Criminal Law

Victim recantation spurs possible East Texas innocence claim

Posted on January 18, 2011
The Lufkin Daily News published three stories over the past few days about a fellow named Tony Hall who's seeking to clear his name after serving a 15 year sentence in prison day-for-day for sexually assaulting a child, an allegation the victim later recanted and which his aunt says was coerced from the child...

Lying, stealing, other misconduct don't prevent police promotions under civil service code

Posted on January 17, 2011
At the Austin Statesman today, Tony Plohetski published a story about the results of arbitration in Austin ("In punishment disputes, police, fire officials fared well," Jan. 17) when police and fire employees are fired or denied promotions under the state civil service code...

DPS amnesty program for Driver Responsibility surcharges begins today!

Posted on January 17, 2011
This day has been a long time coming!Drivers who've defaulted on so-called Driver Responsibility surcharges assessed before 2009 can apply for Amnesty at this website or call 1 (877) 207-3170. A separate program reducing surcharges for indigent drivers with incomes below 125% of the federal poverty level will begin in April...

Law enforcement misconduct roundup

Posted on January 16, 2011
I noticed several Texas police misconduct incidents that merit Grits readers' attention:In Midland a constable pled guilty to a misdemeanor for misrepresentations to the state peace officer licensing agency (TCLEOSE), including allegedly tampering with documents submitted for licensing for a pair of officers...

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Bill requiring eyewitness ID policies a good first step, but remedy still needed for noncompliance

Posted on January 15, 2011
The Dallas News had an editorial last week endorsing eyewitness ID reform legislation proposed by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, citing the case of Cornelius Dupree, who "spent 30 years caged up because the victim mistakenly picked him out of a photo lineup...

TYC, DPS gave administrators untimely pay hikes

Posted on January 14, 2011
The Texas Youth Commission earned the ire of legislators and many of its employees this week with revelations that the agency gave raises to its highest paid central office staff, all of whom make over $100K, reports Mike Ward at the Austin Statesman...

Roundup: Brief reports on topics big and small

Posted on January 13, 2011
Here are a few items that deserve Grits readers attention though I don't have time to fully write up each of them:Okies come to callLawmakers from Oklahoma including their Speaker of the House are in Austin today to discuss Texas' criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing prison population growth...

Focus on reentry reduced Wisconsin's prison population

Posted on January 13, 2011
Since I'm hopeful Texas will embrace policy changes to reduce the number of inmates in Texas prisons, I was interested to see this story from the Wisconsin State Journal on successful efforts in that state to reduce their prison population by 14% over the last couple of years during a period when crime continued to decline...

SHSU opens new crime lab

Posted on January 13, 2011
Sam Houston State University just opened a new, regional pay-per-service crime lab in the Woodlands, reports KBTX.com:The laboratory will ease the backlog of criminal cases in Texas by serving the basic needs of nearly 100 state and local agencies in 10 counties in Southeast Texas...

Security theater vs. crime fighting reality during an era of tight budgets

Posted on January 13, 2011
A couple of seemingly unrelated articles - one on the relative effectiveness of "Amber Alerts" and one on the backlog of untested rape kits in Harris County dating to 1986 - included argumentation themes that struck me as connected in the context of the current budget crunch...

Justice solutions proffered at TPPF orientation

Posted on January 13, 2011
This morning I attended the criminal justice policy orientation for legislators and staff put on by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, emceed by TPPF's Marc Levin and including Rep. Jerry Madden, Sen. John Whitmire, Harris County DA Pat Lykos, and Adam Gelb of the Pew Center on the States...

Sunset Commission: Merge TYC, juvie probation

Posted on January 12, 2011
I just received this press release announcing that the Sunset Commission has rejected the staff recommendation (pdf) and voted today to merge the Texas Youth Commission and the Juvenile Probation Commission:Texas Appleseed and two national advocacy groups are praising today?s unanimous Sunset Advisory Commission vote to restructure the state?s juvenile system by abolishing the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and creating a new entity...

Parole caseloads too high to monitor ex-offenders

Posted on January 12, 2011
In Dallas a TV station has a story titled "Most Texas parole officers say they are overworked," which is based on a report from the state auditor discussed on Grits a couple of months ago. A lawyer quoted in the story identified the main problem:Attorney Joe Padian, who represents dozens of offenders who are currently up for or out on parole, said that there is a problem with supervision...

DeLay's three year sentence probably much shorter

Posted on January 11, 2011
Former Congressman Tom DeLay was sentenced to three years in state prison for money laundering yesterday by a Republican judge, who said he agreed with the jury that convicted him.Doug Berman questioned whether three years was an unusually stiff sentence...

Jailhouse snitching formalized, compensated in Harris County

Posted on January 11, 2011
Use of jailhouse snitch testimony is fairly commonplace in Texas courts, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of jailhouse informants being processed through the Crime Stoppers program, which will begin happening soon in Harris County. Reports AP:Snitching could lead to up to $5,000 for Harris County Jail inmates as investigators encourage detainees to phone in tips to Crime Stoppers...

Forensic commissioner: State fire marshal testimony "embarrassing"

Posted on January 11, 2011
Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey offered this observation, supplemented with the opinion of at least one commissioner, regarding the expert testimony from the state fire marshal before the Texas Forensic Science Commission on the Todd Willingham case:Not a single independent scientist came forth to defend the work of Texas Deputy Fire Marshal Manuel Vasquez, who died in 1994, or the Corsicana arson investigator...

Mounting school arrests, more school police criminalizing youth misbehavior

Posted on January 10, 2011
I received this press release today via email from Texas Appleseed:Class C Ticketing, Arrest of Youth at School is Introducing Thousands to Justice System, Says New Appleseed Report Schools Should Follow Lead of Juvenile Justice Agencies: Restrict Pepper Spray, Taser Use Austin, TX...

Declining DWI convictions and the unmitigated failure of the Driver Responsibility surcharge

Posted on January 10, 2011
In the Senate Criminal Justice Committee's recent report (pdf, pp. 22-23) was this reference to what I thought was fascinating testimony from Judge David Hodges, Judicial Liaison for the Texas Center for the Judiciary, on the relationship between the Driver Responsibility surcharge and declining DWI conviction rates in Texas:Judge David Hodges, Judicial Liaison, Texas Center for the Judiciary, provided that the most pressing legislative issue with DWI cases is to eliminate or substantially reduce the license renewal surcharges that is imposed on DWI convictions by the Driver's Responsibility law...

Texas' budget shortfall dwarfs corrections budgets

Posted on January 10, 2011
Comptroller Susan Combs issued her proclamation today regarding how much money Texas legislators have to spend in the next biennial budget: $72.2 billion, down from $87 billion in the last budget. But the real budget gap is bigger than the $14.8 billion difference between those numbers, because population growth and inflation means the state must spend more to provide services - particularly for education and healthcare...

Roundup: Recent but notable tidbits

Posted on January 09, 2011
Here are a few items I didn't get around to discussing this week that merit Grits readers' attention:Exonerees in the news Just-exonerated Cornelius Dupree and Cory Session, brother of the late Tim Cole, have a joint op ed in the Dallas News titled "Preventing miscarriages of justice...

Watch This Space

Posted on January 09, 2011
Thanks to Brandi Grissom for the shout out to Grits in the New York Times, which began to show up on my referral logs this morning. Texas Tribune writers did a collective overview of the upcoming 82nd Texas Legislature for the Times as part of their budding journalistic for-profit/non-profit partnership, and after each policy issue covered is a blurb with a subhed, "WHO TO WATCH...

Experts: Willingham investigation negligent even by 1991 standards

Posted on January 08, 2011
Yesterday, Texas' Forensic Science Commission held the hearing on faulty arson science in the Todd Willingham case that Chairman John Bradley was appointed 15 months ago to stall past the November election - a task he successfully accomplished, but scientists on the commission ultimately insisted on holding the hearing over his objections...

Movement conservatives need to get 'right on crime'

Posted on January 07, 2011
There's a notable op ed in the Washington Post today by Newt Gingrich and Pat Nolan, declaring: "We urge conservative legislators to lead the way in addressing an issue often considered off-limits to reform: prisons. Several states have recently shown that they can save on costs without compromising public safety by intelligently reducing their prison populations...

'Putting iPhones behind bars"

Posted on January 07, 2011
"Putting iPhones behind bars," is the clever title given to an email exchange, to be published Sunday in the Dallas News in their "Point Person" feature, between myself and editorial writer Michael Landauer. He wanted to follow up regarding my (absurd?) proffer from this post Monday to allow inmates limited, monitored access to smartphones in prison, which I suggested would promote productive ties to family and good behavior while stemming unauthorized use and contraband smuggling...

DPS announces rollout of amnesty, indigence programs for Driver Responsibility surcharge

Posted on January 06, 2011
The Texas Department of Public Safety has finally released more details about the rollout of Amnesty and Indigence programs for the Driver Responsibility surcharge, from their Public Information Office's Chaparral newsletter (pdf) pointed out to me by an alert reader:Texans whose driver licenses have been suspended for failing to pay state-mandated surcharges are urged to take advantage of a one-time payment amnesty from late January to late April 2011...

Arson experts finally scheduled to testify in Willingham inquiry tomorrow

Posted on January 06, 2011
The Forensic Science Commission tomorrow will (finally) meet to hear testimony from arson experts on the Todd Willingham case. Chuck Lindell at the Austin Statesman has a preview post up describing the experts scheduled to testify. They are:Assistant State Fire Marshal Ed Salazar, second in command at the office that helps investigate suspicious fires statewide...

Pretrial detention for misdemeanors contributes to Bexar jail costs

Posted on January 05, 2011
KENS-TV out of San Antonio has a short but notable item on reducing jail costs, including a suggestion by County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson for diverting nonviolent offenders:Crowded jails are costing taxpayers in Bexar County millions every year. Officials say the Bexar County Jail has an average of 4,200 inmates at any given time...

Senate Criminal Justice Committee: Highlights from interim recommendations

Posted on January 05, 2011
The Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee has posted its 115-page Interim Report (pdf) online, which is a written summation of recommendations in response to "interim charges" given to the committee by the Lt. Governor to prepare for major issues where legislation is anticipated...

Asset forfeiture reform legislation filed

Posted on January 05, 2011
I received this press release today about notable asset forfeiture legislation similar to that which died in 2009 as part of the voter ID chubfest:Senator Whitmire files Senate Bill 316 to reform Texas Asset Forfeiture lawsAUSTIN, Texas -- Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) announced today he filed Senate Bill 316 to address the continuing abuse of the asset forfeiture process and misuse of the funds generated by these seizures...

Rise in officer traffic deaths points to need to limit high-speed chases

Posted on January 04, 2011
There have been lots of stories lately about the 37% rise in police officer fatalities last year, from 117 in 2009 to 160 in 2010. Eighteen officers were killed in Texas, more than any other state, and as usual "fatal traffic incidents ... were the leading cause of officer deaths for the 13th straight year...

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