Dennis Elias’s Latest Tweet :. Injustice News Twitter Feed :.Mark Bennett | October 30, 2009
The Harris County District Attorney’s office has asked criminal Court-at-Law Judge Reagan Helm to remove himself from two family violence cases because of “deep-seated bias and prejudice.” In motions filed Thursday, prosecutors said Helm has a history of making inappropriate comments to assistant district attorneys, victims and defendants. “These comments also signal to the victims [...]
Mark Bennett | October 30, 2009
The criminal-defense lawyer who served as the presiding director of the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association wrote yesterday to tell me that Adam Reposa’s writ was denied and he has to start serving his 90-day contempt sentence. Eighteen months ago I wrote, a bit critically, of the ACDLA’s role in the Reposa Affair. In yesterday’s [...]
Mark Bennett | October 30, 2009
Scott Greenfield makes the world a little safer for blawgers (via Houston criminal-defense lawyer Paul Kennedy). RIP John O’Quinn. A great lawyer and, like many great lawyers, not without personal demons (Rick O’Casey, Houston Chronicle). Memo from Pat Lykos to Harris County prosecutors: if you violate Batson you’re “incompetent;” if you violate Brady it’s the [...]
Mark Bennett | October 28, 2009
I got this in the mail:And no, it wasn’t addressed to me:How embarrassing for David E. A., whose mail was delivered to my office, for the whole world to learn that he’s facing a criminal charge. There ought to be a rule against lawyers sending out solicitations like this.
Mark Bennett | October 26, 2009
Rule 1.13. Prohibited Sexual Relations [new, renumbered](a) A lawyer shall not condition the representation of a client or prospective client, or the quality of such representation, on having any person engage in sexual relations with the lawyer.(b) A lawyer shall not solicit or accept sexual relations as payment of fees.(c) A lawyer shall not have [...]
Mark Bennett | October 23, 2009
Given how I feel about lawyers representing defendants with conflicts, I was a bit disturbed to read this piece (Lisa Falkenberg) about Richard “Racehorse” Haynes being accused of conflicted representation in a federal drug case. Richard’s client, Dong Huynh, sentenced to 22 years in prison, alleges that Richard had a conflict of interest because Dong [...]
Mark Bennett | October 23, 2009
On Facebook, one of my friends commented on this post: I’m really okay with the DA prosecuting fault for serious car crashes (these are not “accidents”), assuming they charged it appropriately. Houston leads not only Texas but the nation in terms of car crashes, and Houston-area auto owners pay among the highest liability insurance rates [...]
Mark Bennett | October 21, 2009
As if it were not humbling enough being, on my very best day, the fourth-smartest mammal in the house, I’ve got this blog and my loyal readers to remind me of my modest position in the universe. If I were afraid of making mistakes, I’d never get anything done. Life and the practice of law, [...]
Mark Bennett | October 21, 2009
Quite often a guilty subject will invoke such expressions as, “I swear to God I’m telling the truth,” “I hope my mother drops dead if I’m lying,” “I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles,” etc. Although expressions of this type cannot be considered as symptoms of deception, they frequently are used by guilty subjects in [...]
Mark Bennett | October 18, 2009
. . . Houston criminal-defense lawyer Cole Brooks’s new blog. I’m glad to see another Houston criminal-defense lawyer jump into the practical blawgosphere (even if he isn’t a member of HCCLA . . . hint, hint), and Cole’s blog isn’t blatant “I’m great! hire me!” marketing, but so far it’s heavy on explications of Texas [...]
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