The war on drugs has a victim. The drug offender. Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the 1980s marked the start of skyrocketing rates of incarceration. This was due largely to his unprecedented expansion of the “drug war.” According to Drugpolicy.org, the number of people behind bars for nonviolent drug offenses increased from 50,000 in 1980 to over 400,000 by 1997. The 1980s brought the media’s portrayal of people addicted to the smokeable form of cocaine called “crack” which lead to widespread public concern over drug use. And remember “Just Say No”? Soon after Reagan took office in in 1981, the First Lady began the popular anti-drug campaign “Just Say No.” That slogan was everywhere and is still engrained in the minds
Read more →Thanks Texas A&M School of Law Immigration Law Initiative Immigration Intersecting with Criminal Law I was privileged to speak today at Texas A&M School of Law regarding how criminal law intersects with immigration law. The event was well organized and the panel included two other fine lawyers. First, I must say that the moderator of the panel, Associate Dean Huyen Pham, was a delight and honor to meet. Her experience and education is astounding, and the law school is certainly well served with her serving as a faculty member and an administrator. The students attending the event asked poignant questions and received the speakers with great hospitality. I urge anyone invited to take the opportunity to speak to Texas A&M
Read more →African Americans make up about 12 percent of the Texas general population. However, if you look at the percentage of male inmates from ages 20 to 24, you see that African Americans make up 42 percent of that prison population. Something is terribly wrong. Of course, I don’t believe its just one cause, but as a criminal defense lawyer I have to ask, “Is our criminal court system failing this group of our citizens?” I expect when this group is charged with a crime, most often they are represented by court appointed counsel. Some court appointed attorneys are fantastic and fight for their clients; however, some attorneys work simply as cogs in the machinery that conveys these people down to
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