All four were already in jail on state misdemeanor charges for the attack when they were indicted federally. They will be facing both state and federal charges, as a result.

Last summer, one evening after midnight, Yondell Johnson, 29, waited at a bus stop on the corner of Travis and McKinney. It was then that he was approached by four shirtless, loud white men. One of them men asked Johnson if he had the time, calling him “bro.” One of the others berated his friend for calling a black man his “bro” and the attack began soon after.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Johnson is an amateur boxer and was able to fend off all four men for about 10 minutes until his feet were pulled out from under him and he landed on the ground. Then he was held down, and kicked and pummeled repeatedly.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening. I thought I was on my way to dying.”

Three of the suspects have white supremacist tattoos and they used racial epithets throughout the attack. It was clear that the attack was racially motivated.

Locally, they are facing misdemeanor charges for the assault. State prosecutors apparently intend on enhancing these charges to a hate crime. Despite this, they will remain misdemeanor charges. Changing it to a hate crime, at the state level, does nothing more than increase the minimum amount of jail time they will serve if convicted to six months.

But the federal hate crime charges could result in up to a decade behind bars for each man.

The local FBI civil rights squad confirms they are investigating three other hate crimes in the Houston area. It’s not often you see hate crime charges being levied even when there is a suspicion that the attack or crime was committed because of someone’s race, sexual orientation, or other protected designation.

The reason for this is because much more than “suspicion” of a hate crime is needed to gain a conviction.

While investigations and arrests may be made on probable cause, or evidence-supported suspicions, convictions can only be made when there is no doubt as to someone’s guilt. This works in favor of you if you are the defendant.

Whether you are accused of assault or a drug offense, your attorney is there to ensure you get the best results possible in court, namely by helping you to avoid a conviction. Contact our offices today if you are accused of a crime and in need of help.

Police officials say Stephens’ allegations are unfounded and maintain their lab work is on the up-and-up. “It has become apparent that Ms. Stephens is an angry former employee and is now looking to bring discredit to the Austin Police Department’s crime lab,” according to the Assistant Police Chief Sean Mannix.

The basis of Stephens’ complaint is that drug evidence is not being analyzed before reports are being submitted to the District Attorney’s office. In particular, she states that drug evidence in fast-tracked cases is not being tested and instead, lab workers are saying the substance is a controlled substance without scientific validation.

It’s not completely uncommon for police to misidentify drugs or to believe something is a controlled substance when it isn’t, merely because of the similar appearance of the evidence. If the mistake isn’t caught by the scientists in the crime lab, such a mistake could result in jail time for someone who is otherwise innocent.

Stephens alleges “results are being reported and charges are being filed without any analysis being conducted at all.” She says she believes hundreds of cases analyzed by the crime lab since 2005 were done “without regard to laboratory protocols.”

According to the department, Stephens was fired for violating policies and procedures; further clarification is not being made public. Her initial complaints, forwarded to the national accrediting organization and to the Texas Forensic Science Commission were said to be baseless, according to those organizations.

In a similar case, a former lab analyst complained on the integrity of the DNA lab. That lab was then investigated by the DPS and the FBI, both of which found no deficiencies. The DPS and the Texas Rangers both cleared that lab of wrongdoing in the investigation.

The impact of Stephens’ allegations are yet unknown, though the department believes they are all without merit. A deputy assistant director of the lab sent a letter addressing Stephens’ complaints, however, and stated that they identified two cases where no drug testing was done before a report was emailed to prosecutors.

When you are charged with a crime and there is physical evidence involved, the integrity of the agency tasked with handling that evidence should be verified. If there is any question to the methods of evaluation and handling used by that agency, your defense lawyer could use those questions as a basis to challenge the evidence’s admissibility.

Contact our offices today to discuss the evidence against you and how it could affect the outcome of your case.

The majority of these clinics seem to pop up in the Houston area. Thirty-six percent of the state’s 345 pain clinics are located in the city and it seems this is where the largest demands are.

By calling themselves something other than the typical pain clinic, the clinics can fly under the radar, at least for a time, before investigators move in and discover what it is they are really doing.

One facility in Santa Fe, for example, registered itself as a “family practice”. But when investigators looked into the facility, they found it didn’t have any stethoscopes or blood pressure cuffs. The doctor running this clinic was found to be dispensing “hundreds of thousands of highly addictive pills” to drug users.

Another clinic was referred to as an “urgent care clinic”. In this facility, the doctor was also dispensing addictive drugs. Her license was subsequently suspended in January.

These doctors and the pharmacies that work with them, stand to make millions off of the prescription drug trade. Prescription drugs are highly addictive. And whether it’s the addict who gets the prescription or a person working for a trafficker, the doctor and the pharmacy are making a pretty penny.

Many pharmacies are able to do this by concealing how many prescriptions they actually fill for these addictive drugs. One such pharmacy, for example, reported dispensing 95 prescriptions for addictive drugs over a single year period. Digging into their computer systems, investigators uncovered that they had actually dispensed 13,469.

Not everyone who goes to these pain clinics are addicts who need the drugs themselves; some are working for traffickers who will eventually distribute the drugs on the black market. Regardless of who is obtaining them, they are eventually taking lives. In Harris County alone, 188 people have died from prescription overdoses this year alone.

The problem continues to be the wide availability of these drugs and their severe addictive nature. You could be in a car accident, for example, be given prescription pain pills. After just a few weeks you can develop a habit, leading to addiction.

Sometimes it’s not until an addict overdoses or is arrested that they seek help for their addiction. If you are facing criminal drug charges and admit you need help, this could be the right time to seek out treatment. Sometimes, a treatment plan will help you avoid jail time. Contact our offices today to see how we might be able to help.

It’s not often, perhaps never, that defense lawyers investigate a prosecutor. However, Morton’s legal team was given this chance by Judge Sid Harle, who took over the case in August. It’s believed when all is said and done, the defense team will ask Harle to take some sort of action against Anderson, though what that action is isn’t known yet.

Several states have innocence commissions in place to investigate and prevent wrongful convictions. These are the bodies that would normally handle the investigation into any missteps by the prosecution in such an exoneration case. But Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University, says that this is the first time that he knows of an investigation being led by defense lawyers.

Morton had some pretty high profile defense lawyers on his side, Barry Scheck and Nina Morrison with the Innocence Project of New York, and Gerry Goldstein from San Antonio, just to name a few.

According to the Statesman, the defense team has been “admittedly making the rules as they go.” The team was granted the ability to conduct “limited discovery” by the current district attorney, John Bradley. Using that power more commonly seen in civil cases, the lawyers subpoenaed testimony from Anderson, Mike Davis (who assisted as an ADA on Morton’s case), and Don Wood, the retired sheriff’s deputy who was involved in the murder investigation.

Morton’s team is expected to go before judge Harle next Monday and reveal what exactly it is that they’ve found. There are indications that Anderson had evidence that was “favorable” to Morton’s case and neglected to divulge this evidence early on in the case. Disclosing such evidence is required by law.

In specific, there are four pieces of evidence that Morton’s lawyers believe Anderson knew about and withheld:

• A report that Morton’s wife’s credit cards were used in San Antonio 2 days after her death (pointing to a robbery motive),
• Indications that a check made out to Christine Morton was cashed 9 days after she was killed,
• A police report indicating there had been a suspicious van in the neighborhood whose driver had walked up behind the Morton house on “several occasions,” and
• “The transcript of a police interview with Christine Morton’s mother…who revealed that the Mortons’ 3 –year-old son witnessed the murder and said Michael Morton was not home at the time.”

What Judge Harle does with this information remains to be seen.

When you are accused of a crime, even if it’s a misdemeanor, you need someone looking out for your best interest, helping to ensure your rights are protected and that any and all evidence that can assist your case is brought out into the open.

If you’ve been accused of a criminal offense, contact our offices today to discuss your case.

They are called no-refusal policies because regardless of what you want, you will submit to a blood test when suspected of DUI in cities and counties taking part.  No longer can suspected drunk drivers refuse a breath test in the hopes of avoiding giving the state evidence of their impairment.

Lawmakers and prosecutors saw it as a problem that suspects could refuse a breath test when suspected of drunk driving. Typically, when this occurred, the prosecution would be left presenting police reports and other second-hand sort of evidence at trial, evidence that is more easily beaten by defendants.

Now, however, if you refuse the breath test, the police can get a warrant and forcefully take your blood. They are even authorized to strap you down while a medical professional sticks the needle in your arm.

With blood evidence, prosecutors win convictions in about 90% of cases, or more. Most often, defendants confronted with blood evidence opt for a plea agreements, pleading guilty in order to avoid trial and a potentially harsher sentence. According to the Wall Street Journal, there’s a saying within the legal community about this, “If it bleeds, it pleads.”

No refusal policies aren’t in place everywhere in the state, at all times. Instead, they are often used as a tough alternative on weekends or holidays. More than likely there will be many such blood-draws over the coming weeks.  Officers have to be in touch with prosecutors, who in turn can provide the proper motion to judges on call who can sign an order for the evidence to be collected.

The problem with this approach, according to opponents, is that it subjects people to a very invasive “search and seizure” of evidence, perhaps even unreasonable, something that we are protected against by the U.S. Constitution. Like many drunk driving policies, this seems to assume the suspect is guilty long before they are given the benefit of due process. But, the Texas courts disagree, having repeatedly upheld the no refusal practices.

This summer, 500 Texas law enforcement agencies took part in a no-refusal weekend over the 4^th of Jult. They made about 1,500 DWI arrests. So far, Bexar County (including San Antonio) is the only locality that has implemented the practice year-round.

It’s hard to beat a DWI charge when the prosecution has blood evidence, but it is not impossible. And even when the outcome looks bleak, your attorney may be able to negotiate a favorable plea agreement that can avoid the harshest penalties, and let you get on with your life.

If you are charged with DWI, regardless of the evidence, contact us for a free criminal consultation and find out how we can help.

Possessing less than one gram or even a trace of crack in a crack pipe used to warrant an immediate arrest and a felony charge. But many within the local criminal justice community, police notwithstanding, saw these arrests as a misuse of limited resources and even a failure to the users it locked up.

The policy changed on January 1, 2010. In 2009, there were 10,674 charges for this offense in the DA’s office. In 2010, that number was 5,942. So far in 2011, there are just 5,235. Authorities say the policy has reduced the local jail population by around 400 inmates on any given day, freeing up the limited space for suspects accused of crimes that threaten public safety.

Under the current policy, cops could issue a ticket for paraphernalia if they catch you with a crack pipe. But most officers don’t—they’d rather not deal with the paperwork and the hassle associated with a ticket when the penalty is only $500.

So, why do cops care about the new policy? They see it as a risk to safety and an open-door to future, more serious crimes. They want to use arrests for possession as sort of a preventative measure. They don’t care about the small amounts of drugs, they are worried what a crack-head might do if allowed to roam the streets.

“The residue cases are instrumental in putting people behind bars – people who commit burglary of a motor vehicle, burglary of a habitation, aggravated robberies, strong arm robberies, and they steal your cars,” said vice president of the Harris County Deputies’ Organization Eric Baton.

The problem with this sort of “preventative” arrest is that it isn’t always foolproof and it undermines due process. You can’t arrest someone on the premise that they might commit a serious offense. You can only arrest people for the crime they’ve already committed. A small amount of crack, cocaine, or meth, simply doesn’t warrant a felony charge and the associated penalties. “Justice sometimes means that you look at a certain category of offenses and say ‘These don’t warrant the type of reaction that we’ve been applying to them,’” says Geoffrey Corn, of the South Texas School of Law.

Outside of Harris County, policies are different. Acting in accordance with state law, you can face very serious criminal charges for possessing a small amount of a controlled substance. If you are accused of a criminal drug offense, contact us to talk about your case and what can be done to minimize the consequences.

The old facility had 1,000 beds that were eliminated from the total bed count of the Texas Department of Corrections. But now, Texas has more than 2,000 beds more than it did just a year ago. So, what good did the closure do? In reality, it was purely fiscal.

It’s all about saving money these days and while we often see positive criminal justice reform pushed on the basis of saving money, the Texas justice system keeps adding more and more convicts to the mix. Unless lawmakers are willing to change how the machine works, they will continue to funnel inmates into a system that simply can’t afford them.

“At some point, because of the costs, we have to recognize that we don’t need to waste one dollar incarcerating one person that doesn’t really need to be behind bars,” says Senator John Whitmore (D-Houston).

According to the American Statesman, 35% of Texas inmates are serving time for nonviolent offenses. In order to significantly impact the amount of money needed to keep the system running, we have to reduce the amount of people in prison. Obviously, the smartest way to do this would be to reduce penalties for nonviolent offenses or to “limit local judges’ discretion to mete out long prison sentences for nonviolent crimes.”

Still, no one wants to seem soft on crime and the chances of such broad changes are pretty slim.

So far in an effort to save money after $60 million was taken from prison spending this year, many changes have been made, none of which affect the number of people behind bars.

• Inmates pay $100/year for medical care, up from $3 per visit
• 200 Medical workers lost their jobs as hours were cut in prison clinics
• Two meals per day are served on weekends and dessert is only provided once per week
• Rehabilitation and treatment programs have been siginificantly downsized
• More than 1,500 employees have been laid off
• Probation and Parole officers have higher than ever caseloads
• Manufacturing plants within prisons have been closed

So rather than impacting the cause of the spending (the number of inmates) we are reducing the quality of the incarceration experience. In other words, we are making prison time harder—something “tough on crime” folks would love to hear even though it is shown to increase recidivism and border on unethical.

Until lawmakers get the courage to stand up for what works (rehabilitation and community supervision for nonviolent offenders), we will likely see similar cuts in the future. Perhaps they will get rid of heat and air conditioning next. It’s fairly certain that you won’t see local judges spare convicts a prison sentence of their own accord in order to help with the issue.

So, if you are facing criminal charges, you can’t bank on a lenient judge or significant changes to sentencing laws. Instead, you have to depend on a criminal lawyer and the laws that are currently in place. Contact our offices today if you are facing charges. We may be able to help.

Forty-eight year old Charles Cleveland Nowden went to the movies on November 6, 2009 where he purchased two hot dogs, two cokes, and a popcorn. He used a counterfeit $20 bill to make the purchase. When he was arrested, police found $120 in additional counterfeit bills in his vehicle.

Now, $140 in counterfeit money is a big deal. Passing it as legitimate money is another crime in itself. But you wouldn’t think it would garner any more than a few years in prison at the most. Nowden, however, wouldn’t be so lucky.

Prosecutors presented evidence at trial of two additional pending cases, one in Tarrant County and one in Lamar County. They also pointed out that Nowden wasn’t a newcomer to the criminal courts. He had been involved in numerous theft and fraud cases over the years. Ultimately, he would be sentenced to 80 years in prison. Four decades behind bars.

Violating the law often carries harsh penalties and sometimes these sentences seem too harsh, like the prosecutor had a vendetta or a special interest in locking someone up and keeping them off the streets. Nowden’s sentence is particularly harsh considering his offense was a nonviolent crime.

But despite how harsh his sentence seems, it is allowable under the law because of the offense he was accused of and also his criminal history. A judge is allowed to take many things into consideration when sentencing a convicted offender. With the direction of a prosecutor, that sentence can be particularly severe when aggravating factors are present.

Your criminal history can play a major role in the penalty phase of a criminal case. Even if the charge you are facing seems relatively minor, it could result in a lengthy sentence if you have a significant record or even if you get the wrong prosecutor or wrong judge on the wrong day.

Understanding just what goes into the determination of not only your sentence but the law you are accused of violation can be confusing. A local criminal defense lawyer can help you understand the criminal court process and your role within it. We can also work to get you the best results possible on your day in court.

If you are accused of a crime, contact us today to discuss your case and how we might be able to help.

When the Sheriff’s Office receives a warrant from an officer, ideally that warrant would be entered in the system right away. This would allow any officer across the state who may do a traffic stop, for instance, to check the database and immediately know a suspect had an outstanding warrant. Though that’s what happens in most counties across the state, Harris County can’t seem to keep up.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Sheriff employs three clerks whose sole job is to enter warrants in the database. Currently, those clerks are forced to prioritize the warrants, entering those for serious offenses like rape, murder, or those especially requested by officers to be entered immediately.

Though Sheriff Adrian Garcia requested additional funds to hire more clerks, that request was denied. Another agency, in Bexar County, had a similar problem a few years ago and solved their issue by increasing staff.

Harris County receives about 3,000 warrants per month and current staffing levels simply can’t keep up with the nonstop flow of such warrants. Those Class A and B misdemeanor warrants could sit for a significant amount of time before they are ever entered, potentially affecting the cases down the road and, the Sheriff worries, public safety.

According to the Chronicle, however, this isn’t just a recent problem. The agency has had backlog to some degree for the last 20 years. Other law enforcement agencies within the area are aware of the problem, though the Sheriff says he never explicitly told anyone.

It doesn’t seem that there is any immediate solution to the problem, unless the flow of warrants suddenly slows or if the department gets additional staff. In the meantime, they will continue to prioritize, entering the most serious warrants first while non-family violence misdemeanors take the lowest priority.

This doesn’t mean it’s time to celebrate if you are one of the thousands whose warrant has not been entered. There’s always a chance that a local law enforcement officer knows your warrant exists without it being in the system. Also, these warrants will eventually be entered, so you are not off scot-free.

If you believe you have an outstanding warrant, for failure to appear or any reason and are in need of legal counsel, contact our offices today to discuss your case.

The Houston Chronicle tells of a man who agreed to transport two saddles in exchange for a free bus ride. He was arrested when he crossed the border. The saddles contained $20,000 of cocaine. Later the charges against him were dropped, but he isn’t the only one.

In El Paso, 5 people were caught under similar circumstances at the same bridge over the Rio Grande within 15 months. One was convicted and two pled guilty to lesser charges. Is there a chance these people were innocent, being victims of a larger operation? Definitely.

But even in cases where the “suspect” maintains his innocence and has a credible story, things don’t always come out in the wash. The saddle-traveler, for instance, had no criminal record and a stable employment history. He was not the typical drug mule. And although the charges against him were dropped, the prosecutor says they aren’t convinced he was set up, merely that the dropped charge “means that at this time additional evidence is necessary to take the case to trial.”

A student, who was found crossing the border with duffle bags full of marijuana, maintains his innocence to this day, as he sits in prison. He refused a plea deal. “I was disappointed in the system,” he said. “I thought it would be like in the movies; they’d investigate and there would be fingerprints and everything.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case and the jury convicted him.

Does it happen that innocent people are caught up in the drug trade? Yes. Is it common? No. The vast majority of people accused of trafficking drugs knew about the drugs found in their possession. But their case doesn’t end here.

Regardless of your level of culpability, a defense attorney is there to look out for your best interest and get you the best results possible given the circumstances. If you are charged with a drug crime, you need an advocate on your side. Contact our Texas criminal attorneys today to discuss your case.