From my source in the Harris County DA’s Office, Mr. X: From: “Jordan, John” <JORDAN_JOHN@dao.hctx.net> Date: February 15, 2011 11:19:24 AM CST To: “Misdemeanor Division” <MisdemeanorDivision@dao.hctx.net> Cc: “Bridgwater, Roger” <BRIDGWATER_ROGER@dao.hctx.net>, “Evans, Catherine” <EVANS_CATHERINE@dao.hctx.net> Subject: Trial Competitions We are now six weeks into the new year and I wanted to announce some Trial Competitions.

Let’s say you’re a criminal-defense lawyer, and you’re about to pick a jury. You want the jury to trust you and to be generous with your client, but you’re not sure you can trust them to. What can you do to improve your chances?Here’s the new-agey TLC kumbaya answer: trust them first.

Harlingen, Texas criminal defense lawyer Larry Warner has been practicing law for 37 years. He served for three years on the State Bar Disciplinary Rules Committee charged with drafting the proposed rules. He served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and has taught professional responsibility to law students. He is also board certified in criminal law. Warner writes:For three years I was a member

When I read Padilla v. Kentucky, I didn’t give much thought to the question, but after hearing considerable debate among smart lawyers of whether the rule in that case (that counsel is ineffective for not telling the defendant about clear immigration consequences before a guilty plea) is retroactive, I took a closer look at the retroactivity of Padilla.There are two different retroactivity questions that the courts will

Pop quiz:Several Houston police officers savagely beat a surrendering suspect. The attack is captured by a private citizen on video. The Harris County District Attorney's Office seeks to keep the video from being published. The private citizen provides a copy of the video to another private citizen, who releases it to the media, who publish it.Does the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association:A) Publicly state its opposition to

You, being a Defending People reader, have probably already voted in the bar referendum, but there are apparently many Texas lawyers who haven't. If you haven't (or if any of your friends or associates haven't), here's the link:State Bar of Texas 2011 ReferendumWhen asked to justify the changes, the State Bar's argument has been that a) the rules have not changed in twenty years; and b) the

Mimicking proposed legislation in several other states, Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) suggested a constitutional amendment prohibiting Texas courts from enforcing, considering or applying religious or cultural law. As a bulwark against Christian fundamentalist theocracy (which is, let's face it, the only kind of theocracy we could possibly slip into), it's a good start. It'll also keep those pesky Ten Commandments out of the courtroom. But, Rep. Berman,

From lawyer Steve Fischer of Rockport, Texas, in response to Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson, who has been tubthumping for the amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct:

Finally, I think it irresponsible to vote against ALL of the changes based upon your opposition to one rule.  The ballot has 6 questions.  Why throw the baby out with the bath water?   If you actually look at some of the other proposals, you might find you agree with them.That’s SMU lawprof Fred Moss’s argument against straight-ticket “No” referendum voting.Here’s why it is responsible to vote against

As I have said before, the proposed rules have been vetted by the State Bar Disciplinary Rules Committee, the Supreme Court Task Force, the Board of Directors and the Supreme Court itself. To suggest that the final result is a product as flawed as the critics would have you believe is just a bit disingenuous. I hope you will study the proposed rules and make your own