Supreme Court Takes on Bath Salts and Analogue Drug Act
Before 2011, few in this country had heard about “bath salts”—a synthetic drug which mimics amphetamine-like stimulants. In 2009, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimated that more than 20...
View ArticleInjustice Spawned by the 851 Federal Repeat Drug Offender Enhancement
Despite recent changes in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and new policies regarding drug sentencing issued by the Department of Justice, sentences in federal drug case remain draconian. Section...
View ArticleUnreasonable, Disparate Punishments for Federal Hydrocodone Cases Coming Soon
In 3400 B.C., opium poppy was cultivated in the lower Mesopotamia. It was called the “joy plant” by the Sumerians. Opium through the centuries has been hailed, and used, as a cure to pain. The famed...
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Common Defense Strategies against Federal Drug Charges
There are significant misconceptions about federal crimes. Many people assume that federal crimes are only “white collar” or “national security” type offenses. Nothing could be further from the truth....
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6 Common Federal Crimes with Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentences
The U.S. Congress has used mandatory minimum sentences since it first enacted federal penal crimes. The 1790 Crimes Act created 23 federal crimes, seven of which carried a mandatory death sentence....
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Penalties for Drug Trafficking Crimes Involving Common Drugs
Penalties for drug trafficking under both Texas and federal law are severe with a litany of collateral consequences. The Texas Controlled Substances Act defines drug trafficking as the manufacture,...
View ArticleMedical Marijuana Users Prohibited from Possessing Guns and Ammunition
A Second Amendment controversy surrounding the limits of gun ownership seems to always be simmering in the social shadows. It may, and should, become an issue in the current broiling presidential...
View ArticleFt. Bend District Attorney Argues Legal Loophole to Escape Grievance
On October 12, 2015, Denton County District Judge Jonathan Bailey issued a controversial ruling that effectively cleared Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey of “professional misconduct” for...
View Article2nd Amendment Allows Restrictions on Felons Possessing Firearms
Texas Felon In Possession Texas Penal Code 46.04(a) deals with the unlawful possession of a firearm. The statute provides that “a person who has been convicted of a felony commits an offense if he...
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StopDrugs Houston Lets Citizens Submit Anonymous Online Tips To Federal And...
Multi-jurisdictional drug task force sets up anonymous snitch site Designed to create a partnership between the public and law enforcement, StopDrug.Houston.org is a multijurisdictional website aimed...
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Federal and State Penalties for Drug Manufacturing
Roughly 17 percent of the more than 1.5 million drug arrests in 2014 involved drug manufacturing charges. Criminal charges for manufacturing illegal drugs can be charged at both the federal and state...
View ArticleUse of Drug Dog within Foot of Home Violates Forth Amendment, Case Reversed
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court in Florida v. Jardines held that the police use of a drug-sniffing dog to investigate a home and its immediate surroundings is a “search” under the Fourth Amendment,...
View ArticleAppellate Court Agrees Prosecutors “Overreached at Trial” of Analogue Act...
Iobal Makkar and Gaurav Sehgal operated a small town convenience store in northeastern Oklahoma named “Gitter Done.” Big Mistake to Ask Law Enforcement for Help Questions arose about a particular...
View ArticleMens Rea Reform Meets Reality in Criminal Cases
Mens Rea is a legal term that refers the mental state of “criminal intent.” It is the state of mind that an individual must possess when committing an act to be guilty of a crime. Some crimes require a...
View ArticleCourt Criminal Appeals Tosses Another Dog Sniff Case, Says Area Surrounding...
One thing should now be clear to Texas law enforcement, as well as to law enforcement officials across the country: the area immediately surrounding the front door of a home is part of the residence,...
View ArticleEvidence Suppressed After Appeals Court Finds Cops Intentionally Lied About...
In May 2013, Marguita Wills lived Charleston, West Virginia. She had a male companion named Kenneth Rush living with her in her apartment. He had been there for two nights. For some reason, Wills...
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Meth Becoming Top Choice for Drug Smugglers
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently released their 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment, and it confirms that the seizure of cocaine is dropping while the seizure of methamphetamine is...
View ArticleCell Phone Privacy Gaining Strength in Courts, Even for Probationers and...
In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court in Riley v. California held that the police, acting without a warrant, generally may not examine digital information stored on a cell phone seized during an arrest....
View ArticlePolice Falsify “Consent to Search,” Court Finds Vehicle in Driveway Not...
Known as the “Gateway to North Louisiana,” the town of Haynesville is located in the northern part of Claiborne Parish just south of the Arkansas state line. It is best known for its high school...
View ArticleNo Trespass Signs in Yard, on Front Door, Not Enough to Prevent...
Ralph Gene Carloss lived in Tahlequah, Oklahoma—a city in Cherokee County located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. He is an ex-felon who lived in a single-family dwelling located in what was...
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