On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Jul 15, 2020 | Criminal defense
The Houston Police Department recently issued a revised use-of-force policy and unredacted portions of the policy that described how and when officers can use batons and if/when they can shoot at moving vehicles. Chief Art Acevedo made multiple changes to the...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Jul 1, 2020 | Evidence in Criminal Cases
“With the exception of nuclear DNA analysis … no forensic method has been rigorously shown to have the capacity to consistently, and with a high degree of certainty, demonstrate a connection between evidence and a specific individual or source.” That was the...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | May 4, 2020 | Evidence in Criminal Cases
In general, most people want to trust the legal system in Texas and in the United States, but the system unfortunately isn’t flawless. Innocent people can and do face wrongful convictions. A recent news article tells the story of Rosa Jimenez. In 2005, Rosa was...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Mar 4, 2020 | Criminal defense
The insanity defense is an idea many Americans love to hate. Television shows and talk radio often bring us vague but angry stories about hardened criminals who “plead insanity” and then “walk.” As a result, many Americans, including some jurors and some people...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Oct 18, 2019 | Criminal defense
The relationship between mental illness and criminal behavior has been a hotly debated topic in recent years, particularly after several mass shootings in the United States. However, researchers say people with a mental illness are more likely to be victims of a...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Sep 7, 2019 | Prosecutorial Misconduc
Selective prosecution is prohibited in Texas. The most well known form of selective prosecution is “racial profiling”. Typically a defendant must show that he or she was singled out for prosecution and that the government’s discriminatory selection of him or her for...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Feb 18, 2019 | Jail & Inmates
The Basics of the Bail Bonds System What is a bond? If you get arrested and want to get out of jail before your trial date, then you’ll need to make bail (which means to be released from jail). To make bail, you will have to make a bond with the Court. There are three...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Jan 21, 2019 | Evidence in Criminal Cases, Firm News
The Basics of Crime Labs in Houston DNA is commonly used in criminal investigations and trials. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the carrier of genetic information present in nearly every living organism. Police frequently collect DNA at crime scenes in order to...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Jan 20, 2019 | Firm News, Prosecutorial Misconduc
The unfortunate history of mishaps at Houston crime labs is well documented. The local Houston Police Department Crime Lab was shut down after botched lab tests[1] and testing backlogs[2] rendered the lab unreliable. In 2014, the City of Houston created the Houston...
On behalf of Paul Morgan Law Office, PLLC | Jan 20, 2019 | Prosecutorial Misconduc
In Texas, entrapment is defined as when a defendant is induced to commit a crime by law enforcement using persuasion or other means likely to cause persons to commit the offense.[1] Entrapment is more than “being set up” by the cops; merely having the opportunity to...
