Spanking Your Children in Texas Spanking children falls under the Texas law prohibiting “Injury to a Child” located in the Texas Penal Code. Spanking a child (under 15 years old) is a Third Degree Felony if the spanking causes any amount of pain. Of course, the purpose of a spanking is to cause pain, so a child will associate painful consequences with a bad choice. Spanking a child can land a person in prison (different than jail) up to a 10 years and cost up to $10,000 in fines. Now you are wondering, “Why aren’t all Texas parents in prison for spanking?” That question has several answers. First, it is a defense if the person spanking the child is a
Read more →The State of Texas Death Drug Dealer Two weeks ago Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip’s execution was delayed with just hours to spare so an Oklahoma court could consider his appeal. This week the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Glossip’s appeal and his execution is now scheduled for today. Today’s execution date is the third one this year for Glossip. His January execution date was delayed when the United State’s Supreme Court decided to hear Glossip’s case and then later upheld Oklahoma’s execution protocol. Oklahoma uses a three drug cocktail for is executions–midazolam, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. In recent years, state’s where the death penalty is still handed down have struggled to find pharmaceutical companies that will
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 →TRUMP IS RIGHT Breaking News: Cody Cofer Agrees with Donald Trump! Dare I say it? That Donald Trump could possibly be right about even one thing? Well, he is right regarding our nation having a mental health problem not a gun problem. Today, Trump told CNN’s Chris Cuomo, “This isn’t a gun problem, this is a mental problem. It’s not a question of laws, it’s really the people.” Trump’s statement comes in response to the Wednesday shootings of two journalists live on television by what many are calling a mentally ill man who later took his own life. Trump says that he is opposed to increasing gun laws but does favor addressing mental health to combat shootings. This approach has
Read more →Tarrant County has already posted about “jury service scams.” In the post, the county makes clear a representative will not contact you by phone to pay a fine for failure to appear. Jury scams have been reported around the country. The National Center for State Courts has posted information about various scams. As a new twist, likely in response to the Tarrant County post, scamming callers are claiming they are a Tarrant County Sheriff’s deputy enforcing federal jury service. The Northern District of Texas has a page dedicated to those with questions about jury service. If you receive a legitimate summons you can visit their page for information. The page also instructs those concerned about a “bogus” attempt to collect
Read more →On Sunday the FBI and the Justice Department released a statement acknowledging all except two of their microscopic hair comparison unit examiners overstated forensic matches in ways that favored the prosecution. This information comes as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the Innocence Project assist the FBI in conducting a sweeping post-conviction review of forensic evidence. This extensive review began in 2012 following a Washington Post report “that flawed forensic hair matches might have led to the convictions of hundreds of potentially innocent people since at least the 1970s, typically for murder, rape and other violent crimes nationwide.” So far, the NACDL and Innocence Project have reviewed 268 of roughly 2,500 cases in a 20-plus year period before 2000, in which the
Read more →The unfortunate fact about the criminal law system is that human errors are oftentimes unavoidable and leave huge flaws within the system. Unclear testimonies, poor eye witness accounts, and a less-than-great attorney are all things that could land an innocent person behind bars. Last week’s story about Dallas local, Michael Phillips, is a great example of these flaws and really shows the importance of criminal defense. When the front page of the newspaper reads “Man Arrested on Murder Charges”, most people automatically jump to the conclusion that the man was in fact the murderer. As a defense attorney, it is my job and passion to look at it differently. The sensitive and lengthy nature of criminal cases makes it possible
Read more →The ordeal began in 1990, when a young woman was raped by a black man, in a white ski mask in her room at a Dallas motel. The victim, a 16 year old white woman, pulled her attacker’s mask up while fighting back. She claimed to have immediately recognized him, having seen him in the area before. Michael Phillips, who lived and worked at the motel, fit the description. Later that week he was arrested after being picked out of a photo line-up. At the point of his arrest, Phillips felt that the cards were stacked against him. On the advice of his public defender, he accepted a guilty plea. Fearing that a jury would believe the victim’s statement over
Read more →We here at Cofer Law would like to wish all of our clients and friends a happy 4th of July! As you light your grills and crack your beers please be aware of a liberty that you will not have; the right of refusal. Tarrant County is one of the many Texas counties taking part in a 3-day “No Refusal” operation. If you are stopped under the suspicion of intoxication: * Stay calm and cooperate! – We don’t want to work any harder than we need to. * Roll your window down and locate your Driver License/insurance card before the officer gets to you. – Fumbling around frantically is not a very sober looking. * Speak as little as possible and
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