Search Results for: appeals

Prior to April 20, 2020, 48 states and the federal system required unanimous jury verdicts for serious criminal offenses. Louisiana and Oregon, however, only required a 10-2 jury verdict, meaning only 10 jury members needed to be in full agreement that a defendant was “guilty” of the serious crime with which he or she was

Court Ruling: Are Eight-Liners Legal? The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth addressed the issue of eight-liners in Texas. The issue was whether the eight-liner gambling machines are unconstitutional or illegal. Short Answer: Eight-Liners are Illegal in Texas, according to the Second Court of Appeals. What are Eight-Liner Machines? An eight-liner machine is an

The Court of Criminal Appeals handed down State v. Martinez, answering whether the State’s testing of blood previously drawn by hospital personnel for medical purposes constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. In facts similar to those in State v. Martinez, in 1991 the Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the plurality opinion in State v. Comeaux that the

Confidential Informants Often fodder for Hollywood blockbusters such as Black Mass, Reservoir Dogs, and The Departed, the secrecy surrounding the identity of confidential informants has always captivated the public. Though the film world has undoubtedly glamorized the life of a confidential informant by adding a dramatic flair to their undercover lives, the plotlines focused on