In our last post, we began speaking about a measure recently passed by Texas lawmakers that seeks to address the problem of synthetic marijuana throughout the state. In particular, the measure was intended to address a limitation in a previously passed law, under...
New Texas synthetic drug law addresses shortcomings in 2011 law
Texas readers who have been paying attention to the news know that there has been a spate of hospitalizations in recent weeks in connection with the use of synthetic marijuana. Out in Austin, there have been at least 170 hospitalizations, and a number of other...
Bill would repeal civil asset forfeiture process, P.2
In our last post, we mentioned that there is currently legislation in the House of Representatives which would change the asset forfeiture process in Texas by requiring law enforcement to have a conviction before property can be forfeited. In other words, the bill...
Continued reminders of potential for police misconduct abound
The legality of police investigation is an important topic right now in the United States, as it should be. Recent events that have gained national attention have highlighted not only the challenges police officers face in doing their work, but especially the fact...
Navigating the federal sentencing guidelines: work with an experienced attorney, P.2
In our last post, we began speaking about the general way the federal sentencing guidelines work. As we’ve already explained, one of the factors judges take into consideration when determining an offender’s sentencing range is the offense seriousness level, which is...
Navigating the federal sentencing guidelines: work with an experienced attorney
In our last post, we began speaking about the Obama administration’s newest move to tweak and rework the federal criminal justice system’s approach to drug crimes. As we noted, actions taken by the administration in recent years sought, in particular, to ease up on...
President makes another move to correct imbalances of old sentencing system
On Tuesday, president Obama made headlines when he decided to exercise his commutation power to reduce prison sentences for 22 inmates in federal prisons. The event is unique not only because of President Obama’s conservative exercise of his pardon and commutation...