By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist The prosecution’s theory in every drug DWI case rests on a simple equation: the defendant had drugs in their system, therefore the defendant was impaired. The relationship between blood alcohol concentration and impairment is well-established and reasonably consistent across individuals. But for virtually every other […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, Instructor, Axion Analytical Labs If you were arrested for DWI in Texas and a blood sample was taken, the number that the prosecution will use against you in court was almost certainly generated by a specific laboratory instrument: a headspace gas chromatograph with flame ionization […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist In Texas DWI cases involving blood draws, the prosecution presents the lab result as if it is a fact: “The defendant’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.12.” But that number is only as reliable as every step in the chain from the moment the needle entered […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist You were pulled over at 11:00 PM. Your blood was drawn at 12:15 AM. The lab reports your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at 0.09. The legal limit is 0.08. But in Texas the prosecution’s question is not what your BAC was at 12:15 AM. It […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist A gun crime that begins as a state case in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, or McLennan County can become a federal case overnight. When it does, everything changes: the courthouse, the prosecutor, the judge, the sentencing rules, and the consequences. Federal gun crime convictions carry […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist A judge says you’ve served your time. You should go home. Instead, you spend another 49 days in the Dallas County Jail. This unlawful incarceration leads to missing a job interview, losing your state-provided housing or watching your life fall apart while the county can’t […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist Theft charges in Texas cover a wider range of conduct than most people realize. Shoplifting from a retail store, accepting payment for services you never intended to deliver, buying merchandise you suspected was stolen, and participating in an organized retail theft ring can all result […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist Under Texas law, murder is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison. But there is a narrow and powerful provision in the Penal Code that can reduce that sentence dramatically: the sudden passion defense under §19.02(d). If the defense […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist Texas has the most robust self-defense laws in the country. A person who kills another person in self-defense has committed no crime. This is not a technicality, an excuse, or a mitigation strategy. It is a complete defense that, if proven, results in an acquittal. […]
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist In serious felony cases (murder, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery, and other offenses carrying decades of prison time) the guilt-innocence phase of trial receives the most attention. But for many defendants, the punishment phase is where the case is actually decided. A defendant […]










