lawyers

Can My Client be Impeached with Prior Juvenile Adjudications?

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Well, generally, no, but it depends. (Don’t you just love that answer!) Texas Rules of Evidence, Rule 609(a) speaks generally to impeachment with criminal convictions. Juvenile adjudications are not criminal convictions, and are therefore, generally not admissible for impeachment purposes. Rule 609(d) specifically addresses juvenile adjudications: (d) Juvenile Adjudications. Evidence of a juvenile adjudication is […]

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Unforeseen Consequences

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Criminal convictions have intended consequences. They carry punishments that include life and liberty. Convictions can cause someone to be jailed for a period of time. They can cause payment of fines and participation in rehabilitative programs. But what happens when the punishment is over? After the punishment comes the collateral consequences – the unforeseen consequences

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Mentoring Should Be Mandatory

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In the practice of law, mentoring should be mandatory. This is especially true in criminal defense where life and liberty are on the line in each and every case. Some lawyers practicing criminal defense simply hung a shingle and opened a practice. Others are former prosecutors. In either instance, mentoring is key. Prosecutors know how to

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Lawyers and Social Media

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Attorneys have the option to use social media to enhance their careers and businesses. But each attorney should keep in mind a few precautions before sharing anything. Failure to take these seriously can cost lawyers their jobs, or worse, their bar licenses. http://www.corpcounsel.com/id=1202738703474/Question-No-1-for-the-Lawyer-on-Social-Media-What-Not-to-Share#ixzz3nUfBnHZR In her Corporate Counsel column, Julie Langdon cautions attorneys: Be Wary of

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To Plea or Not to Plea?

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As a takeoff from my presentation today at Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s Defending Juveniles, I wanted to share an outline of how to approach advising your juvenile client to plea or not to plea. What is a Plea? In this context, a “plea” is similar to a plea-bargain in a criminal case. A “plea”

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Looking for the Truth Shouldn’t Cost Friendships

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Maybe you have been following the David Temple case. Maybe you haven’t. In short, David Temple was convicted of killing his wife in a totally circumstantial cold case prosecuted by Kelly Siegler, former Harris County Assistant District Attorney turned semi-celebrity on TNT’s Cold Justice. In case you hadn’t followed the events here is what you

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Why Would You Plead Guilty to a Crime You Didn’t Commit?

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Sadly, many people do. Samuel Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan and editor of the National Register of Exonerations writes: In the past year, 45 defendants were exonerated after pleading guilty to low-level drug crimes in Harris County, Tex. They were cleared months or years after conviction by lab tests that found

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