The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spent many thousands of dollars on studies to develop a battery of DWI investigation tools called field sobriety tests. The studies were funded by NHTSA to validate and standardize the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), the Walk-and-Turn, and the One-Leg-Stand tests. Standardization meant developing a method of administering and interpreting [...]
The United States Constitution guarantees our right to a jury trial in both the original document and the Bill of Rights.1 The same right is further guaranteed by our Texas Constitution, art. 1, sec. 15. But more precisely, each constitution guarantees the criminally accused a right to a jury that is fair and impartial. To this [...]
Trial lawyers are masters of disguise. They learn to shroud fear, surprise, uncertainty, and a plethora of other emotions that might damage their credibility with jurors or belie a position of strength with an adversary. Similarly, those same skills enable them to conceal the repercussions of a dark side of practicing law. Stress, depression, mental [...]
The perfect cross examination is there. Somewhere to be discovered, perhaps? Better yet - waiting to be built. We recognize its appearance, though. It is crisp and it's clean. Short questions compelling but one-word answers from the witness. Its logic is simple, yet compelling. The perfect cross demands the jury's attention. Through it we demonstrate [...]
Joining forces. Teaming up. Going partners. Whatever you call it, choosing a law partner can be a pivotal decision in one's career. Most criminal defense attorneys practice solo, enjoying the "lone-wolf" style of life. However, a well working partnership can enhance the lives of each partner in ways that one lawyer working alone cannot. Conversely, [...]
Here's my take on another inauspicious decision by the United States Supreme Court. It's Heien v. North Carolina, 574 U.S. __, 135 S.Ct. 530, 190 L.Ed.2d 475 (2014). If you've been under a rock recently and missed the action, the upshot of the case is police officers can now rely upon a reasonable mistake of [...]
Criminal defense lawyers are reservoirs of credibility. We work to establish it with prosecutors, judges, and witnesses . . . not to mention the juries who adjudge our clients' fate. With potential new clients, from the moment they decide to call for the first consultation, until our case file is closed, credibility makes the attorney-client [...]
Trey Apffel, President of the State Bar of Texas, wrote a stirring opinion column last month in the Texas Bar Journal. It was an introspective piece on the significance of humility in the practice of law. Trey's "Little Advice" was offered to the new lawyers entering the Bar this year. He shared his father's counsel [...]
Paul Looney and Clay Conrad's article in the November 2014 issue of "Voice for the Defense" reveals the true nature of trial advocacy. It's an art form. The article chronicles a lifetime of experience successfully trying criminal cases and helps defense lawyers understand credibility is their most important trial asset.
The DWI blood test case is becoming the stock-in-trade of many law enforcement agencies across the state. Whether it's a sample provided voluntarily after arrest, or obtained via search warrant following a refusal, defending blood tests are now commonplace for the DWI defense attorney. Making preparation more demanding is the technical nature of these cases. [...]
Selected 2011-12, 2018
Thomson-Reuters Service
