Dennis Elias’s Latest Tweet :. Injustice News Twitter Feed :.Mark Bennett | March 18, 2010
Someone using John Coby’s email address and a link to his blog tried to leave the following comment to this post:
Your article is a bit too long for a blog entry. I couldnt finish it.
I emailed Coby to ask if it was actually him leaving this moronic comment. He did not respond. Judging, however, from [...]
Mark Bennett | March 8, 2010
I had a conversation recently with a woman who had accused her husband of hitting her. I was explaining her position in the criminal case: “You won’t have a lawyer, since you’re not a party. You’re a witness.” “I’m not a witness,” she replied indignantly, “I’m a victim.”
This is, I’m afraid, the spirit [...]
Mark Bennett | October 14, 2009
Texas Governor Rick “Goodhair” Perry says that Cameron Todd Willingham is a “monster” and a “bad man” who murdered his children (Houston Chronicle). He is convinced that Willingham was guilty of his crime.
That’s good enough for me. If the Governor of Texas says someone is a monster, then dadgummit he’s a monster. Why is he [...]
Mark Bennett | June 27, 2009
Defending People reader “Ryan”, writing at Plain Error, the official blog of the Innocence Project of Florida, responds to my “Law and Justice Explained.” post:
As someone with the status just above armchair philosopher (disclosure: I will be attending graduate school for a PhD in philosophy in the fall), I have a few words on that [...]
Mark Bennett | May 29, 2009
The Harris County Democratic Party has announced its slate of candidates for criminal courts for the 2010 elections. First the District Court (felony) benches:
Darrell Jordan, opposing Debbie Mantooth-Stricklin (whose husband Don lost to Herb Ritchie last year) for the 180th District Court, is a lawyer with three years of experience in a general practice. I’m [...]
Mark Bennett | April 1, 2009
From Brian Rogers’s and James Pinkerton’s article in tomorrow’s Chronicle about the DA’s new immigration plea policy:
“We think the impact would be minimal, and we should be able to handle that difference,” said Kenneth Landgrebe, who heads ICE detention and removal operations.
If the impact (!) on ICE detention and removal operations would be minimal, and [...]
Mark Bennett | January 16, 2009
Momentum is building in Texas to reduce possession of less than a gram of cocaine from a state jail felony (six months to two years in state jail, day-for-day) to a class A misdemeanor (up to a year in county jail, with time off for good conduct); 16 of 22 Harris County felony court judges [...]
Mark Bennett | January 12, 2009
I’ve learned that Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, in a continuing legal education program (I’m not giving the State Bar of Texas $90 even to rip a copy of the video for this post), attacked the motives of all criminal defense blawgers, who in his view are “only out to make a name for [...]
Mark Bennett | December 2, 2008
As a matter of constitutional law and legal ethics, quality representation for the poor is not negotiable. If the state doesn’t want to pay for indigent defense, it needs to prosecute fewer people (or at least fewer poor people).
Kansas Defenders (H/T Capital Defense Weekly).
The actual experts seem to agree on this one: the New York [...]
Mark Bennett | December 2, 2008
Word is that the purges have begun over at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Some of the lawyers fired so far are very good trial lawyers of high character. They’re the greatest loss to the State, and will, if they can be successfully reeducated, likely make excellent criminal defense lawyers. (Welcome to HCCLA!)
Eliminating political opponents [...]
