Tag: police
When you ride as a passenger in a vehicle, you are giving a certain amount of control over to the driver. For example, if the driver is exceeding the speed limit, you could find yourself in a situation being pulled over and stopped by the police. What happens if the driver has an illegal substance…
In a May 2018 decision, Collins v. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court held in an 8-1 decision that a police officer couldn’t venture into a private home’s “curtilage” for the purpose of conducting a warrantless search of a vehicle. The Definition of Curtilage Curtilage is one of those legal terms you might hear and…
Texas is one of the strictest states in the country for drunk driving enforcement. If you are arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), it’s important to know your rights. A recent study in WalletHub ranked Texas as the 13th toughest state in the Union on the treatment of people who are charged with DWI. Although…
Civil asset forfeiture is a controversial tool that was restricted under the Obama administration. It allows police to seize property from defendants before they have been convicted. Under the Trump administration it’s coming back with a vengeance. On July 17, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new directive on civil asset forfeiture. The directive means…
Violent crime has been rising in many American cities over the last few years and Texas is no exception. Recent figures for Fort Worth found crime increased by 14 percent and murders were up 69 percent year-on-year. A report on Channel 5 compared crime figures in the first three months of 2017 with those in…
The scope of hate crimes in Texas will expand if a bill to make all attacks on first responders hate crimes becomes law. The bill introduced in the Texas legislature would increase penalties for attacks against any first responder, including police, firefighters and EMTs, and make them hate crimes. Texas governor Greg Abbott spoke in…
The death of an African American woman in a Texas police cell in 2015 has paved the way for a new bill in the state legislature that would change police procedure. Lawmakers have made 14 recommendations that could form the basis of the Sandra Bland Act, reported the Texas Tribune. The recommendations were drawn up…
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has reiterated his determination to make violence against police officers a hate crime after a law enforcement officer was shot dead in San Antonio. Detective Benjamin Marconi, a 50-year-old police officer, was shot in the head on Sunday after he pulled over a vehicle near San Antonio police headquarters building in…
Texas is seeing a spike in crimes committed with imitation weapons, partly because offenders believe they will receive a lesser sentence if they are caught. It’s a perception that’s false in Texas. If the victim of a crime believes the weapon that’s pointed at them is real it’s sufficient to warrant a first-degree felony charge…
Dallas Police Chief David Brown has boasted in the past about historically low murder rates in the city. It’s a good news message that hasn’t been heard much in recent months as Dallas has experienced a spike in homicides of more than 70 percent year on year. The Dallas Morning News reported how two more…