» Entries tagged with "murray newman"
What’s The Problem?
I read Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center pretty regularly. As Paul Kennedy at The Defense Rests pointed out earlier this year, however, it is sometimes tough to figure out if its author, Murray Newman, remembers that he is a defense lawyer and not a prosecutor. Murray’s newest crusade seems to be some issue with Harris County Texas’s chief prosecutor, the soon-to-be-replaced Pat Lykos, and a defense lawyer named Dick DeGuerin. I’ve heard of the defense lawyer before, mostly through his representation of high profile clients, and I saw that he has his own Wikipedia page. Must be a big deal, right? Regardless, it seems Murray is mad about Lykos looking into what DeGuerin believes was the wrongful conviction of one of his clients. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants, Prosecutors
The Makings of a Great Tragedy
I once received very wise advice to take caution when writing about things close to home. I took it to heart. Years of being told “don’t shit where you eat” didn’t sink in, I guess, but that more subtle, specific advice did. Things far away aren’t so clear, however, so they may be a different story. Circumspection be damned? If I lived in Texas, I would have had a little more background when I read this post by Murray Newman. I was skeptical about what he perceived as a double standard even reading it without context, but that by itself didn’t seem worth a post on my part. When a prosecutor gets charged and defense lawyers don’t just rant about the presumption of innocence, I … Read entire article »
Filed under: DUI, Practice in General, Prosecutors
No Public Defender's Office?
I found this post by Murray Newman at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center fascinating. I’ve been thinking about it and figured I’d write something. I’ve never practiced in a county that doesn’t have a public defender’s office. I can see how it might work in a very small, rural county, but it’s incredible to me that one of the biggest counties in the US doesn’t have one. I think it’s natural that voters begin demanding that a giant, bureaucratic, government agency take over a task the moment they realize it’s sufficiently daunting. Indigent criminal defense for an entire major metropolitan area seems pretty overwhelming, so I’m amazed the people of Harris County haven’t insisted that committees of politicians be created to form an agency … Read entire article »
Filed under: public defenders
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