criminal law
Harris County Jail dot com
The Houston Chronicle’s Web site offers future inmates a look at Harris lockup (archive) noted a new website, harriscojail.com.
The site, which is not affiliated with Harris County or the Jail in any way, offers information and advice from those having had the pleasure of past experience in Harris County lock up. The site is part […]
Prosecutors at Dallas County DA Office Reflect on Exoneration
In the wake of exonerations for 17 men in Dallas County, released after DNA evidence revealed they were innocent of the crimes they had been convicted of and were serving time for, Texas Lawyer tracked down some of the prosecutors involved in Witnesses to the Prosecution: Current and Former ADAs Who Helped Convict Exonerated Men […]
Writ Writer on PBS Independent Lens
The PBS series Independent Lens features the documentary Writ Writer featuring jailhouse lawyer Fred Cruz.
By most measures, Cruz was an ordinary criminal. But in prison he studied law in order to file an appeal of his conviction and 50-year prison sentence. Before long the harsh field labor, brutal corporal punishments and arbitrary disciplinary hearings experienced […]
Noted Harris County Prosecutor Kelly Siegler Blogs
Harris County Criminal Justice Blog notes that Kelly Siegler Takes a Shot at Bloggingwith There’s No Such Thing as “Closure” on the Women in Crime Ink Blog
Can you imagine the bottomless pain that a parent endures when they have learned that their child has been murdered? As many times as I have met with and […]
Casewatching United States v. Geoffrey Fieger
Norm Pattis has been covering the Geoffrey Fieger trial in Detroit which, in closing argument, famed trail lawyer Gerry Spence has called his last. From the start to the farewell - well almost, the jury’s still out as of this writing - Pattis has given us a unique look at Spence, familiarizing the legendary. Spence, […]
Houston Law Review Article on Death Penalty Profiled in New York Times
The New York Times’ Adam Liptak highlights a forthcoming article from the Houston Law Review in today’s A New Look at Race When Death Is Sought. In Racial Disparities in the Capital of Capital Punishment, Scott Phillips of the University of Denver makes a surprising finding in analysis of death penalty statistics.
A new study to […]
Thompson on Eyewitness Identification Testimony
Houston Law Prof Sandra Guerra Thompson (my own crim law prof) has posted a new paper, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt?: Reconsidering Uncorroborated Eyewitness Identification Testimony, to SSRN, publication forthcoming at UC Davis Law Review.
Pointing out that “eyewitnesses identify a known wrong person (a “filler” or “foil”) in approximately twenty percent of all real criminal line-ups” […]
Rick Casey is going away for a long, long time
Rick Casey’s column - Who I’ll hire if I’m caught - in today’s Houston Chronicle caught my eye for this rather stultifying comment - I figure if she can convict an innocent man, she can keep me out of trouble.
More on the Proposed Public Defender Office in Harris County, Texas
Interested parties are swallowing this news with a healthy dose of skepticism, but the County Commissioners Court took a step closer to the creation of a Public Defender Office in Harris County by approving the commission of a study on the financial impact of establishing a PD office. The report is expected in September.
Houston Chronicle, […]
Involuntary Public Intoxication, Good Facts Make Funny Law
Kevin Underhill’s Lowering the Bar brought this gem of a case in Court of Appeal Upholds Right to Private Drunkenness.
Like my former favorite involuntary intoxication case, Martin v. State, 31 Ala.App. 334, 17 So.2d 427 (1944), the case of In re R.K. involves officers of the law in a podunk town that can’t help but […]