If you are facing a charge of drug possession in Texas and you are not a citizen of the United States, you should be aware of the laws regarding deportation for drug convictions. What is the law on deportation for drug convictions? Under federal law, an alien convicted of a…
They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Whether you measure you favorite chemical indulgences in grams or ounces you need to take some basic cell phone safety precautions. First, a disclaimer, a warrant and a dedicated forensic technologist can find pretty much anything on your…
One of the most frustrating aspects of criminal defense work is the double standards that abound between what we expect of government (cops and prosecutors) and what expect of citizens. Which leads us to the case of the day….. Today’s SCOTUS disaster is Heien vs. North Carolina. The issue was-…
My first job out of law school was as a public defender in Wichita Falls. Inmates often lack a technical understanding of the law, but they have a very pragmatic understanding of what it takes to get out now. I was asked often about 12.44(a) and (b) deals to help these…
Eric Holder has given a tentative green light for State recreational marijuana programs to go forward. Given how the last medical marijuana memo has been largely ignored, I’m still a little pessimistic the DOJ will really leave these States alone. Regardless, here are ten reasons Texas should take this opportunity…
As part of the my ongoing open records work I requested the racial profiling data for our local DPS office. I received a breakdown of stops, citations, and searches by race/ethnicity for all stops in Kaufman county for the first 6 months of the year. Texas law requires the recording…
Tom Pauken is running for Governor of Texas. He’s nearly identical to Greg Abbott in every way, except Greg Abbott has a lot more money. Tom’s trying to differentiate himself so he recently took to Facebook to tout himself as a supporter of veterans. Tom was asked if he would…
Our State’s highest criminal court recently reversed a marijuana conviction out of Kaufman County Court at Law 2, just in time for 4/20. Whenever I discuss marijuana prohibition I always mention how much court time, prosecutor time, appointed lawyer time, police time and tax dollars we waste we waste prosecuting…
Like many suburban Texans I was brought up in a Republican household. The first two political books I ever read were written by Rush Limbaugh. As a young adult I had not heard of libertarianism, but I did hear a lot of rhetoric from the right that I liked; limited…
Forney has two online media outlets (TheForneyPost.net, and InForney.com) reporting the happenings in this growing exurb. I have been surprised to see how much copy each site devotes to coverage of local drug busts. The stories themselves are largely formulaic; we get a mugshot, the government’s version of events, and…