Texas

Bailiff relays jury impression of defense lawyer in trial texts to prosecutor

A bailiff relayed the jury’s impression of the criminal defense lawyer—who was said to be “a pain in the butt”—in text messages exchanged with one of the Harris County prosecutors during a recent DWI trial in Texas, according to the lawyer who was critiqued. Lawyer Jed Silverman says the bailiff…

Jul 20, 2015 10:25 AM CDT

FBI joins probe of woman’s jail cell death; how frequent are prison suicides?

The FBI has joined an investigation of the jailhouse death of a Chicago-area woman arrested after police in Texas pulled over her car for failing to signal a lane change. The family of the woman, Sandra Bland, has ordered an independent autopsy after authorities said her July 13 death was…

Jul 20, 2015 9:03 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer killed 2 at Texas courthouse in ‘92: Should lawyers now be able to bypass security there?

Angry about a divorce and child-custody battle in which he was a party and facing criminal charges in another state concerning claimed abuse of a relative, a former Texas lawyer took a 9 mm semiautomatic Glock to the Tarrant County courthouse in July 1992 and started shooting. Two lawyers were…

Jul 17, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Jury convicts ‘sovereign citizen’ of filing false liens against federal judge and prosecutor

A federal jury in Houston on Wednesday convicted a Texas man of filing fraudulent liens against a federal judge and prosecutor in retaliation for their work on an earlier criminal case in which he was convicted. Tyrone Eugene Jordan, 44, is described as a “sovereign citizen” in a press release…

Jul 15, 2015 4:55 PM CDT

Ex-judge gets 2 years in bribery case, lawyer gets 1 year

A former Texas judge and a lawyer who appeared before him were sentenced Wednesday to prison time for their respective roles in a judicial bribery scheme involving Bexar County cases. Former 144th District judge Angus Kelly McGinty got a two-year federal prison term and attorney Alberto “Al” Acevedo got a…

Jul 15, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Former employee stole 2 lawyers’ identities to defraud immigrants, says indictment

A former employee of two Texas attorneys has been federally indicted for allegedly stealing their identities in a scheme to defraud undocumented immigrants and their families. Jessica Rivas Alva, 35, is accused of faxing forged letters purporting to be from the two San Antonio lawyers to detention centers in Louisiana.…

Jul 9, 2015 9:55 AM CDT

5th Circuit: Feds must pay $500K in attorney fees to defendant company for bad faith in FLSA case

Calling the U.S. Department of Labor’s conduct in an employment case baseless and vindictive, a federal appeals court is requiring the government to pay some $500,000 in attorney fees to the defendant company under a bad-faith provision of the Equal Access to Justice Act. “It is often better to acknowledge…

Jul 8, 2015 12:55 PM CDT

Ex-judge is charged with creating fake sex ads for 2 women, one of whom was a former client

A onetime Texas judge who was mired in controversy during his few years on the bench is facing new trouble. Former Galveston County Court-at-Law Judge Christopher Dupuy, 43, was arrested last week on online harassment charges. He is accused of posting fake Internet ads offering the paid sexual services of…

Jul 7, 2015 11:35 AM CDT

Lawyer is suspended for failing to disclose Paris trip that led to missed court dates

A Minnesota lawyer has received an indefinite suspension for implying illness prevented her from attending court hearings when the real reason was a trip to Paris to attend her brother’s wedding. Mpatanishi Syanaloli Tayari-Garrett, identified as M. Tayari Garrett in previous coverage, won’t be able to petition for reinstatement for…

Jul 6, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Securities allegations against Texas attorney general will be presented to grand jury

A special prosecutor says he will present evidence to a grand jury of possible state securities law violations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The special prosecutor, Kent Schaffer, says one of the possible charges is felony securities fraud, report the Houston Chronicle, Reuters and the Dallas Morning News. Securities…

Jul 2, 2015 1:11 PM CDT

Divided US Supreme court votes 5-4 to freeze Texas abortion law as it mulls whether to hear appeal

By a 5-4 vote, the nation’s top court on Monday stayed enforcement by the state of Texas of a state law that could have forced nine abortion clinics to close by July 1. Now the clinics can remain open until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to hear an appeal…

Jun 29, 2015 3:20 PM CDT

County clerks, judges with religious qualms can refuse to issue gay marriage licenses, Texas AG says

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says in a legal opinion that government employees may refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses if doing so violates their sincerely held religious beliefs. Paxton’s opinion (PDF) says employees such as county clerks and their employees, justices of the peace and judges retain religious freedoms.…

Jun 29, 2015 7:43 AM CDT

BigLaw firms must face receiver’s suit over client’s $7B Ponzi scheme, federal judge rules

Two BigLaw firms and an attorney who worked for both of them will be facing a federal lawsuit over a massive Ponzi scheme operated by onetime client R. Allen Stanford. U.S. District Judge David Godbey gave a green light to most counts of the Dallas suit by receiver Ralph Janvey,…

Jun 25, 2015 10:10 AM CDT

State bar accuses DA and chief drug prosecutor of not doing enough to address drug-test issue

A Texas district attorney and his chief drug prosecutor had nothing to do with erroneous drug testing in a forensic laboratory. But when the two prosecutors were told by the Texas Department of Public Safety that the same worker responsible for errors in other cases had performed a test that…

Jun 24, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Bickel and Brewer part ways; their firm will now be known as Brewer

Bill Brewer and John Bickel have parted ways, resulting in the end of a 30-year era Monday at Bickel & Brewer. Now known as Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, the firm is moving to new offices in Dallas, the Texas Lawbook reports in an article reprinted in the Dallas Morning News.…

Jun 22, 2015 1:45 PM CDT