Friday, January 4, 2013

RIP, DIVERT

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On August 1, 2009, then-Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos rolled out her new DWI program - DIVERT. The purpose of DIVERT was to conv...
1 comment:
Thursday, January 3, 2013

Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose the evidence

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From the New York Times  we learn that two of the NYPD's evidence bunkers in Brooklyn came through Hurricane Sandy somewhat less than pr...
Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Tracking down betrayal

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Martin Almada is an attorney in Paraguay. He and his wife were teachers back in the 1970's when Gen. Alfredo Stroessner wielded his brut...
Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Another year, another bad idea

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Once again State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) has introduced his bill calling for reciprocal discovery in criminal cases - and, once ag...
1 comment:
Monday, December 31, 2012

(In)justice of the peace

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We would like to think our judges have a least a little knowledge of the law. We would assume a judge would also be an attorney. It would ma...
2 comments:
Sunday, December 30, 2012

Fiscal cliff? What fiscal cliff?

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If I remember my Constitution correctly, all bills dealing with taxing and spending must originate in the House.   So, it would appear to...
Saturday, December 29, 2012

Here's another bad idea

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As I was heading to traffic court on Friday afternoon I was listening to BBC World Have Your Say on the radio. The show led off with a disc...
Friday, December 28, 2012

Thinking twice before uttering that big number

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So just how much sense does it make to lock someone up in prison until they are in their 80's or 90's? Sure, maybe the sentencing gu...
Thursday, December 27, 2012

Book review: The (honest) truth about dishonesty

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How honest are we in our everyday lives? How many little white lies do we tell over the course of a day? Dan Ariely, a professor of psycholo...
1 comment:
Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Worth the paper it's printed on

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A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be in...
2 comments:
Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas thoughts

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Today while you're sitting around with the family enjoying the holiday (whichever you choose to celebrate), give a thought or two to a f...
Monday, December 24, 2012

On ritual, superstition and subjugation

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While most of us are preparing to participate in the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, I had a couple of questions for the superstit...
Saturday, December 22, 2012

It's time to shuffle up and deal, Mr. President

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Someone please let President Obama know I'm trying to get a poker night together sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'd really lo...
Friday, December 21, 2012

What's to blame for our addiction to guns?

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Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco released a study earlier this year stating that portrayals of smoking in the mo...
1 comment:

Time for the annual crackdown on the Fourth Amendment

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Once again it's that time of year when law enforcement agencies get together to celebrate the demise of the Fourth Amendment and crack ...

Big brother on the couch

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Daniele Canarelli is a psychiatrist in Marsailles. She deals with folks who have severe mental health issues on a daily basis. Joel Galliard...
Thursday, December 20, 2012

Texas DPS sued over roadside cavity search

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On a sultry July evening in Dallas Angel and Ashley Dobbs were cruising around when one of them tossed a cigarette out of the car. The state...

Unreality television

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Okay, it's time to admit a guilty pleasure of mine. I like Storage Wars . It doesn't matter which flavor - Cali or Texas. It's a...
Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Merging courts a bad idea

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In the aftermath of Reconstruction, the people of Texas decided they wanted to keep the government as weak as possible so as to avoid anyone...
Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The rich really are different from the rest of us

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So, Richard Frase, under what theory of punishment would you classify the Federal Government's decision not to indict HSBC in exchange f...
Monday, December 17, 2012

I've got a theory about that

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The other day Scott Greenfield pointed out that law schools are failing their students . And he had the bar exam pass rates to prove it. He ...
Saturday, December 15, 2012

If not now, when?

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Aurora, Colorado. Portland, Oregon. Newtown, Connecticut. After each one of these mass shootings, White House spokesman Jay Carney tol...
2 comments:
Friday, December 14, 2012

The (show) trial of the century

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US Army Col. James Pohl is faithfully doing the bidding of his masters . The man who will preside over the trial, in military court, of Khal...
Thursday, December 13, 2012

Tanks for the memories

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If you ever needed proof that asset forfeiture laws need to be reformed, this item from the Montgomery County (Texas) Courier is all you ne...
Wednesday, December 12, 2012

NTSB calls for mandatory ignition interlocks

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In 1928 Herbert Hoover promised that if he were elected there would be a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. Things, of course, ...