Author: Broden & Mickelsen, LLP
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…
Texas is one of just seven states nationally that treats 17-year-old offenders as adults in the criminal justice system. That may be about to change if a bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility becomes law. A bill to raise the age from 17 to 18 was passed in the House last week, reported…
The announcement by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, that he will end an independent panel set up to raise scientific standards in forensics, has provoked a backlash. Sessions announced this month that he has suspended a Justice Department review of widespread flaws in FBI forensic expert court testimony. The announcement comes on the back of…
A Texas man who was convicted of the murder of a Putt-Putt golf course assistant manager has been granted a stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Paul Storey, 32, was convicted in 2008 for the murder of Jonas Cherry. He was scheduled to die this month, but concerns that defense attorneys…
The number of exonerations in the United States rose again in 2016. Many of the wrongful convictions were in Texas and more than half of them were related to cases in which no crime was committed. The annual report from the National Registry of Exonerations found the number of exonerations rose to 166 last year,…
The scope of hate crimes in Texas will expand if a bill to make all attacks on first responders hate crimes becomes law. The bill introduced in the Texas legislature would increase penalties for attacks against any first responder, including police, firefighters and EMTs, and make them hate crimes. Texas governor Greg Abbott spoke in…
The rapid growth of social media and apps has to a raft of new cyberstalking laws at federal and state levels. Offensive tweets, Facebook posts, and texts have been linked to teen suicides and other consequences. However, in a recent case involving a Dallas-based reporter, a tweet is linked to direct harm. A man from…