Defending People

the tao of criminal defense trial lawyering

Revisiting the Problem of the Working Poor

Mark Bennett | April 14, 2009

Andrea Marsh of the Texas Fair Defense Project comments:
I think you’re letting the judges who won’t appoint counsel to indigent bail defendants off too easily. These judges are violating the law, whether they straight out deny an application based on bond status (CCP 26.04(m)) or hold applications for counsel while repeatedly resetting cases in order [...]

Frivolous Conflicted Representation. Where Else but Harris County?

Mark Bennett | December 18, 2008

From Social Services for Feral Children comes this story, which the Houston Chronicle seems to have flat-out missed.
Follow along here:
Elizabeth Shelton has a car crash. She rear-ends Lance Bennett (no relation AFAIK; I have a cousin Lance who went to LSU, but I don’t think he’s a truck driver). Her boyfriend, Matthew McNeice (the Chronicle [...]

Not Fail-Safe in the Courthouse

Mark Bennett | July 2, 2008

I’ve heard several reports that when the power blinked out yesterday at the Harris County Criminal “Justice” Center all of the electronically actuated doors (including exits from holdover areas to courtrooms, and doors to fire stairs) locked.
That’ll make things really exciting when there’s a fire and a power outage at the same time.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc?

Mark Bennett | January 18, 2008

We lawyers are supposed to be reasonable, logical folk. We’re supposed to resist logical fallacies like post hoc ergo propter hoc. But sometimes it’s just too hard.
For example:

1987 – 2007 Prosecutor Kelly Siegler spends 21 years in Harris County DA’s office;
December 27, 2007 Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal is brought down by disclosure of emails;
January [...]