When the COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, life as we knew it came to a halt, including the court system. Since then, all jury trials throughout Texas were postponed until further notice. In Bexar County, criminal trials are not expected to proceed until late August. Unfortunately, the stoppage of the courts means high profile cases can be delayed for a long time. In addition, ...
On November 25, 2019, President Donald Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act), making animal cruelty a federal crime. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Democratic Florida Congressman Ted Deutch and Republican Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan in the U.S. House of Representatives in October and pushed through the Senate the following month by Democratic ...
One of the fundamental rights that anyone accused of a crime in the United States has is the right to a swift and fair trial under the law. There are numerous ways that this can be accomplished, but one of the most frequent ways that this is established is by ensuring that evidence remains untampered and key witnesses are able to accurately remember the event in question. Statute of limitations ...
As a parent, getting a call from the police station concerning your child can be one of your worst nightmares. If your child happened to be carrying a weapon, they may be facing severe charges. Children are often impressionable, striving to impress their friends and loved ones, and may have simply found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. While children under the age of 18 can go ...
Earlier this month, the State of Texas was scheduled to execute Scott Panetti. Panetti was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1994 for the murders of his mother and father in-law, Amanda and Joe Alvarado. On September 8, 1992, Panetti went to the Alvarado's home in Fredericksburg where he shot and killed them with a sawed-off rifle. The murder took place in front of his wife and ...
On November 6, San Antonio's City Council unanimously passed an ordinance banning the use of handheld devices while driving. The Council cited safety concerns as its primary justification for the ban. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TX DOT), distracted driving contributed to over 90,000 vehicle accidents in 2013. There is currently a statewide ban on cell phone use in school ...
There were two interesting cases earlier this year that many drivers can relate to. Both cases involved drivers who flashed their headlights to oncoming cars to warn them of speed traps. A speed trap is the name given to areas on the road where police or state troopers park their vehicles, presumably to catch motorists for speeding. Many drivers find speed traps unfair and sometimes openly alert ...
No one doubts that drunk driving is a terrible practice. Still, measures taken by the State of Texas to deter drunk driving continue to face uncertainty. Recent court cases have mainly focused on whether police officers are required to obtain a warrant before submitting suspects to blood alcohol tests. In 2009, the State legislature amended Section 724.012 of the Transportation Code to permit ...
Law Enforcement & Cell Phone Tracking: When Communication is Not So Private Smartphone technology has permanently changed the way that people stay connected with one another. But like all advances in technology, there have been some unintended consequences. As criminals find new ways to exploit this technology, law enforcement agencies are also finding themselves searching for new ways to keep up. ...
The Supreme Court, the Fourth Amendment, and the iPhone6 In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court answered an important question about how to apply the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches in the era of smart phone technology. In Riley v. California , the Court held that when an individual has been lawfully arrested, police must first obtain a warrant before searching the ...
The television personas we see representing attorneys are not reality, and the idea that every attorney is sporting a Rolex is farfetched. Movies provide a glimpse of what may be real, but the truth is most attorneys are overworked and underpaid. Movie plots are pretty much like all attorneys- “a dime a dozen.” An attorney, like everyone else, is chasing a dream. A dream that few seldom achieve. A ...
One of the fundamental rights that anyone accused of a crime in the United States has is the right to a swift and fair trial under the law. There are numerous ways that this can be accomplished, but one of the most frequent ways that this is established is by ensuring that evidence remains untampered and key witnesses are able to accurately remember the event in question. Statute of limitations ...