According to the Houston Chronicle, from January 1 to April 1 of this year, Garcia fired nine deputies, detention officers, and clerks. Since he took over the position in January 2009, he’s fired about 95 employees and “handed down around 830 reprimands and suspensions without pay to others in the department.”

Among those fired are jail officers who slept on the job and had inappropriate contact or sexual relationships with inmates. Others, like the deputy who got into a drunken brawl while holding a weapon in the back of his pants, or the one who put his hand on a female inmates butt, were suspended without pay.

Although he has significantly increased disciplinary actions when compared with his predecessor, there are still complaints.

Community activist Johnny Mata said, “In some of those serious cases, the disciplinary action needs to be harsher punishment. We need to start taking these actions very seriously. It shouldn’t just be suspensions. In some cases they should be terminated.”

One woman, who was in the jail for child support issues, agrees. The officer who groped her behind while she was in custody faced suspension and nothing more.

Another deputy who left the control room open in the jail for 18 minutes while he handed out razors to inmates was similarly suspended, despite having 9 other violations in the prior 24 months.

Those fired include one deputy for giving cocaine to his girlfriend and later stalking her, a records clerk who was arrested for marijuana possession, and a female jailer who married a convicted felon without informing the jail.

Law enforcement officers would argue that they shouldn’t be held to a higher standard than any employee at any other job. But they would be wrong. Because they are involved in the temporary removal of rights of the people and they are there to enforce the law, they should be held to a higher standard.

While Sheriff Garcia can be commended for going further than his predecessor, we shouldn’t be too quick to congratulate mediocrity.

When you are on the receiving end of police misconduct, you know how it feels to want further action taken on the part of the department. But often police misconduct isn’t even punished.

If you are facing criminal charges, you may have had your own experience with questionable behavior on the part of the police. Too often, however, this behavior has no bearing on your case.

Contact our offices today to discuss your charges and how the police’s actions may affect the outcome of your case. Perhaps we can do something to not only bring attention to any abuses you suffered but to also minimize the effects of your criminal case in the process.

According to the Statesman, the Commission is small, with only 14 employees, consisting of four attorneys and three investigators. The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct, on the other hand, has 49 employees. In California, the Commission employs 16 attorneys.

These employees are tasked with investigating all claims of judicial misconduct. In 2011, there were about 1,200 complaints filed with the commission. Most are dismissed, for one secretive reason or another, and only about 6% result in discipline.

The Commission itself, who hears the cases and determines what, if anything, should be done, meets three days a week, every other month. They are not paid for their services and they admittedly have a lot to cover in a short three day time period.

The proceedings before the Commission are not bound by the same rules as a courtroom. They can invite the accused to testify, or invite witnesses, but they don’t have to. One judge who was at their mercy said that the Commission often has evidence that it doesn’t tell the accused judge about until they are present at the Commission hearing.

The Commission does not have the power to remove a judge from the bench. They can suspend a judge in rare circumstances. However, they do have other penalties at their disposal. These include reprimands, censures, and fines. Also, they may ask a judge to resign rather than have their name handed over to the state Supreme Court for possible removal.

Nearly 2/3 of the 190 sanctions that the Commission has issued in the past four years are kept secret. While names are released, we do not know their offense or how the offense was handled. This, many say, allows the Commission to act in a sort of vigilante justice, with no checks or balances in place to ensure they are acting fairly.

There are numerous allegations from judges where they were penalized with a very heavy hand and others, found to have more serious violations, are let off with little more than a slap on the wrist.  But the Commission maintains it has a right to handle the cases as they see fit, without any input from the legislature or the public.

Fortunately, these same closed-door proceedings don’t apply to criminal cases. When things are done in secret, it’s often because there is something to hide. Fair and open courtrooms ensure your rights are protected.

When you are accused of a criminal offense, you have rights. Your attorney is there to help ensure those rights are protected. If you are charged with a crime, contact us today to discuss how we might be able to help.

The doctor and his 24-year old son shared a house when the death occurred, in December 2010. At the time of this death, the son was already on probation for a drug crime.

The father is alleged to have written numerous unlawful prescriptions to people, which he would then buy back the pills to feed his own addiction. His son obviously had a drug problem as well.

He was an emergency room doctor at Westlake Medical Center until his license was suspended in May 2011 among allegations of prescription violations.

From 2009 to 2011, the doctor is said to have written “tens of thousands” of scripts for drugs, many of them being written to his son’s friends. He would give them money to have the prescriptions filled for things like hydrocodone and carisprodal. Both of these drugs were found in the body of the doctor’s deceased son after his overdose, according to the Travis County medical examiner.

At the writing of this report, the doctor has yet to be arrested and no date has been set for his sentencing. In most cases, where a drug dealer has been charged with the death of a “client”, this level of freedom and nonchalant treatment is relatively unheard of.

Prescription drugs are unique in that the affect people from all walks of life. They are often readily available to people in the beginning stages of addiction as they are often prescribed for injuries. But once the addiction develops and the user can’t easily find a supplier, they can sometimes turn to harder drugs, namely heroin.

When you are a doctor, finding the drugs isn’t so difficult, as illustrated in this case.

Any other drug offender would have likely been arrested long ago, though this doctor never was. One could say it was because he didn’t pose a flight risk, given his reputation and the fact that he is probably well-known.

If you are charged with a drug offense, you may be afforded jail but you will likely face an initial arrest. This case is unusual.

Contact us today if you are facing drug charges. We can offer a free consultation on your case.

When someone fails to show up after being released on bond, they are said to “forfeit” their bond, requiring that the county collect on any money that is outstanding. This outstanding money is largely present when defendants use a bail bondsman, who only requires them to put up a fraction of their total bond amount (typically 10%). The bondsman promises the court to have the subject back on the upcoming court date, or face the collection of the remaining funds.

In the past three years, the Star-Telegram found, hundreds of forfeitures, where the court seeks to collect the outstanding funds, have been “delayed, dismissed, or settled for a fraction of the (total) amount.”

District Attorney Joe Shannon says it’s nothing to worry about, that the amount is really miniscule when compared with all of the bonds written every year. “When you consider how many bonds are being made, the vast, vast majority of them comply, the vast majority of them deal with the judicial system as it comes along,” he said.

Many of us have an idea of a bail bondsman hiring a bounty hunter to chase down missing defendants, perhaps due in part to reality television. In reality, however, many of them “play the waiting game,” believing their missing defendants will eventually get picked up by police.

They will typically postpone on the payments, waiting for the defendant to show back up. But many stay on the lam for weeks, months, and even years. If they stay gone for more than 270 days, the state is typically done with allowing for “grace periods” and extensions. But even then, they rarely collect the full amount.

Over the last three years, the county has collected less than 1/5 of the total amount of forfeited bonds—that’s less than $1 million on a total of over $5 million.

Bail can be a confusing matter. A variety of things are taken into consideration when a judge determines if someone should be eligible to be released on bail, from the charge they are facing to their criminal history.

If you are charged with a crime and have questions or if you have a bench warrant out for your arrest for bail jumping, contact our attorneys for help.

Since 2004, 91 cases of prosecutorial misconduct have been identified in Texas, cases where the courts decided the prosecutor committed misconduct. But none of these prosecutors were ever disciplined.

“It’s basically bringing down the integrity of all the district attorneys’ offices,” says Cookie Ridolfi, founder of the Northern California Innocence Project.

In their research the group found only one case in Texas where a prosecutor was publicly disciplined after being found to have committed misconduct and that incident was before their scope of their study, prior to 2004.

Prosecutors are the head law enforcement agents in the courts. They are there to hold people accountable for law violations and to enforce criminal laws. Sometimes, however, winning a case means skirting the rules and infringing on the rights of the accused.

Prosecutorial misconduct frequently arises where the prosecutor withholds evidence that could prove a defendant’s innocence or when they make “improper arguments to the jury,” according to the Texas Tribune.

The defendant in a criminal case has constitutional rights which must be protected at every stage of the criminal justice process. If it’s found that the police or the prosecutor violate these rights, there should be recourse for the defendant.

At trial, violations like improper searches are often challenged in hopes of getting evidence suppressed. But prosecutorial misconduct is often not realized until after the case has been resolved and new facts come to light during the appeals process or later.

Because prosecutors represent the state in criminal cases, and their power has the potential to send someone to prison for a very long time, they must be held accountable when they act in violation of someone’s rights or ethical standards. Merely to say they are guilty of misconduct is not enough, particularly when it is often the same prosecutors who make these mistakes again and again.

When you are accused of a crime, the prosecutor is your adversary and your attorney is there to help ensure your rights are protected. This means challenging the prosecutor when they make questionable statements or infringe upon your rights.

If you are charged with a criminal offense, no matter how serious, we may be able to help. Contact our offices today.

According to the Star Telegram, a safety shut-off is what makes the X2 a safer choice among law enforcement departments. After 5 seconds of flow, the machine stops sending electronic waves. Older models would allow the user to continue shocking the suspect without cease.

In 2009, a Fort Worth police officer fired her older model Taser at a mentally ill suspect. She held down the trigger for a total of 49 seconds to attempt to gain control. She shocked him again for five seconds. Though the officer said the longer shock was “inadvertent,” the suspect would die as a result.

Jeffrey Halstead, Fort Worth Police Chief, began lobbying Taser Intl. soon after to create a method of stopping “extended deployment.” Though they said they could not reprogram the Tasers already on the market, they developed the X2 model to answer the call of Halstead and others.

Since 2001, Amnesty International has recorded 500 Taser-related deaths, 37 of which occurred in Texas. Opponents of the machines say they are deployed too often and should be eliminated altogether.

Law enforcement officials, however, say the Tasers give them one extra step before using deadly force, to gain control of a situation. But, say critics, if the Tasers are that unsafe, they could be considered deadly force.

Taser International is allowing the city of Fort Worth to make payments on the new X2 Tasers and gave the city a 30% discount. Currently, the city has 1,200 older model X26 Tasers on hand. Administrators say patrol officers and zero-tolerance officers will be the beneficiaries of 250 new Tasers by the middle of this year.

Cops are to use force like this only when absolutely necessary, when they fear for their safety, for instance, or cannot get control of a suspect. Oftentimes we hear about them being used before any other force options are tried.

Avoiding a Taser shock could be as simple as cooperating with police, which can be hard to do if you are intoxicated, high, or mentally unstable. However, if you do have your senses about you and even if you feel like the arrest is unlawful, obeying the officer is the best way to prevent injury and additional criminal charges.

If you find yourself facing charges that you believe are unjust, you can’t fight the cops over it, you must fight the charges in court. Contact our offices today to discuss the facts of your case and how we might be able to help.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the County Attorney’s Office has thus far targeted four local business owners, all of which run businesses that seem to draw questionable crowds. One, the Los Reiles Club had police called more than 100 times within the first seven weeks of 2012.

These businesses may be frequented by drug dealers, be known for violence, or have prostitutes loitering on their premises. The civil actions require them to get in compliance or face losing their business.

The police don’t raid the business, nor are any arrests made of business owners. Instead, the owners are served with papers requiring their presence in court. “That means you can clean up the location, and not put people in jail,” said Assistant County Attorney Robert Soard. “You’re getting people to comply with the law. If they don’t, they’re shut down and they lose a lot of income.”

One business owner, Jae Kim, who owns the property where the Downtown Tigermart convenience store operates, was forced to get in compliance. He doesn’t own the store, but leases the property to the store owner. Therefore it was his responsibility to fix lighting on the property, install working cameras, and hire a certified peace officer for security in the evenings.

Just because the County Attorney is targeting business owners with civil suits doesn’t mean that patrons and even business owners won’t face possible arrest for illegal actions. On the contrary, if law enforcement can arrest you for a law violation, they typically will.

For example, if you own a dance club and the cops are frequently called about fights and shootings, all of the patrons suspected of involvement in such crimes are, of course, subject to arrest where probable cause is present. But, under the County Attorney’s new push, you are also subject to civil court proceedings where you will need to make changes in order to ensure your business is a safe environment and not the cause of criminal matters in the community.

The differences between civil court matters and criminal court matters can seem confusing. However, if you are accused of an offense and facing potential jail time, your case is a criminal matter which may require the assistance of a criminal defense lawyer.

“If you don’t provide enough money to keep people well, the police get called and they end up in jail.”

The Dallas County Jail is the largest mental health clinic in North Texas, serving 1,400 patients in their psychiatric unit every single day. And while they can provide some benefits to those patients, such as medication and even therapy in some instances, those benefits are gone the moment they are released from jail.

Mental health institutions were commonplace until the sixties and the Community Mental Health Act. This Act put an emphasis on integrating the mentally ill into the communities with the help of community-based mental health therapy and programming. That was all well and good until the community programs were no longer funded.

Now, the mentally ill often receive no treatment at all. For some, the only medication they get is in the form of illegal drugs and therapy isn’t offered unless they spend significant amount of time in a larger jail or in the state prison system.

Left to their own demise out within the community, many who are severely mentally ill end up homeless or engaging in criminal behavior, both because of their illness and in an effort to provide for themselves in a society where they can’t find employment or help.

The police often aren’t trained well enough on dealing with the mentally ill, a problem that can often lead to tragedy when one becomes suicidal or violent.

Because the state and localities are not providing for these members of society, there is often nowhere else for them to go than the criminal justice system.  In many ways, criminal charges are a blessing in disguise, providing treatment within the jail or prison and further treatment through probation and parole.

But even if you are provided with some level of help, that help is usually gone when your time in the system expires.

Dealing with mental illness is difficult, and it’s particularly hard when you can’t get treatment. If you are charged with a crime and you battle with depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, an attorney may be able to help you get the treatment you need.

It’s called the Great Texas Warrant Roundup and it occurs every year around this time. About 260 law enforcement agencies across the state are participating, in hopes of clearing up their warrants and collecting thousands, maybe even millions, of dollars in unpaid fines.

The Roundup lasts for about a week and ends this year on March 4. Last year, the city of Houston arrested 4,110 offenders on outstanding misdemeanor warrants, and collected $2.5 million in fines and costs.

While chasing down someone for an unpaid speeding ticket might seem like a waste of time, when you consider the overall recovery of the Roundup, it seems worthwhile.

“If everyone gets a ticket and says to hell with it, that defeats the purpose,” says the chief deputy for Harris County’s Constable Precinct One. “Our files are full of traffic warrants and hot-check warrants. The only people that gripe are the ones getting arrested.”

Some agencies do their best to get offenders to cooperate before showing up at their homes and placing them in handcuffs. One small town police chief covered the windows of his office with the photos of those wanted in the roundup. Another took out a whole section of the town’s newspaper, $600 to list the 600 names of those with outstanding warrants.

These warrants are usually for things like unpaid traffic tickets, where the offender didn’t mail in their fine and didn’t show up at court to resolve the issue. There might also be warrants for a “dog at large” or illegal parking, hardly public safety issues but revenue generators for the localities in which they are charged.

When you have a warrant out for your arrest, you might think that it will just go away or that the police won’t bother with arresting you. But you couldn’t be more wrong. Even the most minor offenses can result in you wearing handcuffs in the backseat of a cop car. Working with an attorney to determine the best way of handling the warrant will ensure it all gets resolved with as little drama as possible.

If you’re wanted for missing a court date or merely have some outstanding misdemeanor warrants, we may be able to help.

An independent North Texas lab has filed a complaint that the Austin lab is releasing flawed test results, contrary to their own results on the same evidence.

The complaint was filed with the Texas Forensic Science Commission by the Integrated Forensic Laboratories, located in Euless. Austin officials are preparing their response to the complaint, according to the American-Statesman.

The complaint deals with two separate criminal cases, both from 2010. These cases are still pending, so details are not available. But, the crux of the complaint is that the Austin lab is returning results that are not consistent with the results from the Euless lab, and that those results from Austin are the ones that are flawed.

This is the second complaint that the Austin lab has received this year. As we blogged about a few months ago, a former employee of the lab alleged that results were being sent out from Austin with no testing even being done.

The director of the Austin lab, Bill Gibbens, says this latest complaint is nothing more than a “difference of opinion in how we report substances.” He also remarks that this is the first time he’s seen one lab file a complaint on another.

In the cases in question, the Euless lab was used as a second-opinion, requested by the defense in the criminal cases.

The Forensic Commission heard the complaint this week and will determine if a review is necessary when they reconvene in March. The commission has yet to make that same determination in the complaint involving the former employee. In that case, they have asked for additional information from the local police.

Just a few years ago, the department’s DNA forensic lab underwent an in-depth investigation by the FBI and the Department of Public Safety after a former analyst filed a complaint. No problems were found in that investigation.

The integrity of evidence in a criminal case is of the upmost importance. When the courts rely on a lab to release unbiased and scientifically sound results, any question of their integrity should be taken very seriously.

When the validity of lab results is in question, the defense may face a tough battle in trying to prove the lab has shortcomings or produces flawed results. This could be why the defense in this case asked for a second opinion from an independent lab.

Whether you are accused of a drug offense or a more serious violent crime, evidence will make or break the case. Contact an experience Texas attorney today to discuss the details of your case and get the legal help you need.