[announcement_2] Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Ex Parte Bryant No. WR-74,973-01 11/19/14 (click here to read the news story on the original 2008 trial) Issue: When the State repeatedly referred to the fact that two defense witnesses had failed polygraph tests, was the defendant’s counsel ineffective for not objecting and moving for a mistrial? … Read more
Using standardized tests in a non-standard world poses many problems. While the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) in DWI cases provide officers an essential tool in detecting impaired drivers, sometimes the most oft-used tool is not the right tool. This may come as a surprise to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), policymakers, and … Read more
May you be blessed to live in interesting times. (Or is it cursed?) Whichever way the old proverb cuts, we are living in a very interesting time for prosecutors. Whether it’s due to the prevalence of the 24-hour news cycle which requires any “new” news as fast as possible, or the immediate dissemination of information … Read more
As I sat anxiously waiting to hear the punishment verdict on the trial of Edward Russell, a sexually violent predator we prosecuted for violating the terms of his civil commitment, I wondered if 12 strangers saw the deception and deviance in this man. It turns out, they certainly did. On October 12, 2011, the … Read more
There are some cases where, in theory, the State could charge the defendant with two, four, 12, or even 20 instances of precisely the same conduct: the defendant who repeatedly molested his step-daughter, the husband who repeatedly hit his wife, or the drug dealer who made multiple trades in a single day. While prosecutors … Read more
A real-life application of a previous article in this journal about why we should still prosecute when a family violence victim won’t cooperate I am a misdemeanor prosecutor, so I do not see many truly violent assault cases or any involving deadly weapons. But I certainly see my share of Class A assault-family violence cases. … Read more
Unites States Supreme Court Connick v. Thompson (5-4) 03/29/11 : Cite No. 09-571 Issue: Can a district attorney’s office be held liable under 28 U.S.C §1983 for failure to train based on a single Brady violation? Holding (Thomas): No, not under the very narrow range of circumstances constituting single-incident liability. Also, Thompson failed to prove … Read more
A VAWA grant has enabled the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office to teach other victim assistants how to craft their own packets to protest parole for the worst offenders. History buffs or Francophiles might know that “parole” means “word” in French. As in word of honor, a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing … Read more
History was made at TDCAA’s Annual Criminal and Civil Law Update with the election of the new Victim Services Board. The election was the culmination of the association’s long-range strategic plan to transition the Victim Assistance Coordinators Committee to the new board with regional representation. Thanks go to the TDCAA board and staff along with … Read more
If you had to stay back at the office during our Annual Criminal and Civil Law Update in September, you might have felt a little lonely. It seemed, at least to us as we signed in wave after wave of attendees, that most TDCAA members were in the Convention Centre on South Padre Island. It … Read more