calling for the courts to take another look at the case. Texas’ highest criminal court halted Reed’s execution on Nov. 15, sending the case back to the trial court…