Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

I got a not guilty today on a marijuana bench trial. In large part this was due to the work of the citizen accused who did not waive his rights on the side of the road.

Remember, if the police ask you about anything illegal; drugs, guns, drinking and driving, murder, steroids, illegal poker rooms- ask for a lawyer.

If the police ask you to search your car- always say no and ask for a lawyer.

If the police search anyway, and if they are lacking in probable cause, and if they can't meet one the many exceptions for drug searches*; then your lawyer can ask the court to suppress whatever they find.

* Our appellate courts have bent over backwards to uphold drug searches in recent years. The 4th Amendment is on life support, but not completely dead yet.
Remember, just say no, to consent searches.

I'll be the first to admit that news site comments are not the highest form of debate. However, they can be a useful gauge of how some members of the public feel on an issue. So how do the conservative readers of the TT feel about cannabis prohibition?

Here is a recent news story from Terrell, Texas courtesy of the Terrell Tribune.

Marijuana growing operation discovered off Lawson Road

A combined effort involving Kaufman County Sheriff;s Office investigators and the Department of Public Safety located a marijuana plant growing operation on the western edge of Kaufman County.

According to KCSO spokesperson Pat Laney, the highly developed growing operation was located in the Lawson Road area just off of U.S. Highway 80.

Authorities seized 7,125 marijuana plants. It appears that the illegal growing venture had just been started.

The street value of the marijuana plants after harvest is estimated to be in excess of $71,000, Laney said.

Nothing sexy. Just a typical cops find weed and dig it up story. To my surprise, this bust generated a lot of comments for a benign "crime" story. Instead of reposting them I invite you to head on over to the Terrell Tribune (they wrote the story and deserve the hits). Read the comments and ask yourself, which side of the debate has more logic and intellectual depth? And which side is ad hominem nonsense?

I'll make a few quick points that I've already covered in the past.
1. Opportunity costs- every minute we make cops spend digging up plants is not spent on solving and preventing real crime.
2. Marijuana can't kill you. It's non toxic.
3. There wouldn't be grow operations all over the place if weed was legal. Are there moonshine stills all over the place?

I don't blame law enforcement for this bust. Law enforcement by definition, enforces laws. But turning cops into lawn care men with guns is a bad investment that makes us less safe.

DMN has a piece on Dallas County's DNA exoneration team. The goal now is move to non DNA cases where, undoubtedly, dozens if not hundreds of innocent defendants have been convicted over the years.

DNA cases are the low hanging fruit of wrongful convictions. Why are so many people wrongfully convicted? One reason is that eyewitnesses can be pretty lousy when it comes to identifying a suspect in court. Here's a quote from DMN

Ware, prosecutor Cynthia R. Garza, investigator James Hammond and paralegal Jena Parker - the four members of the conviction integrity unit - say they are using the lessons learned from the certainty of the wrongful convictions in the DNA cases to guide them.

They question the reliability of eyewitness identification, and while it's not always incorrect, Ware says it is not the "gold standard" that prosecutors and juries once believed it to be.

An investigation by The Dallas Morning News in 2008 showed that all but one of the DNA exonerations involved faulty eyewitness identification.

If you are a juror, and the State's best evidence is a witness ID; you can and should still have a reasonable doubt as to guilt. Every exoneration case save one had a person stand up and ID the wrongfully convicted defendant as the perpetrator.

Still, most Texas police departments refuse to update their witness ID practices to help prevent wrongful convictions.

From TDCAA.com-

ADA needed for felony court in Kaufman County. Must have 1-2 years of felony experience as a prosecutor at a district attorney's office. Duties will include intake, grand jury, handling of felony docket, and trial of felony cases. Great work environment with plenty of support from staff and fellow prosecutors. Two prosecutors assigned to each of the two District courts. Coat and tie only required for docket and trials. Salary is $73,954. Contact Michelle Stambaugh at (972) 932-0262 or send resume to michelles ( a t ) kaufmancounty ( d o t ) net or fax (972) 932-0357.

True that. The Kaufman county DA's office is a great place to work. Nice people, good judges, manageable caseloads and you get to work out cases with me. What more could you want? The only downside is the lunch options are pretty limited and it's far from Dallas.

Marijuana prohibition has turned our nation's peace officers into violent paramillitary predators. If you still support arresting pot smokers watch this video. This Missouri SWAT team invades the home at night, shoots the family dogs (with the children present), discover a misdemeanor amount of marijuana, and charge the parents with child endangerment!

Let's get this straight; parents keeping a few ounces of a non toxic plant at home = child endangerment. A home invasion SWAT raid breaking into said home to shoot the family pets and scare the shit out of these poor children = proper police work.

We can change this system at any time. Outlawing home invasion SWAT raids would be a good start. Legalizing the products that these dangerous narco warriors are looking for, would also work.