Blog

The opioid crisis is a real crisis. People are dying. Of course, the government looks for a clear bogeymen in these situations, since it makes for palatable political fodder. In the two decades after Ronald Reagan took office as President, the main bogeymen for the drug crisis were the drug users themselves. The zero tolerance […]

When Ezekiel Elliott was accused recently of domestic violence, my bullsh*t meter started ringing. I’ve spoken on the topic of Domestic Violence and family assault before, but examples keep surfacing that proves my point. We, the collective society, have created an atmosphere of victimization that makes it far too easy to accuse and convict individuals […]

The Danger of Staying Home I can’t speak for other criminal defense attorneys but judging by the calls I’m getting it appears that the stress of home confinement has caused an increase in family violence. Some of it is simple bickering, some is outright hostility and unfortunately, some of the calls I get describe criminal […]

The Damage of a False Accusation Many of my clients are innocent. Falsely accused, they burn with a fury that is often times difficult to reign in. I am often asked the same question, “You mean to tell me that I can be charged with a crime based only on the statement of one person?”. […]

One of the great new policies of the Harris County District Attorney’s office is the use of Pretrial Diversion. The program provides an accused the assurance of a dismissal with the completion of certain conditions. The conditions are usually burdensome, but no more than a regular probation or deferred adjudication. The difference is that at […]

Pretrial Intervention is a contract with the prosecutor that feels a whole lot like probation. That’s the bad part. The good part is that the prosecutor’s responsibility is to dismiss the criminal action so long as the accused fulfills the probation-like conditions for which he is responsible. There is no formal plea necessary. And I […]

Every summer, us criminal defense attorneys pay attention to the mechanizations of the Texas Legislature to determine what new laws we may be having to deal with in September. This year I was curious about a bill proposed by a Conroe legislator that mandated a DNA sample for essentially all persons arrested of a crime […]

I have addressed some of the problems with pretrial diversion in all types of cases, and the dangers discussed apply in DWI cases as well. However, there are some unique issues with DWI diversions that a client needs to understand. In many respects, a pretrial diversion for a DWI is a gift. An individual charged […]

I had to upgrade my computer last year. I went to the most powerful Mac Pro available, and added an external four terabytes. I didn’t have a choice but to spend the money. I needed the video editing capabilities that only a monster processor and memory would provide. Thanks to technology, the time is fast […]

The Bail Reform Act of 1984(18 U.S.C. §3142) is the best place to start. This law was enacted during “Just Say No” and the TV show Miami Vice, where the country was coming to terms with the proliferation of cocaine. The act allows a Federal Court to detain an arrestee pending trial if the Government […]