Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Highway fatality rates drop to lowest level since 1949

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With state after state ramping up DWI enforcement and dreaming up new ways to violate motorists' rights comes news that the rate of traf...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Maybe their faces will turn up on milk cartons

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Neutral and detached magistrates are looking more and more like an endangered species -- particularly in Missouri, according to this piece ...

Walking a thin line

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Until it has been proven that a crime was committed, there are no victims - there are complaining witnesses. It's one of the biggest phi...
Monday, April 4, 2011

Sticking it to the solos

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State Representative Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton) has authored a bill ( HB1072 ) that would exempt attorneys employed by the State of Texas ...

Waving your rights goodbye

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The other day I found myself in the discovery room at the Galveston County District Attorney's Office reviewing a file in a new case. An...
Saturday, April 2, 2011

Just for the heck of it

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 Tattoos? I can take 'em or leave 'em.
Friday, April 1, 2011

The end of the ride?

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I came across this item on my Google Reader app on my phone this morning: Blawg Review #305   is hosted by a fool in the forest. Being the ...

And now a word from the kingmaker

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What follows is from an open letter to the Texas Republican Party by Houston-area kingmaker and all-around wingnut, Dr. Steven Hotze... Dea...

Out of the mouths of unethical prosecutors?

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Rule 3.07 Trial Publicity (a) In the course of representing a client, a lawyer shall not make an extrajudicial statement that a reasonable p...
Thursday, March 31, 2011

Play ball!

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There are some things in life that don't need to be changed because they're perfect just the way they are. Change is fine - if by ch...
2 comments:

Reasonable doubt?

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Harris County (Texas) Commissioner Jerry Eversole (we might need to start calling him Teflon ) walked out of the federal courthouse in Houst...
3 comments:
Wednesday, March 30, 2011

I'm a (true) believer

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A judge shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct manifest bias or prejudice, including but not limited to bias ...
3 comments:
Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Is this thing on?

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Would you try a DWI case without a court reporter? What about an assault case? A dope case? A burglary case? Would you even consider tryin...
Monday, March 28, 2011

Paper training for judges?

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What is the proper response when you have evidence that a judge has violated the Constitution in the course of suspending someone's sent...
Friday, March 25, 2011

Closure?

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It is our realization that we are mortal that sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. As we grow up we see those around us die. T...
Thursday, March 24, 2011

Washington's latest assault on the Fourth Amendment

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The existence of sobriety checkpoints on our roadways is an affront to the Fourth Amendment. The very notion that it's okay for the poli...

Preaching from the bench

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"Do I ever have a deal for you. I know you don't have time to do all that community service you will be assigned as part of your pr...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A job well done

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One of my Facebook friends posted the following comment on her wall the other day: Okay, so in court today someone said, "the only per...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The death machine keeps a-rollin' along

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So Travis James Mullis will die. Mr. Mullis will be murdered by the State of Texas as the result of his conviction for stomping his 3-month-...
Monday, March 21, 2011

Game theory, poker and trial strategy

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When playing poker, is it better to bluff when you think your hand has a chance of winning or is it best to bluff when you think your hand s...
Saturday, March 19, 2011

Issue spotting

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Here's your criminal law final for the semester. Who could you charge and what would you charge them with?
Friday, March 18, 2011

Artificial reality

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Artificial turf in front of the Harris County Civil Courthouse. What a perfect metaphor for what happens in trial. In trial an action is ...
Thursday, March 17, 2011

Still a bad idea -- even with a fancy name

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Reciprocal discovery. It sounds so innocuous. Since the State is required to make certain documents in a criminal prosecution available to t...
2 comments:
Wednesday, March 16, 2011

At what point does a budget crisis morph into a constitutional crisis?

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According to an article in this week's Texas Lawyer , the bickering between Demopublicans and Republicrats over funding the federal gove...

Go big, or go to the big house

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While 16 employees of the City of Houston's public works department face criminal prosecution for allegedly stealing copper, brass and o...