Criminal Law

Welcome prosecutors...and judges

Posted on February 05, 2008
I would everyone to give a big hello to all of the prosecutors and judges that have joined us. Over the last several days, maybe a week or so, I have noticed quite a bit of traffic coming from Tarrant County computers. So either the women in the clerk's office find me particularly hot (not as far-fetched as you might think), or we have a few prosecutorial visitors...

Just the cost of doing business

Posted on February 05, 2008
I have posted before about the ridiculous nature of the court-appointed attorney system of which we are burdened. There are any number of things I don't like about it. The fact that somehow a person who has tried five second degree felonies as a prosecutor is more equipped to defend someone of a comparable crime than someone that has SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED someone of the same...

Putting the cart before the horse

Posted on February 04, 2008
Texas has a unique perspective on punishment. Well, ok, maybe a little more than unique given the number of people who receive the death penalty. But you see in Texas, you have to decide issues of punishment before you ever really start your trial. In Texas, you have to file an Application for Probation before you start your trial so that in the event there is a conviction, the defendant is probation-eligible...

Kids these days

Posted on February 04, 2008
Welcome to Juvenile Court. The world of slightly criminal proceedings coupled with a quasi-civil nature, buttressed by everything going through the probation department...before there is probation. For anyone that has never been Juvenile Court in Texas, or at least in Tarrant County, it is a little different...

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Live-blogging 1.2 - Texas v. R.B.

Posted on February 02, 2008
Well, after a day of absurdity in misdemeanor court, we had a verdict. Guilty. I hate DWI cases. This will become very evident with a later post. The trial was slightly different that most DWI trials. There was more than just one State witness...

Live-blogging 1.1 - Texas v. R.B.

Posted on February 01, 2008
Jury selection is complete. The panel was not that bad. I think jury selection is more about feel than anything else. Either you can tell about someone or you can't. It's an art, not a science. We had some really interesting people on this panel...

Welcome to live blogging - Version 1.0 - Texas v. R.B.

Posted on February 01, 2008
I am going to try this and see just how it works. I begin a simple DWI trial today in Tarrant County. My goal is to live-blog it as it happens. The goal is to blog before and after jury selection on Thursday and during the trial on Friday. It's a run of the mill DWI, but it's something different, and by God, why the hell not? Today will be jury selection...

Opposition Research

Posted on January 27, 2008
The other day I was in the courthouse having a random conversation with a fellow member of the defense bar. The topic of conversation turned to the divergent views of different prosecutors regarding a certain type of crime. During the conversation, my friend lamented just how little experience a certain prosecutor possessed to take the position she did...

Oh, to be a judge: who needs the fashion police when you have the fashion judiciary

Posted on January 25, 2008
And people say I'm weird because I like bowties. Puh-lease. At least I don't wear ascots. I read this on Anne Reed's Deliberations blog about her local prosecutor who decided he should wear an ascot to court. This is just high comedy. Maybe it's me, since I'm from Texas and all, but seriously who wears an ascot? You have to keep in mind this is some question from a guy who can tell you not only how to tie a bowtie, but the different shapes they typically come in and why or why not to buy a certain shape...

When being an aggie isn't bad enough: The story of the less than ideal victim of crime

Posted on January 25, 2008
Two Texas A&M football players were indicted for two counts of aggravated robbery recently. The victim? A local drug dealer. Aggies. Some times you gotta wonder. Apparently, Yemi Babalola, 21, and Brandon Joiner, 18, decided it would be a good idea to rob a drug dealer in an apartment on November 29th...

The games we play

Posted on January 25, 2008
Yesterday I posted about how defense work is a lot like poker. I received an email from someone not in the legal profession if I thought poker was the best possible analogy to defense work. I don't think it is. But I decided to throw it out there for my five, or six, maybe seven with the emailer, readers...

1-800-DISMISS

Posted on January 25, 2008
The very notion that a "law firm" would proudly proclaim that it can get criminal charges dismissed across the board without even knowing anything about them is repulsive. And yet that is what we have come to. 1-800-DISMISS. You see, some firms think that if they claim a case can be dismissed, they will somehow get more clients, and in turn, more money...

Living it up at the Hotel Cold Springs

Posted on January 25, 2008
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Tarrant County commissioners and the Council on Sex Offender Treatment have entered into memorandum of understanding (whatever in the hell that is) that will allow the Tarrant County Jail's Cold Springs facility to house civilly-committed sex offenders...

Irritation

Posted on January 25, 2008
I was talking to a buddy of mine from college who is an attorney in another state and we began talking about the things in our job that irritate the hell out of us. He is a civil trial attorney, which is fancy talk for taking a lot of depositions and seeing the inside of a courtroom only when there is a discovery dispute, and rarely, if ever, for an actual trial...

Disturbing

Posted on January 25, 2008
Consider the following example, if you will. Client is arrested and cannot make the bond currently set. Client (or client's representative) hires Attorney A to defend him, including getting a lower bond set. Attorney A attempts to get the bond lowered, but is unsuccessful...

Know when to hold the, know when to fold them

Posted on January 24, 2008
Like it or not, being a criminal lawyer is all about risk. How much risk are you willing to take and for what amount of reward. You can always tell the Pretender by seeing how much they are willing to risk in a given case. But you can also spot him when you see what he wants...

Running for the bench

Posted on January 24, 2008
So last night I attended my monthly Republican meeting here in Fort Worth. As is usual, many of the local candidates for various offices made an appearance. They all had some form of pamphlet or biographical information about themselves, and of course, they were all happy to give it to you...

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