A Praiseworthy Prosecutor

Last week, Sarah Roland posted about a Brady violation in Denton County.  When such a serious violation occurs, swift and decisive action should be taken by the elected District Attorney.  I don't know what happened to the violating prosecutor in Denton County (aside from the judge barring the prosecutor from the courtroom indefinitely).  But here's how it would have been handled had the prosecutor been working for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma District Attorney David Prater.  Pretty impressive if you ask me. 

Blawg Review

I've been traveling for the last couple of weeks, which included dodging a couple of tornadoes in the the DFW Metroplex, so I've fallen behind on my posting.  Sorry.  I'll gather the recent cases and see if there's been anything blogworthy.  In the meantime, please check out the most recent Blawg Review authored by Jamison Koehler, a criminal defense attorney in Washington D.C.  Well-written and sharp-witted, with a touch of self-deprecation, Jamison's blog has quickly become the gold standard for issues relevant to criminal defense lawyers.

Hood v. State: "Too Close for Comfort"

There was a good article in this month's ABA Journal about Hood v. State.  The author concludes, and most of us would likely agree, that the Supreme Court missed an opportunity in this one to weigh-in on an important issue in legal ethics.

4th Amendment Blog Calls Texas Out

When it comes to criminal law and procedure, I've always been intrigued by 4th Amendment law.  Naturally, I'm a big fan of the 4th Amendment blog whose posts keep us well-informed regarding breaking 4th Amendment law from jurisdictions across the country.  Not exactly laudatory in appraoch, they typically point out the percieved 4th Amendment failings of trial and appellate judges as they arise.  Yesterday, they came knocking on Texas' front door with a critique of an appellate opinion from the 2nd District Court (Fort Worth).  Here's a blurb from the post:

How can a court put the burden on the defendant to show that a warrantless arrest is invalid when Fourth Amendment puts the burden on the government? Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 548 (1968). This court seems to conflate the burden of going forward and the burden of proof. The burden of going forward is satisfied by one sentence in a motion to suppress: "The defendant was subjected to a warrantless search (or arrest)."

See the full post HERE. 

Undetected College Rapists

HERE is the link to an intersting article about college men who commit sexual assaults and go undetected and unprosecuted. The article, which mentions one student from a Texas university, is an eye-opener.

What are the Odds of Getting the Death Penalty in Texas?

From the Houston Chronicle:

The death penalty is more likely to be imposed on convicted murderers who kill whites or Hispanics who have college degrees, are married and have no criminal records, according to a new study that examines 504 Harris County capital murder cases that occurred between 1992 and 1999.

Convicted capital murderers also were more likely to get the death penalty in Harris County when defended by court-appointed lawyers, while those who hired attorneys to represent them for the entire case were never sentenced to death, according to a separate brief written by the same professor.

Read full article HERE.

To Catch (and Release) a Predator: Defending the Internet Sex Sting Case

Defending the Internet Sex Sting Case - Jan/Feb 2010 issue of GP Solo.

Recently ran across an interesting article in the GP Solo magazine from the ABA.  In it, Anthony J. Colleluori, presents several helpful pointers on how to "Defend[] the Internet Sex Sting Case."  The article is available on the ABA website HERE.  The tips he provides are worth a read when you have the time.