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Parents regularly take away their children’s cell phones and other items as punishment but it’s rare for such actions to become criminal offenses. However, this is exactly what happened in Texas when Ronald Jackson, 36, was charged with theft after taking away his daughter’s phone. It sounds like a ridiculously heavy handed reaction from the…
Texas criminal appeals attorney Mick Mickelsen discusses the ongoing case of embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton moved to appeal a trial judge’s ruling upholding charges against him last month, and the case is still lingering. Reports now say that Paxton may not know the court’s decision until the spring….
Texas criminal appeals attorney Mick Mickelsen discusses statistics showing the number of execution stays offered by the state’s high court increased dramatically in 2015. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted double the number of execution stays last year than any other year in the last decade new reports say, which comes as a major…
Federal criminal lawyer Mick Mickelsen discusses the recent decision of a grand jury not to indict an officer in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. A grand jury has decided not indict two police officers in connection with the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Attorneys for the officers in the controversial case defended…
Criminal defense lawyer Mick Mickelsen says the motives of the accuser in the case of the embattled actor may be a key focal point in the impending trial. Actor and comedian Bill Cosby was recently charged with sexual assault over a woman’s claim that she was drugged and assaulted in his home more than a…
Texas has launched a massive crackdown on crimes such as Medicaid fraud, mortgage fraud and other so-called white-collar offenses in recent years. However, the high cost of the initiative that was spearheaded by former attorney General Greg Abbot, now Texas, governor, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks. An editorial in the Dallas Morning News…
Texas based criminal lawyer Mick Mickelsen discusses the headline making case of a missing teenager purported to be on the run after violating probation. The case of Ethan Couch, a Texas teenager charged after being involved in a drunk-driving accident that resulted in the deaths of four people, made national headlines two years ago after…
Texas’s new “open carry” law came into effect on Jan 1, 2016, sparking considerable discussion about how it will affect the criminal law and the safety of citizens. The new law permits concealed handgun licensees to openly carry a holstered firearm, making Texas the largest state to have this kind of law on its statute…
When the Dallas Morning News recently featured the case of Khristopher Hood it highlighted one of the most disturbing aspects of Texas’s criminal justice system. Hood was locked up when he was just 11-years-old and hasn’t seen freedom since. That’s about to change next year when he will be released in his 30s. The article…
Bite marks have been used for decades by forensic scientists in criminal cases to help establish the identity of offenders. But the fact it is a tried and tested method, does not mean it’s a reliable one. Now Texas is leading the way in developing guidelines on whether this evidence should be admissible at all…