Texas business owners who face criminal charges for violations of OSHA regulations or other federal workplace safety laws should know that in December 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice stated its intention to change the way certain crimes would be prosecuted....
Year: 2015
Supreme Court to hear breath test cases
The Texas implied consent law requires drivers to submit to a toxicology test to determine if they were operating a motor vehicle while impaired only after they have been charged with a crime. However, the laws in some other states give police officers the authority...
Sources say Venezuelan officials will face drug charges
Texas residents might have heard about federal drug investigations involving high-level officials in Venezuela. On Dec. 15, a source said that the head of the country's national guard will be charged. Another general in the national guard, who has also held a position...
Understanding what forgery is
Forgery in the state of Texas falls under the category of theft. It is also a form of fraud. Someone who commits forgery with the intent to deceive could be charged with fraud or theft, but the intent to deceive is an important component of the charge in most...
Texas woman charged with drug possession, resisting arrest
On Nov. 21, two Texas women were arrested on drug charges in Friendswood. One of the suspects faces additional charges for allegedly spitting in a police officer's face. The incident happened shortly before 11 p.m. According to authorities, an officer observed a...
Illegal wiretaps could undermine hundreds of drug cases
Texas readers may be interested to learn that prosecutors at a prominent national wiretapping hub in California likely violated federal law when they permitted police eavesdropping in hundreds of drug cases. According to an investigation by USA Today and The Desert...
Texas woman accused of selling cocaine and other drugs
On Nov. 9, a 19-year-old Texas woman was reportedly taken into custody after authorities found drugs inside her College Station apartment. In addition to five different types of drugs, police also allegedly found drug packaging material and a drug price list in the...
Committing perjury in Texas
Texas criminal courts often use sworn testimony from law enforcement officers, witnesses and the defendant as a basis for their verdicts and associated sentences. Those who knowingly mislead the court in an attempt to sway the judge or a jury into making a certain...
Federal imprisonment for drug crimes
According to the Bureau of Prisons, there were nearly 200,000 people in federal prison in 2012, and over 50 percent of them were serving time for drug offenses. Of those drug convictions, nearly all of them involved trafficking, and 35 percent of the defendants had no...
Judge charged with felony theft
Law enforcement authorities with the Texas Rangers recently charged a justice of the peace with felony theft between $1,000 and $20,000. Reportedly, the judge was taken into custody on Oct. 13 and later released on a personal recognizance bond. The woman, who is the...