Recent Blog Posts
Car Accidents vs. Truck Accidents
Car accidents and accidents involving large commercial trucks are both dangerous, but they differ in key respects. Accidents involving tractor-trailers and other large trucks can be more dangerous; they may have been caused by special contributing factors, and the legal analysis around who may be held liable and how can be different than a… Read More »
Texas Man Skips Bail during His Criminal Trial
A criminal trial in Liberty, Texas – about 40 miles northeast of Houston – made national news on August 30 when a 20-year-old man who had been free on bail left and did not return to court during a break in the proceedings (NBC News.com). After the man jumped bail, the judge issued an… Read More »
Online Communications Can Lead to Serious Criminal Charges in Texas
Houston investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit are searching for a man wanted for sexual assault of a minor. As reported by ABC 13 News, the 15-year-old female victim met the suspect on an online social networking site (such as Facebook or Twitter). The two communicated for several months by… Read More »
When a Criminal Offense becomes a Hate Crime
The small Gulf town of Portland, Texas, near Corpus Christi, found itself in the national news yesterday, June 26, as major news sources reported the weekend shooting of two teenage women, ages 18 and 19, from the area. (ABC News; CBS News; CNN) One woman was found already dead, and the other woman is… Read More »
Accomplice to Murder Executed under Texas “Law of Parties”
Beunka Adams was executed on April 26th for his role in a 2002 robbery, abduction and shooting which left one man dead. Although it was never proved at trial that Adams was the actual shooter, his death sentence came about as a result of being charged under Texas’ “law of parties,” which allows an… Read More »
First Degree Murder in Texas
ABC 13 KTRK-TV reported today that a jury has convicted a Houston drug dealer of first degree murder, sentencing him to 45 years in prison for killing an unarmed man. The shooting, which occurred in August 2009, involved an argument over a drug deal in which the victim and the defendant got into a… Read More »
From Breathalyzer to Blood Test: Sobriety Testing in Texas Gets Serious
Many have heard of the so-called loophole in DWI law and prosecution involving the refusal to take a breathalyzer test. In Texas, you do have the right to refuse to take a breathalyzer if you are stopped on suspicion of drunk driving. Refusal usually comes with a 180 day driver’s license suspension; however, the… Read More »