Unscrupulous prosecutors engage in misconduct in criminal proceedings because they know that they will, in all likelihood, get away with it—and if by happenstance their misconduct should be exposed, there are little threat that will be held professionally accountable for…
Author: John Floyd
2019
Category: Prosecutorial Misconduct
In 1935, roughly 85 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court in Berger v. United States made this oft-quoted observation about a prosecutor’s duty to conduct themselves in a fair, impartial, and most importantly an ethical manner in a criminal trial:…
2019
Category: Uncategorized
Many legal scholars believe that closing arguments are rightly considered the most important phase in a criminal trial. It is the last opportunity defense counsel will have to tip the scale in their favor. Defense attorneys approach closing in different…
2019
Category: Child Abuse | Sex Crimes Against Children
Two child sexual assault (CSA) cases in Texas offer a glimpse into the varied kinds of cases in which juries must determine guilt or innocence and, most often, punishment as well. The different results reached in each case reflect the…
2019
Category: Drug Crime | Drug Trafficking
Owners of a renowned Dallas-based “headshop” (a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia for the consumption of cannabis and/or tobacco), the Gas Pipe, were recently acquitted of drug trafficking charges after being accused of directly contributing to what was dubbed…
2019
Voir dire—French for “to speak the truth”—is the first opportunity a defense attorney has to interact with the jury directly in a criminal case. The second and final opportunity will be their closing argument. Everything else between the two are…
2019
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Criminal Law
The release of thousands of unjustly jailed citizens, an end to solitary confinement, a ban on private prisons, and raising the bar on prosecutorial accountability are all important criminal justice reforms gaining traction on the 2020 campaign trail.
However,…
2019
Category: Bribery | Federal Criminal Law
Businessman Greg Linberg owns an investment firm as well as a third-party company that manages insurance and reinsurance agencies in North Carolina. He is also reportedly a significant Republican campaign contributor.
Currently, he is accused of bribing a public…
2019
Category: Federal Criminal Law | Politics
Recent media reports that a whistleblower complaint involving President Trump may not only change the political landscape of the 2020 presidential election campaign but pose serious impeachment risks to the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
As The Washington…
2019
Category: Criminal Justice Reform | Police Misconduct | Prosecutorial Misconduct
In 2003, three men were indicted for capital murder in connection with the April 3rd murders of two people during an attempted robbery of a Harris County business, ACE America’s Cash Express. One of the victims was an employee at…