On April 24, 2026, the en banc Fifth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction that had kept Senate Bill 4 (the 2023 statute creating new state criminal offenses for unlawful entry into Texas) on ice for nearly three years. The 10–7 ruling did not decide whether SB 4 is constitutional. It held that the plaintiffs (Las […]
For 29 years, Yvonne “Missy” Woods was a star analyst at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. She testified in high-profile murder trials. She was trusted as the gold standard in DNA testing. Prosecutors built cases around her results. Juries convicted defendants on the strength of her reports. Then, in September 2023, an intern doing a […]
On May 1, 2026, the Texas Supreme Court lifted the injunction that had blocked the Department of State Health Services from enforcing its classification of Delta-8 THC as a Schedule I controlled substance. Headlines declared Delta-8 effectively banned. The hemp industry reacted immediately. So did the confusion. The ruling is significant. But what it actually […]
A recognition from the Daughters of the American Revolution presented during the chapter’s America 250! Community Awards Banquet. The Preston Trail Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution has selected Deandra Grant to receive its Women in American History Award. The award will be presented at the chapter’s America 250! Community Awards Banquet on May 7, 2026. The Women in American […]
On April 9, 2026 (Clarence Curtis Jordan’s 70th birthday) the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated his death sentence and sent his case back to Harris County for a new punishment proceeding. Jordan had been on Texas death row since 1978. He was found incompetent to be executed in 1988. For nearly four decades after […]
In March 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit handed prosecutors a significant victory in DNA mixture litigation. In United States v. Anderson, No. 25-1223, the court ruled that TrueAllele (a proprietary DNA interpretation software used by crime labs across the country) is reliable enough under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 to […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist The question: What are the penalties for a first DWI in Texas? The short answer: A first-offense DWI in Texas is typically a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, and a driver’s license suspension between […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist The question: Can I get deferred adjudication for a DWI in Texas? The short answer: Sometimes. Deferred adjudication for DWI was unavailable in Texas for decades until HB 3582 passed in 2019. Today, deferred adjudication is available only for first-offense DWI cases where the driver’s […]
One of the most common misconceptions about warrants in Texas is that they eventually expire in that if enough time passes without an arrest, the warrant becomes unenforceable and the problem goes away. For the vast majority of warrants in Texas, this is not true. Texas warrants do not expire on their own. They remain […]
Online solicitation of a minor is one of the most aggressively prosecuted sex offenses in Texas, and one of the most frequently charged as a result of law enforcement sting operations. If you have been arrested under Texas Penal Code §33.021, you may be facing a felony with mandatory sex offender registration and the circumstances […]