Tag Archives: Jeff Blackburn

RIP, Jeff Blackburn

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a guy who made a difference. In the summer of 1999, police in the tiny town of Tulia carried out one of the largest drug stings in West Texas history. Nearly 50 people were arrested, almost all of them … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

While we wait for a ruling in the Rick Perry case

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This story about a group of big-name lawyers filing a brief in support of Rick Perry’s motion to dismiss the charges against him ran a week ago. I put off writing about it because it looked like we might get … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jefferson pushes for judicial reforms

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Most of what Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson had to say to the Lege during his biennial address was good stuff that I hope the Lege will heed. Presenting his State of the Judiciary speech to Texas lawmakers, … Continue reading →

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Arson review moving forward

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A long-awaited review of old Texas arson cases — an unprecedented search for wrongful convictions based on bad fire investigation science — is picking up speed and will probably produce the first results in January, participants said [last] Friday. … Continue reading →

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It’s still hard to free an innocent person

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, right? While some appellate attorneys are applauding Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ establishment of a Post Conviction Review Section, whose work led to the freedom of two wrongfully convicted men in the past week, Texas law continues … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lawsuit filed over dog scent evidence

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Three men have filed a federal lawsuit against Fort Bend Deputy Keith Pikett and his use of “evidence” gathered by scent dogs, which they say led to them being falsely accused of and imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Exonerating the deceased

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One of the things Eric Berger focused on in his story about the relevance and importance of Charles Darwin some 200 years after his birth was the rise of DNA and its application to criminology. Today, DNA evidence is as … Continue reading →

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