Category Archives: Arrest and Indictment
Buying Sex in Texas: Solicitation of Prostitution and Law Enforcement Focus on “John Stings”
It’s all about supply and demand. Consider this: Las Vegas will host Super Bowl VVIII on Sunday, February 11, 2024. However, “football’s biggest week” really begins the prior Monday with Super Bowl Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium with the only public appearance of the two competing teams until they take the field for the big…
Share ThisRead More
Categorical Approach: Longer Federal Sentences With Past Convictions
Things can get darker for those with past criminal convictions and a new federal arrest. There are times when new convictions will result in enhanced (greater, longer) punishments based upon prior criminal offenses. How? Federal law will require the defendant’s sentence be boosted in time to be served behind bars because of something in the…
Share ThisRead More
Thirteen Significant New Texas Criminal Laws Effective in 2023
Arrests in Texas can be based upon actions or investigations by either state or federal authorities or by a combination of the two in joint operations. From a criminal defense standpoint, the choice of law upon which the arrest is made is key. This is because criminal cases move through two entirely independent justice systems…
Share ThisRead More
When Businesses are Charged with Crimes: Organizational Offenders
First things first, we all know they’re not people. In legal jargon, corporations are “legal entities” that exist through the operation of state law (usually) under things like the Texas Business Organizations Code, where “corporation” is defined as “…an entity governed as a corporation under Title 2 or 7. The term includes a for-profit corporation,…
Share ThisRead More
SCOTUS, USSC, and Proposed USSG Amendment Addressing Acquitted Conduct
The scenario: someone is charged with a serious crime in federal court. There is no plea deal; the case goes to trial. Both sides rest, and the case goes to the jury. The jury deliberates and returns with a “not guilty” verdict. This is great for the accused, right? Sure. But that verdict is not…
Share ThisRead More
Witness Corroboration under the Texas Penal Code: Who Believes a Snitch?
People lie. That’s a sin, but it’s usually not a crime. However, when someone lies who is providing evidence in a criminal proceeding, they have become a “witness” under the law and lying becomes a big problem. It’s perjury. And witnesses who lie can destroy lives. Evidence in a Criminal Case: Documents and Testimony In…
Share ThisRead More
Money Mules: Fraud Victims Become Criminals Facing Arrest in Texas
Who gets arrested in Texas for being a money mule? It is often shocking to the accused as well as their loved ones that people being victimized by sophisticated enterprises, often based overseas, find themselves under arrest and facing serious felony charges. In my own Texas criminal practice, I am aware of more and more…
Share ThisRead More
Drug-Induced Homicide Prosecutions in Texas: Overdose Murders
Fentanyl arrests in Texas may soon come with specific felony murder charges. Fentanyl is changing things in Texas and across the country, as more and more law enforcement efforts are targeting the manufacturing and distribution of this particular illegal drug and controlled substance. For more, read our earlier discussions in Texas Governor’s Designation of Mexican Cartels…
Share ThisRead More
Policy Changes in Charges, Pleas, and Sentencing for Federal Drug Crime Prosecutions: New AG Garland DOJ Directive
An internal memorandum from the Attorney General of the United States (“AG”) addressed to “all federal prosecutors” may not seem that powerful to some. After all, it isn’t a new federal statute passed by Congress and it isn’t an Executive Order signed by the President. Still, a single memo from the AG can cause major…
Share ThisRead More
Bail after Federal Arrest in Texas and The Bail Reform Act of 1984
Bail after an arrest by federal law enforcement is very different than when someone enters the state criminal justice system. Texas bail is allowed much more often than it is in federal court. It’s not that bail is not routinely considered a part of federal matters. News coverage is filled with federal bail stories. This…
Share ThisRead More
