Defending People

the tao of criminal-defense trial lawyering

Accidental DIVERT Coercion

| February 8, 2010

Houston criminal-defense lawyers Herman Martinez and Dane Johnson report separately on the state of the Harris County DA’s DWI DIVERT program. Here’s Herman: This week the HCDAO decided that a defendant needs to decide if they want to be considered for the DIVERT program by their second court setting.  This is patently unfair and lends itself [...]

Share

If Halle Smith Had Been White, Would She Be Alive Today?

| February 7, 2010

I had a client recently—call him Sam—who got in the law’s bad graces for some conduct involving alcohol and the brandishing of a firearm in his garage while his young daughter slept upstairs. The daughter—well-fed, well-loved, well-adjusted and well-cared-for—was never in any danger and never even knew what had happened. Only a total idiot would [...]

Share

If He’s an Expert, Then So Is My Dog

| February 5, 2010

Yesterday at the ABA Journal Blogs, Debra Cassens Weiss asked, Are Ghostwritten Blogs Unethical. In the comments, “defunct big law associate” (in other words, my Rhodesian Ridgebacks have spent more time in law offices than he has) BL1Y writes, The fact that this is even a question shows a fundamental flaw in understanding how law [...]

Share

Anonymous Comment Reminder

| February 5, 2010

Dan Hull (What About Clients) writes (again—it’s a recurring theme on his blog) about anonymous blogging and commenting: This blog does not publish anonymous comments. Absent compelling reasons, nameless blogosphere participants, in our view, are rarely worth anyone’s time, thought, or respect–even when they think and say brilliant things. Anonymous writers have already “discounted” themselves. [...]

Share

Even If or Especially Since

| February 4, 2010

After Rosa Villegas-Vatres ran a red light and hit and killed Steve Morrison, she was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide (John Nova Lomax, Houston Press; easier to read all-on-one-page print version). Villegas-Vatres wanted to plead guilty to misdemeanor deadly conduct. The prosecutor, Brent Mayr told Steve Morrison’s family that, and warned them that [...]

Share

Roeder, Padilla, Terry, Mohammed Part 1:Roeder

| February 3, 2010

On April 16th, 1995 (three days before the highly-significant-to-militias April 19th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing and the burning of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco), Scott Roeder was arrested with bomb-making materials. Roeder claimed association with the “Freemen” movement, yet another batch of personal sovereignty kooks. On May 31, 2009, Scott Roeder shot [...]

Share

Read This Today

| February 3, 2010

In this morning’s Houston Chronicle, criminal-defense lawyer (and HCCLA ex-president, and former U.S. Navy officer) Pat McCann asks, Since When are Americans Afraid of Trials? Those who are caught in the act of a crime or afterward and can be prosecuted in our justice system, however, should be prosecuted. There is no simpler way to [...]

Share

Google Blog Bundle

| February 1, 2010

42 criminal defense blogs.

Share

Bad Behavior has blocked 2488 access attempts in the last 7 days.