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For most taxpayers in the United States, an IRS audit is something you should try to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately, many taxpayers already know the stress that comes when the IRS knocks on your door to investigate a simple error. When the “simple error” results in a significant discrepancy in reporting, or failure to…
Is it possible to find work and rebuild your professional reputation after being convicted of a white collar crime? Here’s what you need to know about employment after conviction. When you’ve been convicted of white-collar crime, the residual effects of the conviction can last long after you’ve paid your dues. For people with a white…
Children in Texas cannot consent to sex, but they can still be charged with prostitution after state Governor Greg Abbott vetoed a bill that would have prevented them from being arrested and brought before juvenile courts. Abbott vetoed House Bill 1771. The legislation, authored by Houston Democrat Shawn Thierry, aimed to amend the Texas penal…
Texas is no stranger to hate crimes that target minorities. In recent months, the Dallas community has been shocked by a series of deadly attacks on transgender women. In May, hundreds of people from the LGBTQ+ community attended the funeral of Muhlaysia Booker, a 22-year-old transgender woman who was shot and killed. Her body was…
Internet scams are a form of fraud, and a conviction for this type of computer crime can result in serious penalties, including years in jail. Recently, investigators uncovered a large scale phishing scam that targeted tech giants Google and Facebook. Using emailed invoices, a man was able to defraud the companies out of more than…
Could the Patriot Act affect your criminal case? You’ve probably heard about this powerful federal tool that gives authorities the sweeping ability to engage in surveillance tactics, but most people only know of the Patriot Act from what they see on television. What they may not realize is that the Patriot Act often allows law…
Although many people use “restraining order” and “protective order” to refer to the same thing, these two terms actually describe two different types of court orders. In stalking and harassment cases, when someone needs protection from an alleged stalker or harasser, the appropriate order is a protective order. If you believe that another person poses…
Asset forfeiture, the process in which police seize the goods of suspected criminals, is happening on a massive scale in Texas. Even when suspects are cleared, they often still lose their cars, cash, and other goods to police, a new investigation has found. The Texas Tribune looked at 560 asset forfeiture cases in 2016, which…
Many depictions of police lineups on television or movies make it seem like police routinely and easily solve crimes simply by having a victim point out the perpetrator in a line of suspects. But do police lineups really work this way? What happens if the victim identifies the wrong person? Studies have shown that police…
Most people are curious about their family origins. It’s normal to wonder where your ancestors came from and how they moved around the world before you. This curiosity has led to a rapid rise in the popularity of home DNA testing kits like those offered by Ancestry.com and 23andMe. However, privacy experts say these kits…