Part 7: Securing Formal and Informal Discovery In this section we will discuss the procedures for discovery, how they have changed in recent years, and how you can be successful in securing all the discovery to which you are entitled. “Discovery” is the part of the criminal trial process when your defense attorney gets a chance to peek into the State’s case. Unless you have had an examining trial, this might be the first time your criminal defense attorney interacts with the State’s prosecutor concerning your case. While many attorneys treat discovery as merely a pesky task to be completed, experienced attorneys know that this initial interaction with the State can reveal important information about the opinions and biases the
Read more →Packing Heat On Campus: Can I carry a gun on a college campus in Texas? Shots rang out for 96 minutes, killing 16 and wounding more than 30. The day was August 1, 1966, where a student, 25-year-old Charles Whitman, engaged in a rifle-shooting spree from the top of the clock tower at the University of Texas in Austin. Now, exactly fifty years to the day, a new campus carry law will take effect on August 1, 2016, permitting students with a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry guns on public Texas college and university campus grounds and buildings. SB 11 – “Texas Campus Carry” Law The new law will permit individuals who have obtained a CHL to carry their
Read more →Can I have a gun in my car in Texas? Post updated on October 24, 2015 Yes. BUT not like in the picture above! The Texas Motorist Protection Act (HB 1815), effective as of September 1, 2007, permits any law-abiding Texas resident the legal right to carry a handgun inside their motor vehicle in Texas without a CHL (Concealed Handgun License) or any other permit. As long as you are legally permitted to own a firearm and the vehicle belongs to you, then the answer is yes; you may have a gun, loaded or unloaded, in your vehicle in the state of Texas. But… We know. There is always a “but”. Nothing is ever that easy when dealing with criminal
Read more →Criminal Mischief, Graffiti and Theft Crimes Get a Facelift this Session As this blog previously noted, Texas Legislators were considering a Criminal Justice bill that would update and index the property crimes thresholds from their 1993 levels to more modern values reflecting the effect of inflation. In presenting the issue to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee (which was part of the Committee’s Interim Charge), Senator Burton stated property crime values for criminal mischief, graffiti and theft have been stagnant since the levels were established by the Legislature in 1993. Testifying for the bill, Scott Henson of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition surmised: The practical effect of such stagnation is that “Texans can become a felon for stealing less and less stuff,”
Read more →Is Medical Marijuana Legal in Texas? Yes, but not enough to get high On June 1, 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill (SB 339) into law that permits the use of medical marijuana (extracted cannabis-based oils only) for individuals diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. This law is known as the Texas Compassionate Use Act. BUT, the chances of anyone in Texas actually getting their hands on these oils are slim to none. Don’t pull out your Bob Marley CDs just yet, this law is not as good as it sounds… Here’s the problem: The language of the medical marijuana bill requires that a doctor must prescribe it to you. However, doctors are not permitted to prescribe a Schedule I
Read more →Technology Replacing In-Person Jail Visits In Some Texas Counties If you are planning to visit your friend or family member in county jail, you may be surprised to learn there is a fight underway in some county jails to preserve in-person visits. Several counties have recently spent thousands of dollars upgrading their video conferencing technology in an effort to stream-line jail visits, and save money on prisoner transfers and supervisory personnel. Nearby counties such as Tarrant, Collin and Denton have implemented such programs that require visitors to talk to their loved ones over a phone while looking at a TV or computer monitor instead of in-person through plexiglass, or programs that allow “visitors” to pay a fee to communicate over
Read more →Texas Legislators Update and Toughen Protective Order and Family Violence Laws September 1, 2015 marked the beginning of some significant changes to Texas laws, including the Family Code, Penal Code, and Code of Criminal Procedure. In practice, this means crimes committed after this date will be prosecuted by these new sets of laws (while crimes committed before September 1 will still be prosecuted using the old laws). There are a number of important changes dealing with protective orders and family violence that you should be aware of. Definition of “Applicant” for Protective Orders Expanded First, Senate Bill 817 makes changes to protective order applications, and makes it clear that trafficking activities amount to family violence. Previously, the “victim” was named
Read more →TEXAS NEW LAW TUESDAY September 1 marks the start of over 500 new laws in Texas that will affect your life. Every September following a Texas Legislative Session, hundreds of new laws hit the books and take effect, while numerous more won’t take effect until January 1. The 84th Texas Legislature was busy in Austin earlier this year and now it’s time for Texans to see the results. Many of the laws are subtle changes that you may not even take notice of, but other are more dramatic and will cause you to stop and take notice. Here are just a few highlights of changes to Texas law. TRUANCY House Bill 2398 has decriminalized truancy in Texas. Now if your
Read more →2015 Task Force to Collect Family Violence and Sexual Assault Data Texas created a task force to “promote uniformity in collection and reporting of information” related to the history of family violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. The 85th Legislature determined that family violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking are common occurrences in Texas. Legislators are concerned that Texas does not have reliable data related to the actual frequency of these crimes. They identified the reason Texas does not have reliable data regarding family violence and sexual assault is that Texas state and local agencies do not have uniform procedures for collecting and reporting the data. The problem also relates to a system that splinters the responsibility and
Read more →Texas Criminal Legislative Update: May 6, 2015 Now that May is here, our Legislators are running out of time to move their bills through committee, pass them out of their Chamber, then repeat the process in the other Chamber. Thus, many bills will begin to fall by the wayside as the Legislators focus on their top priorities. We have put together some information on legislation we’re monitoring that still has a chance at becoming law. HB225 by Representative Guillen (which we previously reported on here) received a new wave of support following an impressive report that Texas has been dramatically and systematically under-counting prescription overdose deaths. The problem with the Department of State Health Services reporting methods is they focus
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