Death row survivors call for moratorium; 10/31/2008
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: A group of death row survivors called on the Texas Legislature on Friday to halt executions in the nation's most active death penalty state and establish an innocence commission to free other wrongfully convicted inmates. "There have been some innocent people that have been executed right here in Texas," said Clarence Brandley, who spent nine years on death row in Texas before being exonerated in the murder of a Conroe teenager. "But the politicians are not going to say that."
Inspector faked records, leaving Houston-area DWI tests in doubt, agency says; 10/25/2008
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: At least 2,600 Houston-area DWI arrests are now in question, after a Department of Public Safety contractor allegedly failed to inspect breath test equipment and faked records to show that she had. "It's unbelievable, it's like Christmas came early," said Tyler Flood, a Houston criminal defense lawyer who works predominantly in DWIs. "We will try to reopen any cases that resulted in convictions from a breath test." Breath test instruments must be checked and calibrated once a month to ensure their readings are accurate.
Dallas police review suspect 'showups; 10/25/2008
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: A Dallas police review of single-suspect "showup" identifications revealed that more than half may not have been necessary to make an arrest. Police found 36 cases involving showups in a review completed this week of crimes from the last six months. The examination began after an investigation earlier this month by The Dallas Morning News into eyewitness identification. In 20 of the 36 cases, police already had enough information to make an arrest or there was already a warrant for a suspect in another crime, police said.
County supports grant request; 10/20/2008
VICTORIA ADVOCATE: It might not be what Victoria County taxpayers consider a fair swap, but the commissioner court said Monday that’s the way it is. The court approved a resolution in support of the county’s grant request for $44,000 from the Task Force on Indigent Defense. That’s for partial payment of the nearly $600,000 county taxpayers will have to spend next year defending those who can’t afford a lawyer.
Standards on public defenders issued; 10/17/2008
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: A divided Nevada Supreme Court has adopted standards to ensure that indigents charged with crimes get adequate legal counsel, and has set an April 1 deadline for implementing those standards. The high court's order, released Friday, also gives Washoe and Clark Counties, Nevada's largest, until next May to complete studies on caseloads that public defenders should carry. The mandate was scheduled to take effect last April but was delayed pending a review of the impact on rural areas of the state. Justices plan a Jan. 6 hearing to consider that review.
Defender's office presented TAC '2008 Best Practices Award;' 10/15/2008
KAUFMAN HERALD: With a round of applause, Kaufman County commissioners on Monday watched as Andrew Jordan accepted the Texas Association of Counties Leadership Foundation's 2008 County Best Practice Awards on behalf of Kaufman County's Public Defender Office. “This is something Kaufman County should really be proud of,” said Roy Orr, who presented the award on behalf of TAC. “When you come up with an innovative program such as Kaufman County has here, it benefits not only your county but other counties as well. Many of these best practices award winners are copied by other counties, which means even more county governments are doing new and better programs to benefit their taxpayers.”
Judge aims for more diverse grand jury; 10/08/2008
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Breaking with a long-standing method of picking grand jurors in Travis County, state District Judge Charlie Baird has chosen his latest secret panel the same way that jurors for trials are chosen — from a random selection of county residents. The practice, which one of Baird's colleagues said she would soon try, means that some jurors called to the courthouse with routine jury summonses will be asked to set aside four hours a day, two or three days a week, for three months to meet behind closed doors to investigate potential wrongdoing and to decide whether there is probable cause to issue an indictment. Baird said he understands the hardships that such a significant time commitment could cause, so he would make it easy for residents to escape grand jury service.