StandDown Texas Project: Criminal Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Criminal Law

StandDown Texas Project

Texas-centric examination of conditions, reform initiatives, and emerging issues related to best practices in the indigent criminal justice system with particular attention to issues involving capital punishment and the administration of the death penalty.
By StandDown Texas Project

Post Frequency: 49.3/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 14:21:29

Joe Straus to Lead Texas House as Speaker

Posted on January 06, 2009
As is usual in Speaker's races, there was a prolonged period of quiet drama with all the action behind closed doors and behind the scene, broken by an occasional public pronouncement -- and then a tipping point. Suddenly, like an...

Obama Names Top DoJ Appointees

Posted on January 06, 2009
Eric Lichtblau reports, "Obama Names 4 for Justice Jobs in Break From Bush Path," in today's New York Times. President-elect Barack Obama reached back to the Clinton administration again Monday to fill four top Justice Department posts with lawyers whose...

Kagan to Be Solicitor General

Posted on January 05, 2009
Elena Kagan, currently Dean of Harvard Law School, has been chosen as the next Solicitor General. Talking Points Memo has this brief bio:Kagan, the Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law, is currently the 11th Dean of Harvard Law School. Kagan...

Two More Looks at 2008

Posted on January 05, 2009
Carol J. Williams reported, "U.S. executions reach 14-year low," in the January 1 Los Angeles Times.Executions and new death sentences continued their nationwide decline in 2008, as states wrestled with legal, moral and financial concerns about capital punishment...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Texas Speaker Politics - Craddick Out - UPDATED

Posted on January 05, 2009
The Austin American-Statesman's Garner Selby is twittering the Straus news conference.One thing is certain, Tom Craddick will not return as Speaker of the House of Representatives when the Texas Legislature convenes next week.Today's Austin American-Statesman reports, "Craddick out of speaker...

Indigent Defense in South Carolina

Posted on January 05, 2009
"Halt in pay for indigent work riles S.C. lawyers," is the report in the Charlotte Observer. It's by Matt Garfield. York County defense attorneys are reacting with anger to the prospect of not getting paid to represent indigent clients. The...

A Snapshot of Indigent Defense in Georgia

Posted on January 05, 2009
"Death case defendant sues for lack of lawyers," is Bill Rankin's report from the January 1 issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.A murder defendant who says it is ?unconscionable? for him to have been denied legal representation for eight months is...

Seven Executions Set for January

Posted on January 05, 2009
That's the title of an article from the Huntsville Item by Kristin Edwards. LINKSeven executions to be carried out at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Walls Unit have been scheduled throughout the month of January.The first execution, that of...

The Year in Death - State Round-Ups

Posted on December 30, 2008
As the year draws to a close, media outlets in a number of states are looking at capital punishment developments during 2008."Executions, death sentences down in 2008, but Alabama has set 5 executions for 2009," is the title of the...

Lethal Injection and Medical Ethics

Posted on December 29, 2008
"Washington prison doctor resigns over executions," is from the December 25th Seattle Times.The head doctor of the Washington Department of Corrections says two professional groups support his decision to resign rather than be involved in an execution because of medical...

The Difficulty of Texas Death Penalty Appeals

Posted on December 29, 2008
"Convicts' appeals bring out small points of case in search of big reward," is Colin Guy's report in the December 23 issue of the Beaumont Enterprise. It examines issues for post-conviction review in several southeast Texas capital murder cases.Could the...

More on Rodney Reed

Posted on December 29, 2008
Jordan Smith of the Austin Chronicle has provided some of the most comprehensive news coverage of developments in the Rodney Reed case over the years. The Court of Criminal Appeals' recent decision is the topic of her latest, "No Relief...

New Concerns Over DNA Testing and Analysis

Posted on December 29, 2008
"The danger of DNA: It isn't perfect," was featured in Thursday's Los Angeles Times. The article was written by Maura Dolan and Jason Felch. Here's a brief excerpt from this must-read.DNA has proved itself by far the most effective and...

Madoff Scandal Hurts Texas Innocence Project

Posted on December 29, 2008
That's the title of a news article from the Austin American-Statesman on Wednesday. LINKThe Bernard Madoff scandal is hitting home for the Innocence Project of Texas. The JEHT Foundation ? a major financial supporter of the Innocence Project ? is...

Craig Watkins, 2008 Texan of the Year

Posted on December 29, 2008
In another editorial, the Dallas Morning News named the Dallas County District Attorney its Texan of the Year. LINK Here's a brief excerpt from the editorial: Here in the state that sanctions killing more often than any other, Craig Watkins...

Death Penalty Moratorium Needed

Posted on December 29, 2008
That's the title of an editorial in today's Dallas Morning News. LINK Here's an excerpt: There is no quick or neat fix for breakdowns in justice that range from poor technology to dishonesty among officers of the court. Dozens of...

Rivera v. Illinois

Posted on December 23, 2008
Cornell Law prof Sherry Colb's latest FindLaw commentary is, "The U.S. Supreme Grants Review in Rivera v. Illinois: Reconciling Peremptory Challenges, Racial Discrimination and Harmless Error." The ScotusWiki page for Rivera v. Illinois is here. The introduction is here:In October,...

Is Texas Changing Its Mind About the Death Penalty?

Posted on December 23, 2008
That's the title of Hilary Hylton's report at Time magazine's website. LINKTexas has executed prisoners with a regularity and in record numbers that has earned the state worldwide attention. But, while Texas still led the U.S. in executions in 2008,....

Justice Seeks Executions' End

Posted on December 22, 2008
That's the title of Jack Elliott, Jr.'s, AP report, via Mississippi's Jackson Clarion-Ledger. LINKOutgoing Mississippi Justice Oliver Diaz Jr.'s impassioned call for an end to the death penalty has drawn both criticism and praise. In what was likely his departing...

In Arkansas

Posted on December 22, 2008
Beebe a cautious death-penalty backer, is Seth Blomeley's report in the Sunday Arkansas Democrat Gazette.Gov. Mike Beebe said he favors the death penalty but doesn't like his role in carrying it out. I have a lot of misgiving, but I'm...

In the Aftermath of the New Hampshire Death Sentence

Posted on December 22, 2008
Both the Concord Monitor and Manchester Union Leader examine the impact of the state's first death sentence in 49 years and the case's future.NH death sentences seen as remaining rare, is Shawne Wickham's report in the Sunday Union Leader.Former homicide...

Victim Videos

Posted on December 22, 2008
'Victim videos' grow ? but still controversial, is Vesna Jaksic's article in today's National Law Journal. Although prosecutors applaud the increasing use of courtroom videos and multimedia presentations as a means to humanize victims and demonstrate the impact of the...

News Coverage of the New Hampshire Death Sentence

Posted on December 19, 2008
"Killer receives death sentence," is the Boston Globe report.A New Hampshire jury handed down the state's first death sentence in 49 years, finding yesterday that a former Boston gang member with a history of violence should be executed for fatally...

Reflections on the Nichols Case

Posted on December 19, 2008
The Fulton County Daily Report's Greg Land has put together an excellent article examining wide ranging viewpoints of Georgia's criminal justice system in the aftermath of the Brian Nichols trial and verdict. It's titled, "Moving on: Long ordeal of Nichols...

More Recognition for Andrea Marsh

Posted on December 19, 2008
Andrea Marsh and the Texas Fair Defense Project have been recognized as Impact Players of 2008 by Texas Lawyer,in the latest issue. LINKAndrea Marsh: The Test Case Andrea Marsh's first case was a doozy. Rothgery v. Gillespie County went all...

Thomas Tamm the Federal Death Penalty

Posted on December 18, 2008
Newsweek's cover article this week is The Fed Who Blew the Whistle: Is he a hero or a criminal? It's written by Michael Isikoff, and it sheds some new light on the use of the federal death penalty in the...

First New Hampshire Death Sentence in 49 Years

Posted on December 18, 2008
AP reports, Man gets first NH death sentence in 49 years.A jury on Thursday issued New Hampshire's first death sentence in nearly a half-century to a man who fatally shot a Manchester police officer two years ago.Jurors unanimously agreed that...

Judge Says Defense Attorney in Medina Death Penalty Case Was Qualified

Posted on December 18, 2008
That's the title of today's Dallas Morning News article on the case Hector Medina written by Tiara Ellis. LINK A Dallas County judge quickly ruled Wednesday that the lead defense attorney in the Hector Medina death penalty trial was qualified...

CCA Overturns Fort Worth Death Sentence and Conviction

Posted on December 18, 2008
Appeals court grants new trial in '85 Lake Worth bombing murders, is Alex Branch's article in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday granted Michael Roy Toney the right to a new trial, agreeing that Tarrant....

CCA Rejects New Trial for Rodney Reed

Posted on December 18, 2008
The majority opinion, written by Judge Michael Keasler is here.Man on death row will not get new trial, state says, is today's Austin American-Statesman report by Isadora Vail and Steven Kreytak.The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday denied the most...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

Texas Governor Takes Surprising Stand In Favor Of Immigrants
Texas Governor Rick Perry, normally an ultra-conservative, surpris...

District Judge Upholds Texas' Moment of Silence Law
In 2003, the Texas legislature amended a "moment of silence" law s...

Irving, Texas Losing Students Due To Immigration Crackdown?
The Dallas Morning News had an interesting story Sunday about the ...

Two New USCIS Training Centers To Open In North Texas
The Dallas Morning News reports today that two regional training c...

Comprehensive Explanation of Irving, Texas Immigration Situation
The Dallas Morning News has a very good series of articles today a...