John T. Floyd's Comments on Criminal Issues

SUPREME COURT CHANGES CONFESSION LANDSCAPE

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:08:10 GMT

Montejo v. Louisiana; Suspects in Criminal Investigations Must Invoke Right to Counsel and Remain Silent, Even if Represented by Counsel

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson often warned his judicial colleagues that the court was “forever adding new stories to the temples of constitutional law, and the temples have a way of collapsing when one story too many is added.”

In May, 2009, The Supreme Court removed a story from the constitutional rules protecting criminal suspects against police-coerced confessions. A criminal defense attorney’s most dreaded hurdle is incriminating statements obtained from his/her client outside the presence of legal counsel. The Supreme Court’s latest excursion into this constitutional arena has resulted in a definitive ruling that will make it easier for prosecutors and law enforcement authorities to secure such statements from criminal defendants, even those who are known to be represented by counsel.

SHOULD EVIDENCE OF PRIOR FALSE ABUSE ALLEGATIONS BE ADMISSIBLE IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES?

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:57:51 GMT

Inadmissible Evidence under 608(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence May be Admissible under 613(b), Rule 412 or Confrontation Clause

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

A Harris County federal jury recently awarded $5 million to George Rodriquez for the 17 years he spent in the Texas prison system after being wrongfully convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old girl. And a Harris County district court judge last December ordered Ricardo Rachell released after he spent six years in the Texas prison system after being wrongfully convicted of sexually molesting an eight-year-old boy.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH, POTENTIAL CRIMINAL LIABILITY

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:12:49 GMT

Doctors Move to Hire Criminal Defense Attorney Vital in Protecting His Reputation and Liberty in the Jackson Whirlwind

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The death of celebrity brings out the worst in humanity. The recent death of singer/entertainer Michael Jackson has once again proven this tragic point. We have seen it all before: the lurid headlines, anonymous sources, and grist mill of rumors all designed to insinuate wrongdoing by any and every one associated with the celebrity-figure from nanny to granny. To paraphrase American author Ann Morrow Lindberg, we make our heroes in America only to destroy them.

IS ROBERT ALLEN STANFORD A REAL FLIGHT RISK?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:06:53 GMT

The Bail Reform Act of 1984 and the Presumption for Release on Bond

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

On June 18, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a 21-count indictment against Houston businessman and chairman of the Board of Directors of Stanford International Bank, Robert Allen Stanford (also known as “Sir Allen Stanford”). The indictment charged that Stanford conspired with others associated with his business enterprise, the Stanford Financial Group, to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and obstruction of a Securities Exchange Commission investigation. The indictment essentially charged that Stanford and his co-conspirators were responsible for the loss or theft of nearly $1.1 billion investors had deposited through Certificates of Deposit into the Stanford International Bank.

THE DNA FALLOUT CONTINUES

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:53:40 GMT

District Attorney’s Office of the Third Judicial District v. Osborne; U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Ability for Wrongfully Convicted to Prove Innocence

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

George Rodriquez spent 17 years in the Texas prison system for a crime he did not commit. He was 26 years of age in 1987 when he was wrongfully convicted by a Harris County jury for the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The jury based its decision on a critical piece of forensic evidence; a pubic hair found in the victim’s underwear. A serologist with the Houston City Police Department’s Crime Lab determined that the pubic hair did not belong to another suspect in the rape case, Isidro Yanez. The serologist testified at Rodriquez’s trial, saying that while his forensic testing ruled out Yanez, it did not rule out Rodriquez.

A DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:49:20 GMT

Rule 606(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence; Conducting Inquiry into Juror Misconduct

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Johnny Ray Ocon was put on trial in Ector County, Texas for the crime of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Sex offense cases involving children are the most difficult for a criminal defense attorney to try. Defense attorneys must be very careful and thorough during the voir dire of prospective jurors to identify any hidden biases a juror may harbor in such cases. It is not always easy to sift through an individual juror’s personality in the short period of time, and with a limited number of questions, to identify and isolate any prejudices the juror may have against the defendant.

U.S. SUPREME COURT LIMITS VEHICLE SEARCHES

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:50:30 GMT

Arizona v. Gant, 129 S.Ct. 1710, (2009); Vehicle Searches after Arrest

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Consider the following hypothetical. Two patrol officers with the Houston Police Department were following a Cadillac in an area known for gang and drug activity. Loud music was coming from the vehicle as it swerved several times from lane to lane. The officers decided to stop the vehicle for failure to maintain a single lane of traffic. In Texas, a law enforcement officer may lawfully stop a person for a traffic law violation. 1/

DNA CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:02:40 GMT

City of Houston Sued; Disgraced Crime Lab on Trial After Wrongfully Convicted Man Exonerated After 17 Years in Prison

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

George Rodriquez was a 26-year-old young man in 1987 when he was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in Harris County. A critical piece of evidence that led to his conviction was a pubic hair found in the girl’s underwear. A serologist with the Houston City Police Department’s crime lab, who we now know had a history of fabricating evidence to suit local prosecutorial and law enforcement needs, determined that the hair did not belong to a suspect named Isidro Yanez but the serologist did not eliminate Rodriquez as the owner of the hair. Seventeen years later DNA, which was not used as evidence in criminal trials in 1987, established that the hair in fact belonged to Yanez and not to Rodriquez.

THE HARRIS COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:40:48 GMT

Past Abuses, Hopes for Better Future

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Three recent stories in the Houston Chronicle exposed serious flaws in the Harris County criminal justice system. The first story concerned a 60-year prison term imposed on Andrew Wayne Hawthorne, a serial child molester. Hawthorne molested an eight year old boy in the fall of 2002. A crime for which a wrongly accused man, Ricardo Rachell, was convicted and sentenced to prison. Ricardo Rachell was convicted for this sexual assault and spent more than six years in the Texas prison system before readily available DNA evidence at the time of his arrest was finally tested and established his innocence.

A GLIMPSE AT THE NATION’S DRUG PROBLEM

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:19:44 GMT

20:1 Crack/Powder Ratio Still Flawed; Incarceration of Most Drug Offenders Absurd and Obscene

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

In May 2007 the U.S. Sentencing Commission sent a report to Congress recommending that the 100:1 sentencing ratio in crack/powder cocaine cases be reduced to 20:1. The 100:1 ratio under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines required federal district courts to treat one gram of crack cocaine as the equivalent of 100 grams of powder cocaine. That disparate sentencing scheme created thousands of horrendous miscarriages of justice in the federal sentencing process with all sorts of ugly racial implications. Crack cocaine offenders, disproportionately African American, were routinely punished 100 times more severely than powder cocaine offenders.

“JUICED” BY THE DESIRE FOR FITNESS

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:17:15 GMT

Addiction to Pumping Iron and Juicing Leads to Massive Arrests in Houston Area and Ft. Bend County

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

It was billed by raiding law enforcement officials as the “largest drug operation” in Fort Bend County history. The stark, glaring headlines and the “perp walks” would lead one to believe that a violent Mexican drug cartel had just been “busted” in Fort Bend County.

THAT NAGGING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DEBATE

Sat, 30 May 2009 15:36:34 GMT

No Probations for Illegal Aliens: The Problem with Blanket Law Enforcement Policies on Undocumented Immigrants

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

In September 2006 Houston police officer Rodney Johnson was shot in the back of the head by an illegal immigrant the officer had just arrested following a routine traffic stop. And in March 2009 Houston police officer Rick Salter was shot in the face by an illegal immigrant during a narcotics raid. He remains in critical condition. Both of these shootings of law enforcement officers by illegal immigrants triggered intense criticism from Houston Mayor Bill White and Police Chief Harold Hurtt against federal immigration officials for their alleged failure to secure the nation’s southern borders and for failing to aggressively push for the removal of illegal immigrants in this state.

THE GITMO DILEMMA

Fri, 22 May 2009 21:16:39 GMT

Don’t We Have Prison Space for a Few More?

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Shortly after assuming the presidency, Barak Obama announced his intention to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently houses 240 individuals classified as “enemy combatants” suspected of having engaged in some form of terrorism against the United States. The president stated that he was studying the various options for dealing with these detainees.

THE RIGHT TO KNOW IN THE REAL WORLD

Tue, 19 May 2009 17:27:47 GMT

The Balancing President’s Balancing Act; Public’s Right to know, Due Process for Terrorist

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

President Barak Obama has drawn considerable political flak recently from liberal Democrats, human rights groups, and “left-leaning” bloggers for two terror-related decisions: the decision to fight the court-ordered release of dozens of photos of terror suspects being subjected to torture interrogation techniques; and the decision to resurrect the military tribunals set up during the Bush administration to try terror suspects. This new wave of criticism from the president’s natural base of supporters comes of the heels of massive political flak he incurred several weeks ago from Republicans, right-wing radio talk show hosts, and the “new voice” of the Republican Party, former vice-president Dick Cheney, concerning the administration’s decision to release of U.S. Justice Department “terror memos” authorizing CIA torture interrogations in 2002.

A DREW PETERSON DEFENSE

Fri, 15 May 2009 16:43:40 GMT

Legislators and State Prosecutors Attempting to Deny Confrontation Clause Guarantees, Presumption of Innocence

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Former Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson has been married four times. Wife three, Kathleen Savio, died under mysterious circumstances in February 2004 just weeks before her divorce settlement with Peterson was to become final. Her dead body was found lying face down in an empty bathtub. Her hair was soaked in blood from a head wound. A Coroner’s Jury ruled her death an accident.

A DEFENSE AGAINST TORTURE

Sat, 09 May 2009 06:33:38 GMT

The rule of law prevails over the demands of politics

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

In the wake of the Obama administration’s release of the “terror memos” and the political firestorm the release generated, the president has instructed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review all the facts and circumstances surrounding the “torture” interrogations conducted by CIA and U.S. military personnel and make a determination of whether criminal charges should be filed either against those who approved the torture interrogations or those who conducted them, or both. Any decision Attorney General Holder makes will trigger an intense political backlash.

FALSE FORENSICS: AN ATTORNEY’S WORST NIGHTMARE, INJUSTICE TO US ALL

Sat, 02 May 2009 06:01:29 GMT

Gary Alvin Richard; Wrongly Convicted Man Released after 22 Years

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

They are called “experts.” Prosecutors parade them into court dressed in respectful suit ware and carry resumes packed with a laundry list of degrees. They then testify about the science of “forensic evidence” in ways that more often confuse rather than clarify the issues being tried in a criminal case. Worst yet, many of these “CSI” experts testify falsely, or in misleading fashion, about test results they either did not perform correctly or whose results they manufactured to fit a given prosecutorial objective. Incompetent or unethical “forensic experts” are a criminal defense attorney’s worst nightmare.

THE PLAGUE OF PIRACY

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:03:00 GMT

Youthful Pirate Faces Life in Federal Prison if Convicted on Piracy Charges

By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the lone survivor of the four Somali pirates who attacked the United States flagged-ship Maersk Alabama on April 8, 2009, was recently indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on five criminal counts, including piracy under Section 1651 of the Title 18 of the United States Code. The other three pirates did not fare as well. They were killed four days earlier in spectacular fashion by Navy Seals sharp shooters who also rescued the captain of the Maersk Alabama. If convicted of piracy, Muse will face a life sentence under United States Code Title 18, Section 1651.

THE CIA TERROR MEMOS

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:16:22 GMT

Legal Opinions Redefine Torture, Criminal Acts

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The Bush administration’s 2001 declaration of “war on terror” critically—if not irreparably—injured the constitutional soul of America. This nation can no longer look other civilized countries in directly in the eye and unequivocally say it is the moral leader of the “free world.” The recently released CIA “terror memos” demonstrate that during the eight-year presidential tenure of George W. Bush the United States became a nation that subscribed almost exclusively to the base Machiavellian political dogma of “the end justifies the means.” Those who have defended, and continue to defend, the “torture” practices carried out under the Bush administration say they were a necessary weapon in the “war on terror” declared by President Bush after the three September 11, 2001 terror attacks against the United States by the international terrorist organization, al-Qaeda.

TORTURE FALLOUT CONTINUES

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:02:05 GMT

Foreign Investigation of Torture Techniques Sanctioned by Bush Administration

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

CIA Director Leon Panetta announced on April 9, 2009 that it would shut down those “black site” secret prisons in foreign countries utilized by the George Bush administration to house, and torture, suspected terrorists—many of whom were kidnapped off public streets in their home countries by either CIA agents or CIA operatives, and who had never been formally charged with any terror-related activity.

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF THE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:02:39 GMT

Factors Contributing to Wrongful Convictions and Unjust Imprisonment

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

In a March 16, 2009 article (“Cold Shoulder from Lubbock Officials in Cole Case”), we wrote extensively about the tragic wrongful conviction of Timothy Cole. A military veteran and college student, this son of a school teacher and Bell Helicopter manager was convicted in 1986 for the December 1985 rape of a Texas Tech student in Lubbock, Texas. Despite vigorous protestations of innocence from Cole and his family, Cole was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison where he died fourteen years later.

CHILD PORN: AN INCREASING PROBLEM IN ALL SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:49:35 GMT

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

There has been a recent rash of media reports about local residents getting arrested or sentenced for possession of child pornography. For example, on March 13, 2009, the Houston Chronicle carried a report about a Houston attorney being given a six and one-half year sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake. Williamson possessed 84 child pornography images on his computer. After he completes his prison sentence, the suspended attorney will be under “supervised release” for the rest of his life, must register as a sex offender, and attend a sex offender treatment program.

WHAT IS SEXTING?

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:27:09 GMT

Sexting Among Children; Criminal Behavior or Brash Sign of the Times

By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

First, and foremost, “sexting” among teenagers can be a crime. Second, it’s stupid, sophomoric behavior that can quickly ruin reputations, destroy employment opportunities, and cost a lot of money to deal with its legal consequences.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY PAT LYKOS CONTINUES NEW ERA OF PROSECUTORIAL REFORM IN HARRIS COUNTY

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:42:55 GMT

Successful Batson Challenge Reveals Racial Discrimination in Harris County Jury Selection

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Assistant District Attorneys Mark Donnelly and Rifian Newaz are considered seasoned, professional prosecutors by their colleagues in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Many Harris County defense attorneys also hold the prosecutors in high professional esteem. In fact, we recently paid tribute to ADA Donnelly for his recent professional efforts to undo the tragic wrong done to Ricardo Rachell who was wrongfully convicted and who spent six years in prison for the aggravated sexual assault of a child.

A TEXAS BIGAMY DEFENSE

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:59:02 GMT

The Constitutional Implications of Lawrence v. Texas on the Texas Bigamy Statute

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The State of Texas will probably experience of series of bigamy trials stemming from the mass arrests made in the “infamous FLDS case” last year. The John T. Floyd Law Firm has been asked on a number of cases if there is a legitimate constitutional challenge to the Texas bigamy statute. See: Tex. Penal Code, § 25.01.

FLDS REVISITED: ONE YEAR LATER

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:42:09 GMT

Aftermath of the Texas CPS Raid

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

In the fall of 2003 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) arrived in Eldorado, Texas. They purchased a 1700-acre ranch four miles outside of town. They called it the “Yearn for Zion Ranch” (“YFZ”). More members arrived. They constructed a mammoth temple and created their own community. They lived in peace.

COLD SHOULDER FROM LUBBOCK OFFICIALS IN COLE CASE

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:15:01 GMT

DNA Exonerations: Improper Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Poor Police Work; A Deadly Combination

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Dying in prison is a sad, tragic affair. Timothy Cole died in a Texas prison in 1999 from asthma complications. He was 39 years of age. The prison’s health care officials notified the security staff of the inmate’s death. In all likelihood, a prison guard escorted an inmate orderly to Cole’s “bunk” where his blanket and sheets were stripped from a thin plastic-covered mattress. The guard used a master key to open a commissary-purchased combination lock on a foot locker that contained Cole’s “personal belongings.” The orderly sorted through the items to separate “state-issued” property from Cole’s personal belongings (letters, legal files, photos, etc.). The state and personal items were placed in separate plastic trash bags. The meager items in those trash bags represented the sum total of a man’s life in prison.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:35:04 GMT

AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR

By: Billy Sinclair

I am pleased to announce, through the website of the John T. Floyd Law Firm, that my wife, Jodie, and I have recently released our second book, Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor. Released by the prestigious publishing house Arcade Publishing (New York), Capital Punishment is a collection of fourteen essays that examines the entire spectrum of the subject of the death penalty: its methods of executions, its Southern regional phenomenon, its racism, its tortuous botched executions, and its impact on our society.

BOOK RELEASE

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:50:47 GMT

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:
AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR

By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd

I am happy to announce the release of another book by my good friends Billy and Jodie Sinclair entitled Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor, released by Arcade Publishing (New York). The book is a compelling collection of essays commenting on the death penalty from many different perspectives about this controversial and, in my opinion, most despicable, inhumane and arcane of punishments that continues to thrive in this so called modern world.

THE PERILS OF POWER

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:25:01 GMT

Power Corrupted and the Struggle for the Rule of Law

By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos recently announced that local defense attorneys will be provided with copies “offense report(s)’ prepared by police in criminal cases. This new policy in Harris County, which should have been standard practice for years, is slowing making its way to the court rooms. Of course, the policy comes with caveats such as confidentiality agreements, redactions etc. This disclosure policy removes another corrupt vestige from the era of former District Attorney Charles “Chuck” Rosenthal—an era when suppression of favorable evidence, perjured testimony, manufactured evidence, and corruption of forensic evidence passed for the “rule of law” as his assistant district attorneys competed in a “conviction at any cost” prosecutorial environment.

UN-INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR(S): AN UNNECESSARY STIGMA

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:10:20 GMT

The Right Wing and the Council on American-Islamic Relations; No Due Process for the Unindicted

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

What exactly is a un-indicted co-conspirator?

Attorney Peter R. Rient defined the term as any person the Government alleges “agreed with others to violate the law but who is not charged with an offense and who, consequently, will not be tried or sentenced for his criminal conduct.”

“BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK” FOR JUDGES IN SOUTH TEXAS

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:10:22 GMT

Judges Reap What They Sowed

By Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

There may be no Hero to the rescue in this dark drama hanging over the state and federal judiciaries in South Texas. The clouds in the horizon are as ominous as those that preceded Hurricane Ike last September. A sitting federal judge, the Honorable Samuel Kent who formerly oversaw maritime law cases for the past seventeen years in Galveston, was facing trial in a Houston federal district court on federal sex crime charges. The local media was reporting that attorneys who regularly practiced before Judge Kent were following the case with utter amazement and, we suspect, a near morbid fascination.

SENTENCING DEPARTURES SINCE BOOKER

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:46:11 GMT

Defense Lawyers Must Prepare for Federal Sentencing

By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The United States Supreme Court in 1996 held that federal district court judges had discretion to depart from the recommendations of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. See: Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 91, 98 (1996).

OBJECTIONS, BOLSTERING, AND APPELLATE REVIEW

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:13:57 GMT

Objections to Bolstering Testimony Should Communicate Evidentiary Basis

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

The Texas Rules of Evidence, Article 103, requires that a timely objection be based on a specific ground in order to preserve for appellate review an alleged trial error concerning the admissibility of evidence.

ANDRE THOMAS: INSANE IN TEXAS

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:09:53 GMT

Executing the Insane: Past Witch Hunt; Current Shame

By Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Just after noon on December 9, 2008 a corrections officer assigned to Texas’ death row was making a normal security round in Building 10 when he observed what appeared to be blood on the face of condemned inmate Andre Thomas. The inmate told the officer he had pulled out his last good eye and eaten it. Prison doctors quickly determined the condemned inmate needed additional medical treatment. Security staff transported him to the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. After Thomas received medical treatment, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Corrections transferred him to the Jester 4 Psychiatric Unit in Richmond where he remains as of this writing.

OBSCENE EMAILS AND CARTOONS NOT PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:16:49 GMT

Obscene Drawings, Cartoons, Sculpture, Paintings that Depict Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct Not Protected Free Speech

By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

On March 30, 2004, Dwight Whorley visited a public resource room maintained by the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond. The room is equipped with Commission computers, printers and copiers which may be used by job seekers. A woman in the room noticed that Whorley was receiving what appeared to her as child pornography on a Commission computer. She promptly alerted Commission staff about suspicions. An officer manager and two supervisors went to the resource room where they found Whorley standing in front of a printer with some papers in his hand. One of the supervisors requested that Whorley show him the documents. Whorley complied. The documents depicted Japanese anime-style cartoons of children engaged in explicit sexual conduct with adults.

IS LARRY RAY SWEARINGEN GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER?

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:55:56 GMT

Actual Innocence Not Recognized Ground for Relief in Federal Habeas Corpus Jurisprudence

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair

Is Larry Ray Swearingen guilty of capital murder? The State of Texas, through Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Marc Brumberger, believes that he is. The parents of Melissa Trotter, Charles and Sandra Trotter, believe that he is. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals believes that he is.

IS LARRY RAY SWEARINGEN GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER?

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:08:34 GMT

JUDICIAL WAR OVER CRACK SENTENCING COMES TO AN END

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:41:38 GMT

Moore and Spears: District Courts have Discretion to Reject the 100:1 Crack/Powder Cocaine Ratio

By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair

Last October we posted a blog entitled “The Judicial Wars Invoked by Crack Sentencing” (Oct. 24, 2008). The blog focused on a judicial tiff between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of James Eric Moore. We are pleased to report that the Supreme Court has finally put this issue to bed in two cases this Term.