Rule 35 Agreement to Reduce a Federal Sentence As many know, under the federal system the most powerful departure from the United States Sentencing Guidelines exists under U.S.S.G. 5k1. This…
An affirmative defense allows a defendant to avoid legal responsibility for the charged offense. When a defendant uses an affirmative defense, the defendant is admitting guilt. However, the affirmative defense…
Collins v. Virginia In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court decided that the automobile exception does not allow police to enter the curtilage of home to search a parked vehicle….
Changes in Tarrant County Magistration For many years, bonds in Tarrant County were set by municipal magistrates throughout the county. This meant individuals in different cities could receive vastly different…
Duplicity in Prosecution or Politics as Usual? In recent days, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson has publicly stated that her office plans to pursue a murder indictment against former…
Gamble vs. U.S. (2019) The Supreme Court handed down its decision in Gamble vs. United States (No. 17–646) on July 17 in which the Court declined to put an end…
Navigating the criminal justice system can be tricky. Most laypeople find it confusing and, just when they think they’ve got the process somewhat figured out, something comes along that throws…
Substitute Assets in Criminal Asset Forfeiture: Substitute Assets are one of the most powerful forfeiture theories in the Government’s ability to seek the forfeiture of property that isn’t connected to…
Updated: July 22, 2019 – Here are the 40 new criminal law legislative changes you need to be aware of from the 86th legislative session in Texas. Most of the…