Category: News

bpa

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…

clint

Clint Broden Dallas Criminal Lawyer in the news: – Source (By Adam Faderewski on June 25, 2018) — Dallas, TX – F. Clinton Broden, of Dallas, and Casie L. Gotro, of Houston, were selected as the Percy Foreman Lawyers of the Year based on their representation in the Twin Peaks litigation, which arose from the…

cell phone location

In a further victory for privacy, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled police must obtain a warrant to use cellphone locational data in the tracking of criminal suspects. This important ruling by the justices was handed down on June 22. The 5-4 decision was criticized by former prosecutors and dissenting justices who said it puts…

sex assault kit

For years, a massive backlog of untested rape kits in Texas has hindered investigations and the potential exoneration of people wrongly convicted of sexual offenses. However, a new law that crowdfunds money for rape kit testing is making a dent in the problem. It collected almost $250,000 in its first five months, according to the…

hacker

A recent case in which a Romanian man was sent to a federal prison for a year illustrates how aggressive cyber gaming tactics can cross a line and become a criminal offense. Last month, a federal judge sentenced hacker Calin Mateias after he launched a series of cyber attacks after he became angry in the…

come back with a warrant

Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure have been upheld in two recent landmark Supreme Court rulings related to the searches of vehicles. In both rulings handed down last month, the U.S. Supreme Court defended the right to privacy even when the parties in question broke the law. The cases were reported in USA…

use hypnosis challenged death row appeals texas

Hypnosis conjures up images of magicians and pendulums but it is used to secure convictions in Texas. Now two Dallas defendants who believe the technique landed them on Death Row are challenging the state’s use of hypnosis. The Dallas Morning News reported how Texas has one of the most well-used forensic hypnosis programs in the…

black activist dallas jailed facebook posts

A secretive federal surveillance program led to the arrest of a black activist in Dallas who was jailed for five months over his Facebook posts, a new report claims. The ordeal faced by Rakem Balogun was detailed by The Guardian last week. The black activist described how he was picked up in an FBI operation…

studies find undocumented immigrants not causing crime surge

Texas is on the frontline of illegal immigration with its border of more than 1,200 miles with Mexico. The state has also seen the enactment of a controversial ‘sanctuary cities’ law that allows police officers to inquire about a suspect’s nationality. Despite an intense national debate about immigration and crime, four new academic studies suggest…

Revenge Porn

Revenge porn has made headlines in recent years. It’s the practice of posting nude or semi-nude pictures of a former partner on the internet without his or her permission. Texas has criminalized the practice. However, a court has struck down the Texas revenge porn law for being too broad and in violation of the First…