18 U.S. Code Sec. 924(e), more commonly known as the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) is a federal criminal enhancement provision that institutes a mandatory 15-year minimum for individuals found guilty of certain firearms offenses under federal law. Underlying Offense The ACCA applies to individuals convicted of various federal firearms offenses. The most common underlying…
This four-part post discusses when a statement may be used against a defendant in a criminal trial in Texas. Read Part 1 here. Read Part 2 here. Read Part 3 here. If the statement is an oral statement, it must be recorded. The warnings above must be included as part of the recording. Sec. 3. (a) No oral…
This four-part post discusses when a statement may be used against a defendant in a criminal trial in Texas. Read Part 1 here. Read Part 2 here. Why does it matter whether a person is in custody? If a person is in custody in Texas, then law enforcement is required to comply with both Miranda and article…
This four-part post discusses when a statement may be used against a defendant in a criminal trial in Texas. Read Part 1 here. In Herrera v. State, 241 S.W.3d 520, 525-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held the following with regard to “custody”: “When considering “custody” for Miranda purposes, we apply a “reasonable person”…
Sex Offender Registration Under Texas Law (Part 2 of 2) What are the Registration Requirements for Sex Offenders? Chapter 62 of the Texas CCP sets out the many requirements for maintaining registered sex offender status. Among other requirements, a sex offender must abide by certain information reporting requirements, notify law enforcement of any changes in…
Law enforcement searches fall into two broad categories – those conducted incident to a warrant and those conducted without a warrant. The law favors searches made pursuant to a warrant as, assuming the validity of the warrant, a determination has already been made by a neutral and detached magistrate that there is probable cause for…
A petition for nondisclosure is the procedure through which a person can have certain aspects of his or her criminal record shielded from public view. As of September 15, 2015, the law related to petitions for nondisclosure in Texas has changed. Importantly, the changes do not apply to offenses that occurred before September 15, 2015. Filing Fee…
Part I of this post discussed the new automatic nondisclosure of certain misdemeanors. Another significant change in Texas nondisclosure law is eligibility for nondisclosure of probation in some instances. Nondisclosure of Probation in Texas In the past, only successfully completed terms of deferred adjudication were eligible for nondisclosure. Under the new law, probation (which is…
Part I of this post discussed the new automatic nondisclosure of certain misdemeanors. Part II of this post discussed petitions for nondisclosure of misdemeanor probation. As of September 15, 2015, Texas law now permits courts to grant nondisclosure of some misdemeanors for which a defendant received a jail sentence. Nondisclosure of Convictions with Jail Sentences…
As a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor, I have been asked by a number of friends and civil law colleagues about my thoughts on the Netflix series, Making a Murderer. Disclaimer: this is an editorial – these are my opinions with which you may agree or disagree. Though I have years of experience in…