Breathalyzers make up the vast majority of DWI chemical tests in Texas. Since the Supreme Court ruled that blood tests require search warrants, that will probably remain true for quite some time. Occasionally, Texas law enforcement agencies hold "no-refusal weekends." If drivers ...
Author: JamesLondon
What Rights Do I Have If I’m Arrested?
Counting the so-so 2018 remake, there have now been six Death Wish films. The first one appeared in 1974, when the vigilante crimefighter genre (Death Wish, Walking Tall, Dirty Harry, etc.) was very popular. Angst over a string of 1960s Supreme Court decisions gave rise to these ...
Another Houston Police Department Officer Arrested for DWI
Prosecutors claim that Officer Artie Weathers was intoxicated when he went to pick up his child at Ault Elementary School. He was the sixth Harris County law enforcement officer arrested for DWI between August and September 2017. According to the arrest report, Officer Weathers ...
Trial Date Set in UT Athlete’s DWI Case
The leading scorer on the Longhorn volleyball team will stand trial for DWI shortly after the current season ends in January 2019. According to court documents, Micaya White was driving without her headlights on and following another car too closely when campus police pulled her...
Top 4 reasons to expunge a past criminal conviction
Like most Texans, you work hard to get what you want. You go to work every day and take care of your family. Unlike some citizens of the Lonestar State, though, you have a criminal conviction in your past. Even though you have paid your fine, served your sentence or otherwise dea...
What Type of Trial is Best?
In Tarrant County, defendants may choose between bench trials and jury trials. Theoretically, the prosecutor must also waive a jury trial. But I have never personally seen a case where the prosecutor would not waive a jury trial. In bench trials, the judge weighs all the evidenc...
Plea Negotiations Broke Down. . .Is Trial Next?
Nearly all criminal cases in Parker County – over 90 percent by one count – never reach trial. Instead, prosecutors and defendants agree on a plea deal. This arrangement usually involves reduced charges and/or a lower sentence. If plea negotiations break down, the case will ...
What We Leaned from O.J. Simpson and Rodney King
These headline-grabbing 1990s cases passed from the public consciousness a long time ago. But they still have some very important lessons for criminal cases in Tarrant County. USC and Buffalo Bill standout O.J. Simpson played running back during the 1960s and 1970s. He still hol...
Top Four Shocking Celebrity Trials
Did they get justice or did they get away with it? We cannot hope to resolve these questions here, but we can take a few moments to remember some head-scratching (or worse) cases. We can also offer a little insight that may make these events clearer, at least from a criminal law ...
John Hinckley, Ronald Reagan, and the Insanity Defense
Some people remember March 1981, when Dallas-area native John Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan and nearly killed him. As more facts came out, it became apparent that Mr. Hinckley was a deeply-disturbed young man. At his trial, Mr. Hinckley used a variation of the irresistib...
