Criminal Defense
Core strategy, procedure, and rights every Texas defendant should understand — from arrest and arraignment through trial and appeal.
Latest in Criminal Defense
Indecency With a Child in Texas: Understanding the Charge, the Penalties, and What the Defense Examines
Indecency with a child is one of the most frequently charged sex offenses in Texas and one of the most misunderstood. Many people facing this charge (and their families) conflate it with…
How to Challenge a Forensic Expert Witness in Texas
Forensic expert witnesses carry unusual authority in criminal trials. A jury that might skeptically evaluate an eyewitness’s account often defers to a laboratory analyst who presents technical findings in confident, technical language.…
The 2009 NAS Report: What the National Academy of Sciences Said About Forensic Science
In February 2009, the National Research Council of the National Academies published a report that fundamentally changed how forensic science evidence is understood in the American legal system. Titled “Strengthening Forensic Science…
How Federal Judges Decide Sentences: A Guide to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
Federal sentencing is fundamentally different from state sentencing. In Texas state courts, judges and juries impose sentences within a statutory range (for example, 2 to 20 years for a second-degree felony), and…
Caught with a THC Vape Cartridge at DFW Airport? What Happens Next and What It Means
The THC vape cartridge in your carry-on bag just cost you a felony charge. That sentence captures what tens of thousands of travelers who pass through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport every year…
Prescription Drug Charges in Texas: Doctor Shopping, Prescription Fraud, and the Pharmacological Defense
Most people arrested on prescription drug charges did not think of themselves as drug offenders. They were patients (often managing real, documented pain or anxiety) who at some point crossed a line…
When the Video Might Be a Lie: How Texas Defense Lawyers Are Fighting Deepfake-Era Evidence
For decades, a grainy surveillance clip or a damning social-media video was close to game-over for the defense. Juries tend to believe what they can see and hear. But artificial intelligence has…
What Counts as ‘Reasonable Suspicion’? A Plain-English Guide to the Supreme Court’s Latest Fourth Amendment Ruling
On April 20, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in District of Columbia v. R.W., No. 25-248, reversing the D.C. Court of Appeals and holding that a Metropolitan Police…
Bite Marks, Hair Analysis, and the Science Courts Are Still Admitting
In 2016, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) published a detailed scientific assessment of forensic feature-comparison methods used in criminal courts. Feature-comparison methods are those that attempt to…
Cold Cases and the Fourth Amendment: What Genetic Genealogy Means for Defendants
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced this week a $600,000 partnership with Othram (a Texas-based forensic biotechnology company) to deploy investigative genetic genealogy against Florida’s backlog of more than 21,000 unsolved homicides,…