Criminal Law

Bradley violated Open Meetings Act at forensic hearing

Posted on February 01, 2010
A Houston Chronicle column by Rick Casey ("The revolt of the scientists," Jan. 31) details behind the scenes wrangling at the Forensic Science Commission meeting on Friday, in which Chairman John Bradley first ejected, then reluctantly allowed in, a documentary camera crew tracking the Willingham case...

Classics, serious literature included on TDCJ's reading ban list

Posted on January 31, 2010
Eric Dexheimer at the Austin Statesman examined the 5,000 book titles rejected by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice over the last five years and says "Texas prisoners are missing out on some fine reading." A notable excerpt from the story reads:Novels by National Book Award winners Pete Dexter, Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Proulx and William T...

Were indigency, amnesty programs for Driver Responsibility Surcharge secretly "dropped"?

Posted on January 31, 2010
The Dallas News today has a story on the Driver Responsibility Surcharge program that worrisomely neglects recent board-level activities on the subject at the Public Safety Commission in the last six months. Here's a substantial excerpt: The Texas Driver Responsibility Program was designed to assess large additional fines ? into the thousands of dollars apiece ? to discourage certain offenses, such as drunken driving, and generate money for trauma care and highway construction...

Debunking Dallas crime stats

Posted on January 30, 2010
Dave Hiott at the Dallas News Crime Blog doesn't know whether to believe Dallas crime stats anymore, despite purported improvements in 2009. He provides this excellent list of recent Dallas News stories critical of DPD crime data reporting:The major stories: -- Police not counting all crimes -- Omitting legitimate auto burglary cases improves stats; system being reviewed-- Do police count all burglaries? Kunkle says intent must be clear in break-ins as some fault classification system-- Experts: Dallas undercount of assaults builds 'artificial image' And there's more: -- Crime counts to change -- Procedural move, review planned after car break-ins underreported-- Steve Blow: Truth takes a beating in Dallas crime stats-- Editorial: Crime statistics must be accurate-- Dallas police count more car burglary reports

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More on juvie mental health summit

Posted on January 30, 2010
I couldn't attend the summit at the capitol Thursday on juvenile justice and mental health, but Ben Philpott from the Texas Tribune has a brief podcast covering the event.See also the group Texans Care for Children's page on the Summit from their website, including selected materials from the event...

Hectoring approach works for John Bradley at Forensic Science Commission, for now

Posted on January 30, 2010
If I were a Forensic Science Commissioner who'd gone to Harlingen for yesterday's meeting, I'd be pretty darn grumpy at my chairman today for:Usurping power from commissioners: Bradley refused to put "action items" on the agenda that were designated in the minutes from the last meeting...

Forensic Science Commission meets today, but does it have rulemaking authority? Some say "No"

Posted on January 29, 2010
(LIVEBLOGGING BELOW) This was received via email from the national Innocence Project out of NYC, which will webcast today's Forensic Science Commission meeting out of Harlingen:As you are probably aware, the Texas Forensic Science Commission is meeting [this morning] for the first time in six months...

More delays on DPS driver responsibility rules

Posted on January 29, 2010
The Public Safety Commission met today but did not take up proposed (though still unveiled) new amnesty and indigency rules for the ironically named Driver Responsibility Program, I was told by a reliable source. This person indicated it would be taken up next month, but then I was also told it would be taken up this month, and back in September ...

Busy day at capitol on juvie, women's corrections

Posted on January 28, 2010
Regrettably, I won't be able to attend two events at the capitol today that look really interesting: the House Corrections Committee meeting this morning on women and corrections and the juvie justice summit going on simultaneously at the capitol. Thankfully, both will be broadcast online and archived, so I'll try to watch them soon...

Zero tolerance on TDCJ contraband hasn't worked. What now?

Posted on January 28, 2010
At this point, IMO state officials concerned about stopping contraband at Texas prisons should cease using the term "zero tolerance." It has no meaning at all and makes those who use the term appear incapable of achieving their goals.This week we learn of a death row inmate who'd taken a picture of himself with a cell phone and had it posted online...

California begins release of thousands of nonviolent offenders

Posted on January 27, 2010
I normally try to stick to Texas stories, but this news out of California merits the attention of anybody who cares about the topis covered on this blog ("Inmates released under new law," San Diego Union Tribune, Jan. 26):A new law aimed at reducing the state?s inmate population took effect yesterday and had an immediate effect in San Diego County, where about 260 nonviolent offenders were released...

Forensic backlogs force tough choices

Posted on January 27, 2010
Bradley Olson at the Houston Chronicle has a good piece on the problem of backlogs at the Houston crime lab ("Backlog woes continue at HPD lab," Jan. 27):The Houston Police Department has developed a backlog of more than 300 cases in which firearm forensics have not been performed, the third major area of evidence awaiting analysis to build up as the crime lab works to achieve full legitimacy after being engulfed in scandal for years...

Cops expect a discount

Posted on January 27, 2010
From the Hubcap Grill Twitter feed out of Houston:Geez. LOL. 4 HPD officers didn't order cause I wouldn't give them 50% off. If I get a speeding ticket will I get 50% off?Via The Defense Rests.

Women's, juvie corrections up for discussion mañana

Posted on January 27, 2010
There are a couple of competing events up at the capitol tomorrow both of which deserve Grits readers attention, and thankfully both of which will be broadcast online. First, via an email from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition:On Thursday, January 28, 2010, at 9:00 am in Room E2...

Odds and Ends

Posted on January 26, 2010
Here are a handful of odds and ends that merit Grits readers attention:Third Court of Appeals reducing backogAfter lagging behind other courts in case backlogs for years, under its new chief justice Austin's 3rd Court of Appeals is making a dent in its older cases...

El Paso medical examiner allegedly lied on resume

Posted on January 25, 2010
Reports KCBD out of Lubbock:There's more trouble for the former Deputy Medical Examiner of Lubbock County. Paul Shrode was already under scrutiny amid allegations that he lied on his resume while working in Lubbock in order to get the job as Chief Medical Examiner in El Paso County...

HOPE program pilots strong probation methods for addicts without mandatory drug treatment

Posted on January 25, 2010
Drug courts have been at the forefront of using strong probation methods in Texas and throughout the country, but evidence-based practices in community supervision are applicable to all sorts of crimes and don't necessarily involve drug treatment. So I was interested to read this discussion from Reuters distinguishing drug courts from the much-ballyhooed HOPE program out of Hawaii:The first drug court was founded in the Miami area more than 20 years ago and there are now nearly 2,400 nationwide...

Forensic commission meeting in Harlingen, but Willingham off the agenda

Posted on January 25, 2010
The Texas Forensic Science Commission will meet on Friday in Harlingen, about as far away from the capitol press corps as the new chairman could set the meeting. As described by the Washington Post ("Texas panel to meet, but Willingham not on the agenda," Jan...

Correction: Long term estimates support multi-billion savings from prison diversion

Posted on January 24, 2010
I'd suggested the other morning that a national study (pdf) by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency overstated potential cost savings to Texas from implementing alternatives to incarceration. I forwarded the post to them, and they responded in the comments that their methodology included savings from future costs over the length of what would have been their sentence...

Texas needs process to vet convictions based on forensic hokum

Posted on January 23, 2010
It's time to put in place a process for reviewing convictions when key forensic testimony that helped send people to prison turns out to be a bunch of hokum. The FBI's response to cases involving bullet-lead analysis, while too leisurely by far, provides a starting point if Texas can decide who's going to carry the ball...

NPR investigates Lubbock bail system: Should taxpayers foot a $7K incarceration bill for stealing $30 worth of blankets?

Posted on January 22, 2010
About half a dozen readers this morning fowarded me the link to this excellent piece from National Public Radio titled "Bail Burden Keeps US Jails Stuffed with Inmates," which features the Lubbock County Jail as its prime example. The story opens by describing the case of Leslie Chew, a homeless man arrested for stealing four blankets worth $30 from a grocery store to stay warm while he was living in his station wagon last winter...

CCA candidate Hampton flip flops on eyewitness ID

Posted on January 22, 2010
The campaign manager for Democratic Court of Criminal Appeals candidate Keith Hampton emailed me to ask if I would republish this blog post from Burnt Orange Report by Keith titled "My Recommendations for the Forensic Science Commission." Here's what he wrote:Last week, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, chaired by Representative Pete Gallego, invited me to testify about how Texas might improve the state of forensic science...

El Paso judge caught on tape accepting bribe

Posted on January 22, 2010
The evidence coming out in this El Paso corruption trial sounds pretty damning. The El Paso Times reported yesterday that:Jurors today watched a videotape of an FBI informant paying money to state judge Manuel Barraza in return for favorable treatment in her sister's drug case...

Dallas to use DNA in auto theft cases

Posted on January 22, 2010
The Dallas PD will begin using DNA in auto theft cases, reports the Dallas News. This will make them, to my knowledge, the first Texas police department to routinely use DNA evidence in property crimes. Jurisdictions in other states have had success using DNA for home burglaries, but the Dallas pilot will focus on auto theft...

When is breaching an "oral tradition" different from violating an "unwritten rule"? When you're Judge Sharon Keller

Posted on January 21, 2010
Readers of this blog by now surely have heard about the fact finding report issued yesterday in Judge Sharon Keller's case before the Commission on Judicial Conduct. From the moment I posted about this on Grits, it was clear lots of people have strong opinions about the ruling...

Wrong but Right: Good Idea, Bad Data

Posted on January 21, 2010
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency issued a report this week titled "The Extravagance of Prison Revisited" (pdf) analyzing four states including Texas, predicting that $2.4 billion per year could be saved if the state shifted 80% of its nonviolent, "nonserious offenders" into community-based incarceration alternatives...

Deputy famous for dog scent lineups will retire

Posted on January 20, 2010
Excellent news! Fort Bend Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett - who has earned national disapprobation over his use of dog scent lineup - announced today he will retire, reports AP:A Texas sheriff's deputy facing lawsuits over claims that his bloodhounds match lingering scents on crime scene evidence to suspects is retiring...

Sugarland's Central Unit near top of possible prison closure list

Posted on January 20, 2010
Having been discussing the idea lately of closing prisons in Texas, the question quickly turns to "Which one(s)?"Perhaps the frontrunner for possible closure would have to be the Central State Farm in Sugarland, a minimum security facility which abuts the Houston metro area's fourth largest airport and a local business park on prime real estate...

Judge on Sharon Keller: Public humiliation is punishment enough

Posted on January 20, 2010
This just in, via AP:An embattled Texas judge who closed her court before a death-row inmate could file his final appeal should not lose her job or receive any further punishment beyond the "public humiliation" she has faced, a judge presiding over her ethics trial said in a report released Wednesday...

Travis criminal docket data now online

Posted on January 19, 2010
In a past life, I performed opposition research on nearly two dozen judicial campaigns. But back in the '90s when I was performing that work professionally, vetting an incumbent judge's record was a pretty hard slog. You basically had to physically go to the courthouse and wade through stacks of paper just to compile detailed, judge by judge docket information...

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