Author: Broden & Mickelsen, LLP
Texas is not known for being lenient on people charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). Even first time offenders are often hit with heavy sentences not to mention ongoing payments under the Driver Responsibility Program. A new ‘second chance’ law for DWI offenders is a welcome measure that will help offenders get their lives back…
Civil asset forfeiture is a controversial tool that was restricted under the Obama administration. It allows police to seize property from defendants before they have been convicted. Under the Trump administration it’s coming back with a vengeance. On July 17, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new directive on civil asset forfeiture. The directive means…
Professional football players are no strangers to run-ins with the law. In the latest case to hit the headlines, Damien Wilson of the Dallas Cowboys was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a weapon. The linebacker was arrested on two counts aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly backed his truck into…
Another fatal shooting of a police officer in San Antonio has highlighted violence against law enforcement officers in Texas. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state flags to be lowered to half-staff in San Antonio to honor Officer Miguel Moreno. He was killed in a shoot-out last Thursday and died a day later. Moreno…
Controversial laws that prohibit sex offenders from using social media have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court as being in violation of the Constitution. On June 19, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that a North Carolina law making it an offense for convicted sex offenders to use social media violated the First Amendment…
Violent crime has been rising in many American cities over the last few years and Texas is no exception. Recent figures for Fort Worth found crime increased by 14 percent and murders were up 69 percent year-on-year. A report on Channel 5 compared crime figures in the first three months of 2017 with those in…
A Texas state representative made headlines this month when she was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Rep. Victoria Neave, D-Dallas was arrested last week and charged with DWI, reported the Texas Tribune. The report said Neave was booked at the Dallas County Jail at 3:30 a.m. Four hours earlier, police received a call about a…
Dallas police chiefs have been accused in the past of downplaying the extent of gang activity in the city. However, the interim Police Chief David Pughes appears to have broken ranks by publicly acknowledging that gang activity is driving up violent crime in the city, reported WFAA. Violent crime is up just over four percent…
Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and current U.S. Energy Secretary, has endorsed two proposed criminal justice reforms currently in the Texas legislature that would help people who have been charged or convicted of crimes. Writing in the Houston Chronicle, Perry touted reforms that took place during his tenure as governor that helped reduce Texas’…
Legislators are seeking tougher measures to combat sexual assault on Texas college campuses, but there is a lack of consensus about how to proceed. State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, submitted Senate Bill 576. The legislation would require school employees and student leaders to “promptly” report instances of sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking or family violence…