Category: Criminal Defense
When a crime is judged to be motivated by factors such as race or sexual orientation, it may be dealt with by federal prosecutors as a hate crime. Under federal law the hate crime legislation may be used in offenses linked to actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin or perceived religion, national…
Drug and alcohol problems are widespread among professional football players who face huge pressures on an almost daily basis. An example is former Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent who last week asked a Dallas County judge to let him serve the rest of a jail sentence in a treatment facility. The former defensive tackle was convicted…
It may sound like an uncontroversial measure but enforcement of Dallas’ bike helmet law has become a contentious issue following evidence that police are unevenly enforcing the ordinance. An article in the Dallas Morning News stated the bike helmet ordinance is not being enforced at White Rock Lake, in Lakewood, along the Katy Trail and…
Elliot Rodger’s name is the latest to enter the infamous roll of America’s mass shooters. Rodger, 22, was responsible for a killing spree at the University of California in Santa Barbara on May 23, 2014 that left seven dead including the shooter himself. A further 13 people were injured, some of them seriously. He is…
Sex offenses can cause outrage in the community and often attract heavy sentences. Recently, the Dallas Morning News reported on how a man from Fort Worth man was sentenced to 43 years in prison without parole for molesting two girls. The Tarrant County District Attorney’s office said in a news release that a jury had…
A 13-year-old has pleaded guilty to first degree murder for his role in the fatal shooting of a gas service station employee in Texas and is to cooperate in the prosecution of his alleged adult accomplice, according to reports. The Houston Chronicle reported on how the teen was charged with capital murder over the shooting…
One of the most common charges to be brought in Texas when the actions of a driver result in a loss of life is intoxicated manslaughter. This is essentially drunk driving that causes a death. But murder charges were brought in the wake of a recent crash that caused a death in Texas. Recently, Dagoberto…
Complaints against Dallas Police Department are not uncommon. Now one man is suing the city and two police officers alleging they shot at him with no reason. The Dallas Morning News reported how six months ago David Blair first claimed Dallas police officers shot at him for no reason. He is suing officer Jesse Aquino…
Map of U.S. Sodomy Laws Repealed or Struck Down Texas is among a dozen states that still have anti-sodomy laws on their books 10 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they are unconstitutional in a case involving the Lone Star State. Associated Press reported gay right groups in Louisiana are claiming police have used…
Convicted serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells has been executed in Texas despite his claims the drug that would be used to kill him could deliver an unconstitutionally painful death. Sells was sent to prison in 1999. ABC news reported he claimed responsibility for dozens of murders across the country. He was executed in Texas on…