If you are facing domestic violence allegations that involve fabricated details or the charges are completely baseless, you need to immediately identify strategies to protect yourself. These accusations will likely impact your life in many different ways, whether you...
Criminal Defense
How police may use your phone
Technology is constantly changing the ways in which we interact with the world around us, including how crime happens and how police find those who commit crimes. Many of us have our entire lives on our phones and bring it everywhere. Police know that, though, and can...
Does a police officer need a warrant to search my vehicle?
When stopped by a police officer, Texas law requires that you pull over and turn off your vehicle when it is safe to do so. An officer may have multiple reasons for stopping you. Perhaps you have a taillight out or maybe the officer suspects you of driving illegally....
Courts often admit questionable psychological tests
Researchers have decided that courts in Texas and all over the country do not properly assess psychological tests or IQ tests, resulting in less-than-reliable science being admitted as evidence. There is wide variance among the psychological tests that are admitted in...
Understanding Miranda rights
While many Texas residents are somewhat familiar with Miranda rights, they might not have a good understanding of what they are and the protections that they afford. Police officers do not have to read the Miranda warnings to people who they are talking to but who...
Questionable police technique used widely across the country
When Texas residents are accused of a crime that they haven't committed, they may attempt to clear their name by speaking to the police. Because they are not guilty, they may believe that they just need to tell their stories and they will be able to move on. However,...
Community service sentences may entrench poverty
Many people in Texas think that sentences of community service are more humane than other types of criminal punishment, including jail time or heavy fines. However, one study released by the UCLA Labor Center and School of Law says that community service can replicate...
Violent crime is down but convictions still on the rise
A research brief from the RAND Corporation claims that more people are being arrested and convicted before turning 26 than in previous generations. This statistic is causing concern among some justice reform advocates as convicted criminals in Texas and throughout the...
Search warrants are rarely needed to access electronic data
Police officers in Texas and around the country generally must obtain warrants if they wish to search the residences or automobiles of suspects, and judges only issue these warrants if they are satisfied that there is probable cause to believe evidence of criminal...
Police tunnel vision can lead to wrongful convictions
A study conducted by two criminologists at Texas State University has raised questions about the way high-profile crimes are investigated by the police. After reviewing the investigations of 50 crimes that resulted in a wrongful conviction, the research team...