The lesson (for criminal-defense lawyers) of Missouri Republican Todd Akin's surprising assertion that "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down” is that there are people who earnestly believe such nonsense, which may be turned to our clients' advantage.

A Harris County ADA had been trying to talk to a potential witness. The witness didn't want to talk to her. Feeling harassed, the witness hired me. I told the prosecutor that I represented the witness. The prosecutor tried to subpoena the witness to court. While the case was technically still pending, the defendant had made a deal. There was no hearing set at which my client's

A young lawyer asked me today to suggest some questions to ask the jury panel in a prostitution case. To voir dire a jury, one needs only a single question. It applies to any situation and to any topic: How do you feel about…? For example: Sex: How do you feel about prostitution / pornography / strip clubs? Drugs: How do you feel about illegal drugs /

I've written about the case of the British guy charged with assisting in his wife's suicide (and represented by Dionne Press) here, here, and here. My bet is that sometime in the next two weeks the DA's Office will take the case to a grand jury, and the grand jury will no-bill (because there's no evidence that the accused caused his wife's suicide). The DA will have washed

[J]ust about anything you can imagine someone being accused of, we've defended it. -Me. [J]ust about anything you can imagine someone being accused of, we've defended it. -Lawyer Masad "Max" Baba, here. It seems every year penalties for driving while intoxicated in Texas are becoming more severe.  Max Baba. And me. Misdemeanor cases are often given little attention because there is not as much jail time attached

From a prospective juror, after my jury selection Friday: "You seemed a little nervous." That is amazing because I was really nervous. I always am nervous when I have someone's freedom in my hands. In fact, I find that rather than getting less nervous with experience, I get more nervous—I think because as my youth recedes I have a better understanding of how much is at stake. If I'm

Judge Mike Fields of Harris County Criminal Court at Law Number Fourteen, has announced a new docket policy: At arraignment a defendant with counsel,will be reset for four months for motions; After the motions setting the defendant is set for a plea in thirty days or a trial in sixty. That's three—count 'em, three—court appearances from the lawyer's first appearance to trial of the case. I think this

Today I went into court to pick a jury. I took a Powerpoint presentation talking about issues in the case. When the jury was in the hallway I went to hook up my laptop, and it wasn't in my trial box.  The Powerpoint presentation had become much like a a script, with a slide for every issue and all the slides in a particular order. I had used a

There's a cause for all sorts of human conduct, just exactly as there's a cause for all the physical actions of the universe. The real cause of crime is poverty, ignorance, hard luck, and generally youth. These almost invariably combine to produce what we call a crime. (H/T Houston criminal-defense lawyer Robb Fickman.)

Via Liberty and Justice for Y'all, In Re Escamilla (PDF), in which the Travis County Attorney (Escamilla, who is the elected official responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor cases in that county) filed a mandamus against a judge for allowing a defendant to plead open (that is, without an agreed recommendation) to the judge without the state's consent. The Austin Court of Appeals granted mandamus (conditionally) because the Texas