Author: Broden & Mickelsen, LLP
During police investigations, many other people often give DNA evidence to be eliminated from an inquiry. However, a new study compiled this summer points to widespread errors in how laboratories analyze DNA and dangers for people who provide samples. Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology provided 105 laboratories with the same DNA…
Texas has a wide definition of domestic violence crimes. Although we often think of domestic violence offenses occurring between husbands and wives or people who are dating, there are many more classifications. The Lone Star State recognizes three distinct crimes of domestic violence, namely domestic assault, aggravated domestic assault and continuous violence against the family….
Bail hearings are coming under fire across the country. In Dallas County, the secretive nature of the process is the subject of a lawsuit. Last month, the Texas Tribune reported bail hearings are open to the public in much of the country. The idea is the process should be transparent. However, in Dallas County people…
Police body camera evidence is a relatively new and powerful tool in criminal trials. Footage has helped expose improper DWI arrests and heavy-handed police tactics. In a recent murder trial, the video footage helped secure the murder conviction of a Texas officer accused of shooting a 15-year-old dead. Police officers are seldom convicted of murder…
Breathalyzers have been used for decades across the country to bring charges against drunk drivers. Many Texas motorists who fail a breath test make the mistake of believing it is foolproof and they should plead guilty. However, there are many factors that can skew a breath test and invalidate a charge. Breath tests in Texas…
In recent years, many forensic techniques have been discredited as new information cast doubt on their reliability. Texas has a trailblazing state law allowing courts to overturn convictions in cases where the scientific evidence that led to the original verdict has since changed or been discredited. Although the law is not often used, it has…
Texas has had a hate crime statute since 2001. However, the law is used sparingly and many people who are arrested for hate crimes are not eventually convicted. Hate crime charges can also be brought by the federal authorities. Last month, a 26-year-old man was convicted of a federal hate crime for burning down a…
Many of the forensic analysis techniques used to secure convictions in the 1980s and 1990s have been debunked as ‘junk science.’ Blood-stain pattern forensic analysis is the latest technique to be undermined in a case involving a Texas educator. Joe Bryan, a former school principal from Texas, has spent more than 30 years in prison…
Texas prisons are tough and uncompromising places. As well as facing dangers on a daily basis, inmates were targeted by unscrupulous employees, according to an investigation. Several Texas prison employees were indicted earlier in July for allegedly conspiring to plant screwdrivers in an inmate’s cell, the Texas Tribune reported. On the back of the incident,…
Homicide is treated very seriously in Texas. At one end of the spectrum is capital murder which can lead to the death penalty. Criminally negligent homicide is at the other end of the scale. A charge of criminally negligent homicide is brought only in very specific cases. This month, a jury in Collin County found…