Category Archives: Crime and Punishment

How about that other coronavirus hot spot?

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You know, prisons? For more than fifty years, Palestine, Texas, has been known as a prison town. Most of the time, that hasn’t been a problem. True, it was a bit controversial in the 1960s when the Texas corrections department … Continue reading →

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Judges have to do their part

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some could be doing better. Harris County’s largest association of criminal defense attorneys on Monday called on local judges to halt in-person court appearances to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. As the virus has swept across the nation, it … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus and crime

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s down around the country. Turns out having everyone stay inside has a salutary effect, for the most part. Crime rates plunged in cities and counties across the U.S. over the second half of March as the coronavirus pandemic drove … Continue reading →

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Stockman seeks a pardon

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my God, this may be the most 2020 story ever. Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, who is serving a 10-year federal prison stint for a complex campaign corruption scheme, is seeking a presidential pardon amid the growing coronavirus pandemic. … Continue reading →

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Another obstacle to releasing inmates

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One step forward, one step back. As fear and COVID-19 crept though the Harris County Jail, felony judges halted the release of low-risk inmates on Friday, blocking the county chief executive’s order to free them to await trial. Sheriff Ed … Continue reading →

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The state of inmate releases

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County judges are going to follow the federal bail lawsuit settlement agreement and not Greg Abbott. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has moved to restrict the release of people in jail during the coronavirus pandemic — but Harris County’s misdemeanor … Continue reading →

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More on Abbott’s stay-in-jail order

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that more detailed Chron story I referenced yesterday. I’m just going to quote the newer information about Greg Abbott’s executive order that attempts to basically stop most releases of inmates from the jail regardless of the coronavirus situation. The … Continue reading →

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Still trying to do something about the coronavirus risk in the jail

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Time is extremely limited for this. A federal judge Friday asked lawyers to hammer out a plan for releasing about 1,000 indigent inmates detained on bonds of $10,000 or less amid fear of a COVID-19 outbreak at the third largest … Continue reading →

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Reducing the coronavirus risk in jail

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is an obvious step to take. More than 8,500 people are housed inside the Harris County jail, and thousands more move through the building and return to their communities each day to keep the criminal justice juggernaut running. Sheriff … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus and the courts

Posted on March 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

More things that will be shut down for the time being. Courts in the Houston region are announcing measures to reduce or suspend some operations in response to the new coronavirus outbreak and local declarations of emergency. Harris County’s court … Continue reading →

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Meet your bail reform overseers

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They’re where the buck will stop. A federal judge Tuesday approved the choice of a Duke University law professor to oversee Harris County’s historic bail reform agreement that governs what happens to thousands of people arrested on low-level offenses. Chief … Continue reading →

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It’s even harder to prosecute pot cases now

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Such a shame. What if lawmakers writing one of the most consequential laws to come out of last year’s legislative session, legalizing hemp in Texas, forgot to include a small, but crucial detail that could get your marijuana possession charges … Continue reading →

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How should we police the police?

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This article raises a number of interesting questions. A quarter of the 60-plus law enforcement agencies operating in Harris County have refused to sign agreements to help local prosecutors track problem cops. Under those agreements, all signed since District Attorney … Continue reading →

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Cite and release

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a long time coming. Harris County law enforcement officials on Tuesday will begin a “cite and release” program that treats some misdemeanor charges like court citations for speeding tickets, just days after the district attorney’s office said … Continue reading →

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Metro’s robot security guards

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a character from a dystopian action movie, I promise. Robot security guards are coming to a Houston-area transit center, park and ride lot and rail station in the coming months, after the Metropolitan Transit Authority board approved a $270,000 … Continue reading →

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Stockman denied on appeal

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At least one thing in this world is still righteous and wholesome. A federal appeals court summarily rejected what it called a “self-serving” appeal by disgraced former U.S. Congressman Steve Stockman, finding the lower court properly convicted him of 23 … Continue reading →

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Marijuana arrests stay down

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We really should view this as the new normal, and not a problem to be “fixed”. It’s been more than six months since Texas lawmakers legalized hemp and unintentionally disrupted marijuana prosecution across the state. Since then, the number of … Continue reading →

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Will the Paxton case move back to Collin County?

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Team Paxton is asking for that to happen. A Harris County judge said Tuesday he will rule by the end of next month on Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to move his felony securities fraud case back to his home … Continue reading →

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Former judge McSpadden rebuked by State Commission on Judicial Conduct

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A former district judge who served on the Harris County bench for 36 years has received a formal reprimand from a state watchdog commission for comments he made to a Houston Chronicle reporter stating black defendants were getting poor … Continue reading →

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Smoots-Thomas suspended from the bench

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

What you’d expect. A district court judge in Harris County has been suspended after she was indicted on federal wire fraud charges for allegedly misspending campaign donations. Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, will be removed from her bench without pay until … Continue reading →

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State Rep. Poncho Nevarez busted for cocaine possession

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a week, hasn’t it? I have three things to say about this. Authorities issued a warrant Thursday for the arrest of state Rep. Poncho Nevárez, an Eagle Pass Democrat, on felony drug possession charges. A state special investigator … Continue reading →

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Harris County’s gun surrender program

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Just common sense. Harris County officials on Tuesday announced four measures aimed at curbing gun violence, which County Judge Lina Hidalgo said are necessary because the state and federal governments have missed opportunities to prevent shootings. Hidalgo secured unanimous approval … Continue reading →

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District Court Judge Smoots-Thomas accused of wire fraud

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Yikes. A Harris County judge is facing federal charges that accuse her of using campaign donations for personal expenses, including for mortgage payments, private school tuition and travel. Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas, 44, is charged with wire fraud charges, according to … Continue reading →

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No charges against Bonnen

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen will not be criminally prosecuted for the things he said during a secretly recorded June meeting with a hardline conservative activist, the district attorney in his hometown announced Thursday. “As repugnant as Speaker … Continue reading →

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The visiting judge and the public defender

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I want to understand more about this. Commissioner Rodney Ellis is calling for a review of the process used to select substitute judges after fielding a scathing letter from the county’s public defender outlining two decades of allegations against ex-Judge … Continue reading →

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Ronald Haskell convicted

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but nothing can undo the damage he did. Cassidy Stay, the lone survivor of a 2014 shooting that killed her mother, father and four younger siblings, folded her hands in prayer inside a courtroom while awaiting a verdict. The … Continue reading →

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DPS’ intel gathering

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Should be interesting. And necessary. State and federal officials in Texas have started monitoring racist and incendiary rhetoric online, such as that alleged to have been used by the suspect in the El Paso mass shooting, in the hopes of … Continue reading →

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Appealing the Crystal Mason illegal voting conviction

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This continues to be an appalling travesty. When Crystal Mason got out of federal prison, she said, she “got out running.” By Nov. 8, 2016, when she’d been out for months but was still on supervised release, she was working … Continue reading →

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No, crime is not up in Houston

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Facts are stubborn things. Like the rest of the country, crime in Houston has plummeted over the last 30 years, as has residents’ fear of crime being the city’s most pressing problem. FBI data show that most categories of crime … Continue reading →

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Red flag

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This seems like maybe it’s a problem. A report out Wednesday by the San Antonio Express-News found that a gun owner in Texas had sent more than 100 pages of racist and violent letters to the Texas Attorney General’s office … Continue reading →

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The Lege will not take any action on guns

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

By all means, keep calling for a special session to address the issue. Just do keep in mind who holds all the cards. At least 17 Texas state lawmakers are asking Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to … Continue reading →

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The felony judges who abused the bail system

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Shame on them all. Three sitting judges and eight former district judges in Harris County were publicly admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in response to complaints that for years they violated state law and judicial cannons by … Continue reading →

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The harder question

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This story just upsets me so much. After a man posing as a FedEx deliveryman forced his way into her family’s house and fatally shot her parents and four siblings, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay played dead until the killer fled the … Continue reading →

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David Temple convicted again

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

New trial, same result. A Harris County jury on Tuesday convicted David Temple of murder in the 1999 death of his pregnant wife, opening the door for the former Katy-area football coach to be sent back to prison several years … Continue reading →

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