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

Net Roots Nation

Posted on July 17, 2008
I'm going to the Austin Convention Center for the opening day of Net Roots Nation. I'll likely do some live blogging from the conference. Posts will resume later today. The exhibit hall is on the 4th Floor of the Convention...

Missouri Lethal Injection Procedure Constitutional

Posted on July 17, 2008
"Federal judge upholds Missouri execution procedure," is the report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Missouri's lethal-injection procedure is not cruel or unusual punishment, possibly ending a series of lawsuits that kept the state's death...

Defense Cries Foul on Yogurt Shop DNA

Posted on July 17, 2008
That's the headline of Jordan Smith's latest report in the current Austin Chronicle. LINK Here's an extended excerpt: In a new motion filed Tuesday, July 15, lawyers for the two defendants in the yogurt shop murder case say the Travis...

Rodney Reed

Posted on July 17, 2008
Also in today's Austin American-Statesman, "Attorney files to submit more evidence in death row case." The attorney for death row inmate Rodney Reed filed a motion Wednesday asking an appeals court for a new trial because of what he cited...

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

David Lee Powell

Posted on July 17, 2008
The Austin American-Statesman reports, "Cop killer loses appeal." The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, in Adobe .pdf format, is here. A man convicted and sentenced to death for killing an Austin police officer during a routine traffic stop 30...

Reaction to World Court Ruling

Posted on July 16, 2008
A news release has been issued by attorneys involved in the litigation. Here's an extended excerpt: Mexico?s request as a vindication of that institution?s faith in the United States?s political will and ability to enforce the Avena Judgment,? said Donald...

World Court: U.S. Must Delay Mexican Death Sentences

Posted on July 16, 2008
That's the Reuters headline of the ruling by the International Court of Justice. LINK The World Court on Wednesday ordered the United States to do everything necessary to ensure five Mexicans on death row are not executed before the court...

Lethal Injection Round-Up

Posted on July 16, 2008
In Mississippi, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger carries an AP report, "Inmates' execution lawsuit thrown out." A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday filed by four death row inmates who claim Mississippi?s method of lethal injection is unconstitutional because it could cause...

World Court to Rule on US Executions

Posted on July 16, 2008
That's the title of an AP report from The Hague, via Google News. LINK The U.N.'s highest court is ruling Wednesday on an emergency Mexican appeal to block the execution of its citizens on death row in the United States....

Howard County Joins Regional Capital PD

Posted on July 15, 2008
Midland's KWES-TV station reports, "Howard County Joins Public Defender Task Force." It cost them nothing to join, but it could save thousands of tax dollars. Howard County Commissioners said yes, Monday morning, to joining the Public Defender Task Force, all...

Has a U.S. Attorney Knowingly Prosecuted Innocent People?

Posted on July 15, 2008
That's the title of commentary in the latest American Lawyer written by Columbia Law prof Scott Horton. LINK In March 2007 the U.S. government charged Axion Corp., a small business in Huntsville, Ala., with illegally giving technical drawings for a...

Lethal Injection Round-Up

Posted on July 15, 2008
"Court holds back Missouri execution," is the report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Missouri Supreme Court has postponed what would have been the state's first execution in nearly three years, to allow further legal challenges to its lethal-injection protocol...

Ohio Prosecutors Seeking Life Without Parole Instead of Death Penalty

Posted on July 15, 2008
That's the title of an article by the Canadian Press via Google News. LINK On the surface, Laqwan Scandrick seemed a perfect candidate for a charge carrying the possibility of a death sentence - he shot a man to death...

Howard County, Texas

Posted on July 14, 2008
The Big Spring Herald reports, "County to Consider Joing Public Defender Task Force." Howard County commissioners are expected to consider joining an 85-county public defender task force Monday morning, in an effort to keep costs down on capital murder cases...

Lie Detectors Earn Respect

Posted on July 14, 2008
That's the title of an article in the current National Law Journal reported by Tresa Baldas. LINK It's the truth: It may be getting tougher to lie in court. A wide range of tests designed to catch liars is starting...

Lubbock Examines Rothgery Implications

Posted on July 11, 2008
KJTV-TV of Lubbock reports, "Lubbock Not In Compliance With Indigent Defense Process." Lubbock County isn't the only one that hasn't been in compliance: 252 other Texas counties also need to get on the ball to change their indigent defense process....

Nichols Trial to Change Location

Posted on July 11, 2008
"As Jury Selection Resumes, Judge Wants Courthouse Shooting Case Moved," is the title of Greg Land's article in today's Fulton County Daily Report. The challenge in finding an impartial jury to decide whether Brian G. Nichols should be held responsible...

Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts

Posted on July 11, 2008
The National Law Journal has commentary by Matthew Kaiser, Washington, D.C. attorney, "Lab Technicians, Too." It concerns the case of Melendez-Diaz v.Massachusetts, which will be herad in the Supreme Court's next term. Here is an excerpt from the beginning: The...

Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment

Posted on July 11, 2008
The chair and members of the panel have been named. Governor Martin O'Malley named former U.S. Attorney General Benjamin R. Civiletti to head the group. Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person sentenced to death and exonerated by DNA evidence, is also...

Court to Rule on Mexico Bid to Halt U.S. Executions

Posted on July 11, 2008
That's the title of a Reuters report from Amsterdam. It refers to the International Court of Justice, also know as the World Court. LINK The World Court said on Friday it will rule next week on a Mexican request that...

Texas Execution

Posted on July 11, 2008
Texas carried out its second execution of 2008 last night in Huntsville. It's the 407th execution in the state since 1982. Texas has carried out far more executions than any other jurisdiction in America, more than 36% of all the...

David Kaczynski's Newsday OpEd

Posted on July 10, 2008
Daivd's OpEd, "New York should never have a death penalty," is in today's edition of Newsday. He is executive director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty. Wrongful convictions result from a variety of causes, including eyewitness mistakes and inadequate...

More on Clemency - UPDATED

Posted on July 10, 2008
Tennessee's Knoxville News-Sentinel has the editorial, "Tennessee case good one for high court." A Tennessee criminal case will provide the U.S. Supreme Court with an opportunity to determine if indigent death-row inmates seeking clemency have a right to lawyers paid...

Scheduled Execution

Posted on July 10, 2008
Texas AP has, "Man who killed parents set to die Thursday." Condemned inmate Calrton Turner's hopes to avoid the Texas death chamber for a second time for killing his parents a decade ago rested again with the U.S. Supreme Court....

Nevada Execution Challenge Dropped

Posted on July 10, 2008
The Las Vegas Sun carries an AP report, "Execution challenge dropped." A state Supreme Court case challenging Nevada's use of lethal injection to execute inmates has been voluntarily dropped by the American Civil Liberties Union and the state attorney general's...

More on Oklahoma Clemency Recommendation

Posted on July 09, 2008
The Oklahoman's NewsOK.com reports, "Board asks Henry to stop inmate's execution," by Julie Brisbee. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has asked Gov. Brad Henry to halt the execution of a man sentenced to death for killing a man during...

Nichols Trial to Begin Tuesday in Georgia

Posted on July 09, 2008
Law.com's Fulton County Daily Report has, "Judge Rejects Final Bid to Delay Trial of Ga. Courthouse Shooter." Attorneys for accused Fulton County Courthouse shooter Brian G. Nichols tried a couple of last-ditch efforts to put off his long-delayed trial on...

Editorial Round-Up

Posted on July 09, 2008
Texas is referenced in editorials today in Alabama and Pennsylvania. The Anniston Star has, "The reason for his vist: Dr. Death Penalty's message." The severity of the topic is reason enough to again mention a visitor who came through the...

Death Penalty a Costly Proposition

Posted on July 09, 2008
That's the title of an article in today's Las Vegas Sun. LINK Only 8 percent of those sentenced to death in Nevada have been executed in the past 25 years. Almost as many Death Row inmates die from natural causes...

Clemency Recommendation in Oklahoma

Posted on July 08, 2008
AP reports, "Clemency recommended for convicted killer," via NewsOK.com. The state parole board has recommended clemency for a man convicted of a killing in Oklahoma City during a robbery of a steakhouse in 1996. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board....

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...