Texas Asked Citizens to Fund Rape Kits by Edward Lyon by Edward B. Lyon In August 2011, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials told the legislature about the state's backlog of 20,000 untested rape kits. A law was enacted requiring police agencies to submit newly gathered kits for testing …
Texas Cops Shoot Fleeing, Unarmed Traffic Violators by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson A Bellaire, Texas woman was nearly killed in the privacy of her own home, by indiscriminate police gunfire. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave as three unarmed women were hospitalized for gunshot wounds. Houston Police …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Right to Appeal Judge’s Questioning Not Forfeited by Failure to Object by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell The right to appeal a judge’s improper questioning of a witness during trial was not forfeited by the defendant’s failure to object contemporaneously because such an error is …
Houston Police End Use of Error-Prone Drug Field Tests by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Clarke In the summer of 2017, the Houston Police Department announced that it was ending its longstanding practice of using $2 field test kits for drugs that had frequently been used to persuade defendants to plead …
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas: Holds Trial Objection Enough to Preserve Issue for Appeal by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell When counsel objects at trial to a particular issue—even if it had failed to raise it in a pre-trial written motion—that objection is enough to “preserve” the issue for …
Fifth Circuit Vacates Sex Offender Supervised Release Conditions by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated several sex offender supervised release conditions, finding that the lower court abused its discretion in imposing the conditions. In 1998, Chanda Huor, 16, pleaded guilty …
Texas Judge Resigns Over Speeding Ticket Quota by For more than 15 years David Viscarde was a volunteer municipal court judge in the small central Texas town of Calvert in Robertson County before he resigned over what he said was pressure by town officials to push speeding tickets through his …
Officer Shootings And Custodial Deaths, Texas Justice Initiative, 2018 Fact Sheet OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS AND CUSTODIAL DEATHS IN TEXAS 1. Where do shootings happen? Shootings happen where people happen. The vast majority of Texas shootings (89%) occur in urban areas, but the vast majority of Texas people also live in urban …
Texas Man Battered By Police Settles Civil Lawsuit by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A Williamson County, Texas man has settled a federal lawsuit against two police officers and the county for an undisclosed amount. Will Aguilar was driving his motorcycle home from a paramedic class April 9, 2009 when …
$80,000 Jury Award in Texas Excessive Force Claim by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A jury has awarded a Carrolton, Texas man $80,000 for damages sustained when a police officer used excessive force against him. Jason Dean Geils was arrested for DUI on December 9, 2009. Carrolton police officer Don …
$2,000 Settles Texas False Arrest Claim by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A Whitehouse, Texas woman and her minor son have settled a claim of false arrest and false imprisonment for $2,000. Candace Caroline McCarrell was driving with her son, J.M., on June 8, 2012, when she was pulled over …
Texas Police Officer Still Has His Job After Multiple Excessive Force Settlements by In most jobs when an employee continues the same pattern of unacceptable behavior three times, he or she is immediately terminated. However, that is not the case for an officer with the Austin Police Department in Texas. …
Texas Attorney General Rules Civilly Committed Sex Offenders Entitled to Vote by Mail Ballot by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In May 2017, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled that civilly committed sex offenders have a right to vote by mail ballot. The ruling puts an end to the confusion …
Supreme Court Holds Texas May Not Use Outdated Standards to Determine Intellectual Disability in Death Penalty Cases by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In a 5-3 opinion handed down on March 28, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (“CCA”) violated the Eighth Amendment …
Texas Court of Appeals Upholds Dismissal of Suit Against Parole Board by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 23, 2016, a Texas court of appeals upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against a parole board member and two parole commissioners. John Henry Boykin, a Texas state prisoner, filed …
State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee: Review of the Operations of State Counsel for Offenders, 2017 Review of the Operations of State Counsel for Offenders Report by the State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee1 Approved for …
State Counsel for Offenders Report Review of the Operations of State Counsel for Offenders Report by the State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee1 Approved for Publication December 8, 2017 Disclaimer: The following report and the underlying research were completed by members of the …
Fifth Circuit Dismisses Interlocutory Appeal of Roadside Body-Cavity Search Suit by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On January 12, 2017, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals dismissed the interlocutory appeal of a deputy sheriff who was a bystander when a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer conducted a roadside …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Denial of Continuance to Retain Counsel Morning of Revocation Hearing by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a lower court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to continue a supervised release revocation hearing to allow …
Evidence Scandal Leads to the Dismissal of over 140 Texas Criminal Cases by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Destruction of evidence held at the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office led to the dismissal of over 140 Texas criminal cases—most of them involving drug charges. When supervisors at the Precinct …
