Category Archives: Crime and Punishment

Paxton prosecutors sue AG office to block records

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hold on to your hats. In an unusual and head-spinning twist, prosecutors in the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the attorney general’s office Thursday to block the release of sensitive case information that could hinder Paxton’s … Continue reading →

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Collin County agrees to pay Paxton prosecutors

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Grudgingly. For now. The special prosecutors handling the criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will be paid for their work so far at the rate they were promised. Commissioners voted 3-2 on Monday to pay the more than … Continue reading →

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County finally takes jail overcrowding seriously

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what this actually becomes. Chasing $4 million in grant money, Harris County officials on Thursday announced reforms in the criminal justice system to unclog dockets, lower jail population and address racial and ethnic disparities. And because the changes … Continue reading →

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Paxton motion to cap prosecutors’ fees rejected

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Kenny. A state district judge Wednesday rejected Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to drastically cut legal fees for prosecutors in the criminal case against him. District Judge George Gallagher issued two orders overruling Paxton’s objections to the prosecutors’ fees … Continue reading →

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Trooper Encinia turns himself in

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. Six months after arresting Sandra Bland during a now-infamous traffic stop, state trooper Brian Encinia on Thursday returned to the Waller County jail where Bland died – this time to surrender to authorities on perjury charges. Encinia, 30, … Continue reading →

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Grand jury indicts trooper in Sandra Bland case

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Waller County grand jurors indicted Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia on a single charge of perjury Wednesday because they did not believe he was telling the truth about his actions during the arrest of Sandra Bland, special … Continue reading →

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Our bail policies are unjust, costly, and stupid

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Any questions about how I really feel? “The numbers clearly tell the story: More than three-fourths of the people in Harris County Jail haven’t been convicted of crime, and the majority of them are sitting in jail simply because they … Continue reading →

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When should body camera video be released?

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

HPD is still working on it. As the Houston Police Department begins rolling out body cameras among the rank and file, Chief Charles A. McClelland said the department is changing its policy governing how and when HPD releases videos collected … Continue reading →

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Paxton officially reindicted

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The judge in AG Ken Paxton’s securities fraud case approved the amended indictments that were most recently filed against him. The two first-degree felony indictments alleging securities fraud delete the amount of shares of Servergy Inc. stock that Paxton was … Continue reading →

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John Bradley does John Bradley things

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Grits for Breakfast: Former Williamson County District Attorney and Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley – who left Texas to become Attorney General of the island nation of Palau after facing national disapprobation, losing reelection, and struggling to … Continue reading →

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Paxton remains under indictment

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Kenny. A state district judge on Friday rejected Ken Paxton’s request to throw out his three felony indictments, likely sending the first-term attorney general to trial next year unless his lawyers appeal the ruling. “Yes, all the motions we … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s first day in court

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off! Clashing at a pretrial hearing Tuesday, lawyers for Attorney General Ken Paxton dismissed the criminal case against him as the result of a “rogue prosecution,” while prosecutors accused Paxton of relying on “nonsense” arguments and a string … Continue reading →

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Paxton fires back at prosecutors

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Incoming! Lawyers in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s ongoing securities fraud case have fired back against special prosecutors in the latest in a series of back-and-forth court filings. In their Thursday filing, Paxton’s attorneys called the prosecutors’ reply to their motions … Continue reading →

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Council approves body camera contract

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Moving forward. City Council approved a $3.4 million contract Wednesday to equip Houston Police Department officers with body-worn cameras despite some lingering concerns that key pieces of the city’s policy for the equipment have not been finalized. Councilmen Mike Laster, … Continue reading →

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Perry’s day at the CCA

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait to see if he comes out of this a free man or a man still under one or more indictments. Lawyers for former Gov. Rick Perry fought Wednesday before the highest criminal court in Texas to finish … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton says Ken Paxton’s arrest video can’t be released

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

How convenient. I looked into the unusual situation in which the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was asked to rule on its boss. Here’s what happened. Media organizations requested the video of Paxton’s recent booking into the Collin … Continue reading →

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Jon Buice granted parole

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This stirs up a lot of emotions. Jon Buice, serving 45 years in state prison for the 1991 gay-bashing murder of Houston banker Paul Broussard, has been granted parole. Buice, 42, was one of 10 youths from The Woodlands who … Continue reading →

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More prosecution responses to Paxton

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming, y’all. Prosecutors in the criminal case against Attorney General Ken Paxton defended themselves in a court filing Tuesday, calling accusations of misconduct leveled by defense lawyers a gratuitous ploy to direct attention away from Paxton’s felony indictments. … Continue reading →

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Anderson updates pot prosecution policy

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Small amounts of marijuana now mean a citation, not a ride to jail, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said Thursday. The county’s top prosecutor outlined changes to a pilot plan for low-level offenders she implemented last year, one … Continue reading →

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Another unintended consequence of tort “reform”

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Lisa Falkenberg: At every turn in her ordeal, Laura has felt irrelevant. The Houston mother of two says she was raped in her hospital bed by a doctor who she claims checked his phone afterward while she cried. She … Continue reading →

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Prosecution responds to Paxton’s motions to quash

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They’re pretty harsh. In a 19-page court filing peppered with disdain — one footnote likens Paxton’s defense to an exchange from the 1978 film Animal House — the prosecutors called the attorney general’s legal arguments this week that the judge … Continue reading →

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Paxton moves to dismiss the charges against him

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected. [Ken] Paxton’s legal team announced late Monday it had filed six motions to quash the three indictments against him, citing problems with the grand jury process. They also raised other objections to the case in four pretrial … Continue reading →

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It’s not just bail reform that we need

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The latest from Emily dePrang at the Observer: It’s a Monday morning, a little past 9:00. Half an hour ago, this hallway on the eighth floor of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in downtown Houston was swarmed with people. … Continue reading →

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Ground broken on the joint processing center

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The majority of suspects arrested by Houston police get booked at one of two city jails, and within 48 hours they are transferred and booked in all over again at the Harris County Jail. Two years from now, officials … Continue reading →

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Another view of the Temple case

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Press devotes a cover story to the David Temple case and the allegations that then-Assistant DA Kelly Siegler withheld evidence from the defense. In July 2015, visiting Judge Larry Gist issued his damning decree: 36 findings of prosecutorial misconduct … Continue reading →

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Perry appeal briefs

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The latest update on the appeals before the CCA in the Rick Perry matter. The 3rd Court of Appeals this summer tossed one of two counts against Perry, saying the coercion law underlying it violates the First Amendment. The 3rd … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court to get deposed

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and all four county commissioners are scheduled to be deposed Monday in a federal lawsuit filed by former Houston Police Department crime lab supervisors who said they experienced retaliation after … Continue reading →

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Paxton will get his hands on grand jury info

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Score one for Team Paxton. A district judge ruled Friday to grant information related to the selection of Collin County grand juries to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s defense team. The ruling by District Judge George Galllagher came over objections by … Continue reading →

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What is coercion, anyway?

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It could be the defining legacy of Rick Perry’s career, depending on how things go in the courts. The coercion law has been used only sparingly in Texas, according to records for the past five years, and some legal experts … Continue reading →

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Defining HPD body camera policies

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still a work in progress. Houston Police Department officers would activate body cameras when arriving at a crime scene, initiating a traffic stop and during an arrest or search, according to a long awaited proposal outlining use of the … Continue reading →

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Not so fast with those subpoenas

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The special prosecutors in the Paxton case respond forcefully to his legal team’s grand jury-related subpoenas. Special prosecutors in Ken Paxton’s felony securities fraud case are seeking to quash subpoenas his lawyers filed last week seeking information about the grand … Continue reading →

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CCA will hear appeals of Perry’s indictments

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday granted requests by both Perry and the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney to determine whether the indictment against Perry should stand. The court set oral arguments for Nov. 4. … Continue reading →

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More jail troubles

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly, both in content and in timing for Adrian Garcia. Over the past nine months, the Houston Chronicle has reviewed more than 1,000 disciplinary reports provided by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Nearly half of those internal affairs investigations … Continue reading →

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Paxton seeks grand jury information

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ken Paxton’s legal team has filed five subpoenas seeking more information relating to the grand jury that indicted him. The defense seeks a complete transcript and audio recording related to the selection of the grand jurors who indicted him. […] … Continue reading →

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