Category Archives: Criminal Law

Aug 14 2022

The Legal Legacy of Warren Jeffs and Yearning for Zion

Bigamy and polygamy are illegal in all 50 states. It is irrelevant to the criminal law that all the spouses in a polygamous marriage…

Jul 04 2022

Official Jury Tampering in Harris and Brazoria County

Texan and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark once said , “The jury system improves the quality of justice and is the…

Jun 26 2022

Bail Reform is Not the Cause of Rising Crime

The COVID 19 pandemic (“pandemic”) taught the American criminal justice system one thing: the nation’s cash bail system is a for-profit practice that has…

May 30 2022

U.S. Supreme Court Limits Ability to Claim Ineffective Assistance in Post-Conviction Proceedings

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel at both the trial and appellate…

Apr 17 2022

Pending Execution of Melissa Lucio Rests with Greg Abbott

On February 17, 2007, paramedics in Harlingen, Texas, responded to a call at an apartment shared by Melissa Lucio and her husband, Robert Alvarez.…

Oct 31 2021

Prosecutors Dodge Double Jeopardy, Collateral Estoppel

In the late afternoon hours of August 1, 2015, Christopher Rion was driving his Dodge Challenger in Dallas, Texas, when he collided with a…

Sep 10 2021

Can You Make a Deal in Federal Court?

It is interesting to note that most federal cases never proceed to trial in a courtroom. That’s because roughly 90 percent of federal criminal…

Jul 31 2021

SANE Nurses: Medical Providers, Experts, Law Enforcement Investigators

There are roughly 3,000 certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (“SANEs”) in the United States. SANEs now operate in all fifty states and the District…

Jun 30 2021

Unanimity of Jury Verdict in Continuous Sex Abuse Cases

Following the horrendous kidnapping and murder of nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005, Florida enacted Jessica’s Law. The statute was intended to create tough penalties…