Criminal Law

Bexar DA Susan Reed prosecuting needle exchange nonprofit volunteers

Posted on January 23, 2008
Though health policy activists in Bexar County had swapped clean needles for dirty ones for years in San Antonio's poor neighborhoods, reports the Express News ("Syringe swap activists handed citations," Jan. 23):a San Antonio police officer cited Day, a 73-year-old retired commercial real estate appraiser and co-founder of the nonprofit group Bexar Area Harm Reduction Coalition, along with two board members, on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia ? a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500...

Martial law in border towns; masked soldiers oust local police in Tamaulipas

Posted on January 23, 2008
After the most remarkable week of news for Mexican drug enforcement in recent memory, I can only imagine this astonishing scene, via the Dallas News ("Drug operation targets police," Jan. 23):Elite army soldiers took over police stations along Mexico's border with Texas on Tuesday, disarming police, checking for unregistered weapons and searching patrol cars and personal vehicles for any items that might link the officers to drug cartels, according to an official and the Mexican media...

Challenge DA candidates to say what they would do to reduce racial disparities in drug imprisonment

Posted on January 22, 2008
I wanted to post on this topic yesterday for MLK Day, but an opportunity to spend the day with my granddaughter put off this editorial's more timely publication.As we contemplate the upcoming primary season and head toward the beginning of Black History Month, it's worth recalling some contemporary black history - really everyone's history - regarding continued discriminatory outcomes in the criminal justice system...

Goin' Down to Mexico: The front lines of a "hot" drug war

Posted on January 22, 2008
I was on my way down to Mexico,there was trouble on the rise.It was nothing more than I'd left behind,which was much to my surprise.- ZZ Top, "Goin' Down to Mexico"I suggested earlier that last week was perhaps the most eventful in memory since I've been paying closer attention drug enforcement issues on the border the last couple of years...

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The egregious Sharon Keller: Imagine a family court judge who is "pro-husband"

Posted on January 21, 2008
Regular readers know Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller openly considers herself a "pro-prosecution" judge. Noting that Keller attended SMU law school, the blogger at Appellate Law & Practice suggests:While I don?t have much hope that this will happen, I would like to see the dean of the law school, John B...

Prison healthcare on Senate committee agenda

Posted on January 20, 2008
The quality of prison healthcare will be back in the spotlight this week when the Senate Criminal Justice Committee takes up the topic. Here are the time and place details of Thursday's hearing in Austin (invited testimony only).According to the Austin Statesman editorial board (Jan...

Chuck Rosenthal Haiku Contest

Posted on January 20, 2008
As the media snowball continues to roll forward regarding Harris DA Chuck Rosenthal's indiscretions, part of me wants to cover the blow by blow, but Kuff is doing a great job at that. So let's for once take a somewhat lighter approach.Why don't we hold a Haiku contest (that's a Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllabic structure)? Here are a couple I came up with this morning:Chuck Rosenthal can'tblame anyone but himselffor losing his job...

Texas Jail News

Posted on January 20, 2008
Just a few jail-related headlines from around the state:Staffing improved, though Dallas jail still fails inspectionThe Dallas County Jail failed its state inspection last week for the fifth straight year. Officials knew the jail would fail, though more was out of compliance than they earlier thought...

TYC hit on unbudgeted office expenditures

Posted on January 20, 2008
Grits commenters called this one months ago: The Dallas News reports today that the Texas Youth Commission spent $550,000 "meant for hiring new corrections officers on renovating and relocating offices ? even though lawmakers turned down their request for such spending...

Texas DA News

Posted on January 19, 2008
The New York Times ran a story this morning critical of Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal for squelching the indictment of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina. I'm thinking Chuck Rosenthal's troubles may soon turn into a full-blown national media frenzy!Kuff has more, as does today's Houston Chronicle...

Jerry Madden facing bizarre attacks in primary campaign

Posted on January 19, 2008
Quorum Report lets us know that Texas House Corrections Chairman Jerry Madden has been the target of a negative push poll, allegedly from his primary opponent, John Cole, whose main political background is a stint working for drug czar John Walters in Washington D...

Nedelkoff will move quickly to find permanent TYC ED

Posted on January 18, 2008
Texas Youth Commission conservator Richard Nedelkoff plans to hire a permanent executive director soon, he says, and it sounds like it won't be current acting E.D. Dimitria Pope. Wrote Nedelkoff in a letter to employees this afternoon:I have begun the process of posting a permanent executive director position...

Sheriffs email deletion violates law, smells of coverup

Posted on January 18, 2008
Given that the emails which so embarrassed Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal were generated in a lawsuit alleging a cover up for misconduct at the Sheriff's office, who really believes that the timing of a brand new Harris County Sheriff's policy to delete all email after 14 days is really a "coincidence"? Reports the Houston Chronicle ("Sheriffs office email purge catches some deputies off guard," Jan...

Having it both ways on immigration: Crackdown on illegal immigrants coupled with slowdown on legal ones

Posted on January 18, 2008
With all the money spent on wall building, expanded border patrols and other immigration enforcement to keep people out of this country, according to this AP story ("Lawmakers criticize immigration backup," Jan. 17), the Bush Administration and Congress have underfunded the infrastructure for letting immigrants enter the country legally, adding to pressure on the system...

UTEP Eyewitness ID Research Lab creates one-stop shopping website on police lineup procedures

Posted on January 17, 2008
Having become increasingly aware recently of faulty eyewitness identification practices commonly used by police and the wrongful convictions that can result when investigators use scientifically invalid methods, I'm increasingly under the impression that improving police lineup procedures could be a pivotal innocence reform proposed when the 81st Texas Legislature convenes in 2009...

Contrarian views on the steroids hysteria

Posted on January 17, 2008
Bioethicist Norman Frost "says, as he has for many years and virtually alone, that the maelstrom [over steroids in sports] is nothing more than 'the hypocrisy, bad facts, inconsistency and moral incoherence of anti-drug hysteria.'" Read why.Meanwhile, Kuff cites testimony from yesterday's hearing to question the "performance enhancing" part of "performance enhancing drugs," suggesting:it may be that the main benefit is quicker recuperation time for injured players, something I daresay the public might consider a good thing...

Properly staffing Dallas jail cost big bucks, with more to come

Posted on January 17, 2008
Nobody expects the Dallas jail to 100% pass its inspection this week by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, but if they've really solved their short-term understaffing crisis it will be a big accomplishment.After many years of non-compliance with state standards, Dallas County has nearly eliminated staffing problems at the jail, the Dallas News reports, but only by spending more than $9 million last year in overtime...

TYC's Brookins, Hernandez ordered to trial

Posted on January 17, 2008
Ray Brookins and John Paul Hernandez - the two former TYC administrators whose alleged abuse of youth under their charge plunged the agency into public ignominy and fiscal conservatorship - will stand trial this spring over the charges, reports AP (Jan...

Ombudsman's report on solitary confinement at TYC available

Posted on January 17, 2008
I've not had a chance to read this thoroughly yet and I'm about to leave the house - I'll go through it more closely in the morning - but I wanted to post a link to Texas Youth Commission Ombudsman Will Harrell's memo referenced in this Grits post about TYC's use of its "Behavioral Management Program," which he says is devolving to adopt more features from the adult prison system's administrative segregation model...

Texas Supreme Court Justice Indicted

Posted on January 17, 2008
A bit off topic, but here's some bizarre political-legal news:KHOU is reporting that Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina and his wife "have been indicted in connection with the arson fire that destroyed their Houston-area home last summer. ... The investigation was fueled by a substantial trail of financial troubles for his family, including foreclosure proceedings and tax liens against the fire-ravaged home, according to court records and other documents"Medina is a former Harris County state district judge appointed to the state Supreme Court by Gov...

As Mexico fights a "hot" drug war, US not holding up its end in fight against multinational cartels

Posted on January 17, 2008
I've been trying to keep an eye on what's happening with drug enforcement along the Texas-Mexico border over the past couple of years, and can't recall such an eventful week, with the Mexican Army fighting a hot war with cartel forces south of the river, a leader from Los Zetas on trial in McAllen, and a law enforcement summit in El Paso to combat gun purchases by cartels in the US...

Say 'Howdy'

Posted on January 16, 2008
Go say "Howdy" to Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, a new anonymous blog by a Harris County criminal defense attorney. The current reader poll asks, "How does the Chuck Rosenthal crisis end?" I don't know for sure, but I'll guess "badly...

Life of a Supersnitch: Kill 20 people, rat out your boss, get $20K

Posted on January 16, 2008
Here's a classically disturbing informant story for you: Kill 20 people, rat out your boss, then get $20K from the taxpayers after you finish your 12-year prison stint. ("US paid hit man $20,000 on release," Boston Globe Jan. 16)This is the same informant I mentioned that was recently interviewed on 60 Minutes who ratted out Boston mobster Whitey Bulger and the FBI agents who protected him...

Readers: Chuck Rosenthal should resign

Posted on January 16, 2008
The results weren't that surprising, but they were overwhelming. With 250 Grits readers registering an opinion in last week's blog survey, 89% of you (222) said Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal should resign over revelations that racist and lewd emails were found on his office computer, as well as evidence that he used county resources for his political campaign...

Mexico prevents graffiti by encouraging it at Azteca stadium

Posted on January 16, 2008
The last time I was in Mexico City in 2006, Kathy and I visited the UNAM campus and witnessed first-hand the graffiti-scrawled outer walls of El Estadio Azteca, one of the largest sporting events stadia in the world. (Texans may know the massive 112,000-person arena best because the Dallas Cowboys frequently play preseason games there...

US made fewer cocaine seizures in 2007

Posted on January 16, 2008
After all the hype we heard last year from drug czar John Walters declaring that cocaine availability in US cities was drying up, now we know that not only is cocaine still widely available, the US stopped fewer cocaine shipments in 2007 than in 2006...

Ombudsman: TYC overusing solitary confinement

Posted on January 16, 2008
A report from TYC Ombudsman Will Harrell claims the agency is overusing solitary confinement to handle unruly behavior, reports Lisa Sandberg at the Houston Chronicle this morning ("Watchdog: TYC isolating youth offenders," Jan. 16):Contrary to promises for reform, the Texas Youth Commission has stepped up its policy of isolating unruly offenders in solitary cells for days or weeks at a time, sometimes violating its own rules in doing so, the agency's independent watchdog said...

Was TYC's Evins unit understaffed when a "small riot" forced staff to use pepper spray?

Posted on January 16, 2008
Even as the Texas Youth Commission conservator reconsiders the agency's proposed policy for using pepper spray on inmates, reports emerge of a pair of pepper spray incidents last weekend - including one involving 15-18 youth in a "small riot" - at the Evins Unit in Edinburg...

DoJ media ploy on steroid investigation rightly decried as 'foul'

Posted on January 15, 2008
Via Sentencing Law & Policy, at least somebody in the legal community agrees with me that the US Department of Justice shouldn't have used threats of prosecution to force uncorroborated public accusations against Roger Clemens and other big-league baseball players...

How many tragedies must befall innocent people from false eyewitness IDs before police use scientifically valid methods?

Posted on January 15, 2008
I've been focused on Texas-based exonerations of wrongfully convicted inmates, especially in Dallas, but my brother brings word of another case just a couple of hours east of Dallas down I-20 in Shreveport, LA, where Rickey Johnson, 52, just got out of prison after doing 25 years of a life sentence for a sexual assault he didn't commit ("Leesville man freed after wrongful conviction," Shreveport Times, Jan...

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