New laws have been passed and are now in effect in the State of Texas, which have a major effect on the evidence you receive, as the Defendant, in your case. Now, through the discovery process, once a timely request has been made by the Defendant, the State is...
Criminal Defense
New Changes to the Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program
On June 14, 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a house bill 2048 that ended the Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program. As a result, this program will end on September 1, 2019. This is significant news for thousands of Texans. The Texas’ Driver Responsibility Program applied...
Texas Legislature Shows New Lenience for a Second Chance at a Clean Record
Texas Legislature Shows New Lenience for a Second Chance at a Clean Record At some point, everyone has made a mistake or has been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately for some, that can result in a criminal record, which shows an arrest, charge, or...
Gun Rights
In today's climate of pending gun control legislation, you may find yourself wondering, "What are my rights?" This question can be further complicated by missteps in your past. Rest assured, just because of a previous run-in with the law, your firearm possession...
Comal County Veterans Treatment Court
COMAL COUNTY VETERANS TREATMENT COURT Comal County has recently opened a new treatment court aimed toward aiding Veterans who have been confronted with misdemeanor criminal issues. Under the Comal County Veterans Treatment Court, Veterans are able to participate in a...
Police Now Need Warrants to Search Cell-Phone Data: June 2014
The Supreme Court has ruled that police must obtain a search warrant to view information stored on a suspects or an arrestee's cell phone. The ruling is from a California case where an officer arrested a person for a traffic violation. The officer searched their cell...
New Texas Criminal Discovery Rules
On January 1, 2014, the Michael Morton Act goes into effect in the state of Texas. This historic change in the law is the result of Morton being wrongfully convicted of his wife's murder back in 1987. In that case, the prosecutor deliberately withheld from defense...
The Texas Castle Doctrine: An Affirmative Defense
New laws have been passed and are now in effect in the State of Texas, which have a major effect on the evidence you receive, as the Defendant, in your case. The Texas Castle Doctrine: An Affirmative Defense The George Zimmerman case in Florida, where 17-year old...
Significant Decision Report: Supreme Court
Significant Decision Report: Supreme Court Summarized from Voice for the Defense; May 2013, Volume 42, No. 4 Bailey v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 1031 (2013) Usually detaining someone requires a showing of probable cause. Under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), there...
The Community Caretaking Function
Summarized from A Short Memo on the Community Caretaking Function by Tip Hargrove III; Voice for the Defense; June 2012; Volume 41, No 5. Police officers have many functions in our community. To perform a traffic stop, there must be reasonable suspicion that a crime...