In Houston, a Federal Judge was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release  The Houston Chronicle reports that former Judge Samuel Kent will report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons next month  Kent lied to a judicial committee who was investigating an alleged sexual misconduct allegation against Kent Judge Kent's reputation was well known in the Houston criminal defense...

You or someone you know may be in this situation: You have had a case in the Harris County Criminal Courthouse, or any other Texas court for that matter; The judge has granted deferred adjudication; and You have successfully completed deferred adjudication What now  Many assume that once deferred adjudication is completed,  the existence of that charge is automatically erased  They assume that...

ABC 13 news reports that a 70 year old woman waited 7 hours for police to respond to her 911 call when her house was burglarized  Mayor White states  that "we ought to be vigilant in trying to do better"  The problem is not effort  The problem is the misguided effort  We all know that if you have a car accident it will be a good hour before anyone officer shows up  If only, the police were as fast as...

The New York Times reports that local police officer Jeffrey Cotton has been charged in the shooting of Robert Tolan  This story has made nationwide news and has even been the subject of an episode of Real Sports by Bryant Gumbel Jeffrey Cotton has an arraignment setting in the 232nd District Court of Harris County, Texas  Cotton was indicted on April 6, 2008 for Aggravated Assault by a Public Servant  ...

Anyone charged with a criminal offense in Harris County, Texas is likely to be overwhelmed with the number of courts in the Harris County Criminal Justice Center The Harris County Criminal Justice Center is located at 1201 Franklin Street in downtown Houston There are fifteen county criminal courts at law The courts are found on floors 8, 9, 10, and 11 The county criminal courts hear all class B...

The Los Angeles Times reports that NFL Star, Dante Stallworth, has been charged with a Manslaughter charge stemming from a March 14th accident that killed 59 year old Mario Reyes   This is the prototypical case that has formed organizations such as MADD and caused anti-drunk driving bill boards to be put along side our roadways  This incident occurred in Florida, and if Stallworth is convicted he faces up...

The Houston Chronicle reported that a Harris County man was arrested and charged with capital murder in the death of his son From what I gathered from the article, the autopsy revealed no external injuries and the cause of death was severe trauma to the brain which the Detectives believe is consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome As a Harris County criminal defense lawyer, I do not feel it is appropriate to...

As a Houston criminal defense lawyer, I frequently get the question, "If I am stopped for DUI, should I take a breath test" Nobody has ever been surprised by my answer Yet, the reasons, and there are many, not to take a breath test are far more complex than simply not incriminating oneself People ask, "what if I only had one drink, then should I take the breath test" I am not in the business of telling people...

November 4, 2008 was not only a big night for the national stage, but locally as well Nine felony district courts were up for election Democratic challengers won 8 out of the 9 criminal judicial races The results are as follows: 174th District Court was vacant because Judge George Godwin is set to retire The Judge-Elect is Ruben Guerrero 176th District Court- Judge Elect Shawna L Reagin 177th District...