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Drunk Driving Kills 5 Children In a Horrific Houston Accident

This past weekend proved deadly for a Houston family. Two men and six kids were piled into a car that went careening off the road into a flooded ditch. The two adults and a 10 year old child escaped, but the other 5 weren’t so lucky.

According to the Associated Press, driver Chanton Jenkins is currently in police custody facing 4 counts of intoxication manslaughter, one charge for each of the children that has been found to date. Mr. Jenkins lost control of the vehicle, according to his brother and passenger, when he was talking on his phone.

The ditch had turned into a rushing torrent with recent downpours and when the vehicle plunged into the waters, it was all the adults could do to save themselves and the one child who escaped. Police say the current was so strong, the car ended up 100 feet from its initial crash site. The rushing waters are also to blame for the still missing body of a 3 year old girl.

Jenkins is said to be father to 3 of the five victims, while the other two were cousins of the family. The children who passed were ages 1, 3, 4, 7, and 11. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DWI

As DWI Blood Tests in TX Increase, Defense Strategies Get More Innovative

As defense attorneys, it is our responsibility to fight for you, and try to get the best possible results in court. This means knowing all of the ins and outs of your case and ensuring your rights were protected at every stage of the game. With some Texas law enforcement agencies moving toward more and more mandatory blood draws, the job can becomes more interesting and challenging.

This article from the American Statesman outlines some of the new defense strategies coming about with this new and questionable method of getting DUI convictions. As we blogged about last week, there are several counties within our state that are moving toward mandatory blood draws when you refuse to take a breathalyzer test. These blood tests are highly invasive and their use is suspect to say the least.

As the legal landscape changes and prosecutors come up with new ways to get convictions, it is my job, and the job of every good defense attorney out there to also adjust our game plan to ensure that our clients are being treated fairly.

This new approach in DWI convictions has proven to be a difficult one to fight in court. Having said that, however, there is hope for your case. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DWI

Vampire Policing: Mandatory DUI Blood Draws in Dallas

More and more people realize that they don’t have to consent to a breath test if they are pulled over and suspected of DWI. While they may still be arrested and charged with the offense this refusal could increase the chances that those charges would be dropped or the jury would return a not guilty verdict. This is exactly why Dallas has started mandatory DUI blood draws in some cases.

If you refuse a breath test in Dallas but the police believe you are intoxicated, they can request a warrant for your blood. This trend is gaining popularity despite dissent from the ACLU and many other groups. According to this report from the Dallas Observer, even some judges wonder if this is the right thing to do, especially when they learn of people physically resisting the blood draw.

Evaluations showed, however, that cases where the alleged drunk driver refused testing they were acquitted. Groups like MADD and prosecutors alike didn’t like this. It made the police and prosecution work very hard to build a DWI case that was a slam dunk. [Read more…]

Texas Probation Department in Travis County Shows Promise With New Changes

Over the past few years, the probation system in Travis county has made some major changes. From streamlining tedious paperwork to better classifying offenders prior to sentencing, the department has saved money and it seems they have also reduced short term recidivism.

This report from the Statesman shows that probation revocations are down 20% over the past two years. This number is amidst of a struggling economy and difficult times for many so it shows a promising trend for the future of probationers in the Austin area.

Probation happens when a person is convicted of a crime but the judge sees them fit for supervision within the community. This privilege is instated while a prison sentence is suspended. If the probationer follows all the rules and avoids new arrests they serve their probation term and are then released. If, however, they violate their probation, the judge can “revoke” it and reinstate the suspended sentence.

Finding superior supervision methods saves the state and county money by avoiding over-supervising low risk offenders and also by ensuring the right programs are used for the right offenders. With lower revocation numbers, this means there are less violators sitting in Travis County jail and lining up for court. [Read more…]

Austin TX Criminal Gang Activity on the Rise

Gangs don’t typically victimize average citizens. Gang members usually prey on other gang members or people associated with them. Does this mean Austinites shouldn’t be concerned about the rise in gangs around the city? Absolutely not.

Gang-connected crimes are most often linked to drugs. The more gangs we have battling it out for drug territory, the more overall violence our city will experience and the more expenses we will all carry as the local criminal justice system is overloaded.

This article from the American Statesmen points out that Austin experienced a 65% increase in gang related crimes. It also states there are more and more gang members within the city. The reasons are unclear but the results remain the same.

Being involved in a gang is not something easily walked away from. Like many law breakers, gang members find it difficult to live a clean life. Unlike most other criminals, however, for some gang members, leaving the lifestyle is impossible. [Read more…]

Local Police in Texas Taking Law and Your Property Into Their Own Hands

A story in the Chicago Tribune has shed some seriously needed light on a practice going on in Tenaha, Texas. Here the police are cracking down and using the states asset forfeiture laws at a very high rate. The problem, they are confiscating property and money from travelers who have committed no crime at all. Police are stopping vehicles as they travel through town, searching them, and often taking property with the threat of criminal charges.

The police are able to take property or assets seized related to a crime. The issue with what the Tenaha police are doing is there is often no crime being committed at all. For instance, a family driving through with a large amount of cash may get stopped, accused of money laundering, and told to hand over the cash or face criminal prosecution. They are stopping families, ordinary citizens, and even the elderly with this scam.

What makes the ploy even more interesting is the majority of victims are minorities. The police are stopping and seizing property from black and mixed race people at a much higher rate than they are whites. While local police deny any wrongdoing, the numbers don’t lie and look awfully suspicious. [Read more…]

Anxiety in Texas as Drug Cartel Violence Rises North From Mexico

South Texas is already reporting increased in violence spreading north from Mexican drug cartels. This report from the Dallas Morning News looks at whether or not North Texas should also be preparing for the worst.

Drug cartels out of Mexico are major operations ran by violent people with one main interest, making money through large scale drug operations. If this interest ends in the death, kidnappings, or injuries of many, they don’t seem to care. If someone stands between the cartels and their money they may suffer dire consequences.

Although the Gulf cartel is said to control the supply of cocaine into Dallas, they have remained somewhat quiet over the last several years. This, apparently, is to avoid attracting attention to their large scale operations. [Read more…]

Roadside Fingerprints in Texas

A new roadside fingerprinting device is being tested in Austin. Portable fingerprint scanners allow police to scan prints and submit them remotely, helping to identify suspects who are caught without identification.

This article from the Austin-American Statesman says that the devices will be used by about 100 officers beginning around the first of March. Officers will be trained in how to use the machines and more importantly, how to explain them to citizens.

Officers will be asking for consent to take a print if there is no identification present. Interestingly, a refusal could mean a trip to jail, as a lack of identification also often does. [Read more…]

Mistaken Identity? Police in Dallas, TX Change Photo Line-up Procedures

Mistakes in eyewitness identifications are to blame for many false charges and even wrongful convictions. When facing criminal charges you didn’t commit, hearing someone say they saw you do it can be mind-blowing. Eyewitness testimony can really make a huge impact on juries and judges. Even though mistakes are common, they still weight heavily on minds when determining guilt or innocence.

A small move in the right direction, Dallas police will be changing the method of eyewitness photo lineup identification processes. While the department recently dropped out of a study on photo lineups due to time constraints, the department is taking change into their own hands in an effort to improve the system.

In the past when identifying a suspect, eyewitnesses were shown a group of 6 photos all at one time. Now, however, someone from the department will show the eyewitness a group of photos one at a time. This method is believed to decrease the incidences of mistaken identity during photo lineups.

Dallas is certainly not the first department in Texas to change this practice, but just the latest. With a department that is so large covering a big city with a somewhat high crime rate, the Dallas Department is better late than never.

According to the Innocence Project, mistaken identity plays a part in 75% of cases overturned by DNA evidence. If mistaken eyewitness identification plays a role in all of those cases that are discovered, imagine how many people are wrongfully charged and even convicted that don’t later get exonerated. It baffles the mind to think that a percentage of the people in the courts and prison systems are there because someone pointed the finger at the wrong guy. Consequently, imagine how many people are out wandering the streets who should be in jail or charged with the offenses someone else was blamed for.

Decreasing the occurrence of mistaken identity in photo lineups is vital in keeping the criminal justice system just and fair. Any moves to make the process more foolproof are moves in the right direction.

Being accused of a crime you didn’t commit must be gut-wrenching. To try and clear your name when someone insists they saw you commit an illegal act can be very difficult. Only an aggressive and highly experienced attorneys can help people caught in these situations.

Dallas Officers Being Sued for Lying In Texas Drug Case

Thomas Hannon, a Dallas man, is suing the 6 police officers accused of lying on police reports that landed him some serious criminal charges. According to Dallas CBS 11 News, Hannon was originally charged with possession of methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm. In total, he faced 20 years in prison if convicted. However the charges were dropped when the prosecution presented evidence that the arresting officer’s lied.

In August of 2007 Hannon was arrested outside of a Dallas hotel. According to court documents he ran into a friend at the hotel. Upon leaving the hotel, the men went in opposite directions. Hannon’s friend, who was carrying a black bag, went one way while Hannon was arrested on a felony warrant upon leaving. The police stated that Hannon had, in his possession, the black bag that actually belonged to his acquaintance.

This black bag ended up containing methamphetamines and a firearm. The changing point in the case came when the defense presented a security video from the hotel which showed the other man, and not Hannon, in possession of the black bag in question. Just as Hannon had claimed from the beginning, he never had control over the bag.

Thanks to good representation, the criminal case was dismissed and now Hannon seeks civil damages in Federal Court.

Who knows why the officers lied. Perhaps they were concerned with building a reputation of cracking big cases and sending dangerous men to prison. Maybe they had personal interest in the case or had encountered Hannon before.

Whatever the case, it is a perversion of the justice system. There is no doubt that people are wrongly accused of criminal acts. Even if the accusations aren’t intentionally false, it is not uncommon for innocent people to end up facing a judge on drug charges, weapons offenses, or property damage cases.

When facing criminal charges it may feel like the state of Texas and everyone in the court system has already assumed your guilt rather than presumed your innocence. Although this wasn’t Hannon’s first run in with the law he still deserved fair treatment in the justice system and until the dismissal of his charges he was denied this by the very people tasked with representing the integrity of the legal system.

A qualified and experienced Texas defense attorney can be critical to anyone facing prison time or a mark on their record. You attorney is there  in order to ensure the system works how it was designed, to apply the laws in a fair and consistent manner.