Beat The Rap
Defending The Accused in the Modern World
Posted on May 10, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
One of my earliest posts on this blog was about knowing when you've won. However, if you don't know how you want something to end, then you don't know how to begin - and neither may your ...
Continue reading "Destination Unknown?" »
Posted on May 8, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Houston led the nation in new manufacturing jobs, and it seems the Harris County Sheriff's Office, eager to do its part, has manufactured another ...
Continue reading "Once Again, Backpage Bust is Front Page News" »
Posted on May 5, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
As per local news reports, the Harris County District Attorney's Office began a new DWI pre-trial intervention (PTI) program in April for first time defendants. This program was established to ...
Continue reading "Don't Call It DIVERT" »
Posted on May 1, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
I haven't seen many of these used on the range, but this was the only box left at Gander Mountain. On a related note, my all criminal-lawyer team in the personal injury lawyers' recent charity ...
Continue reading "Targeting Charities" »
Posted on Apr 22, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Courthouse regulars are familiar with this sight. For a handicapped person, the gullwing doors are probably a godsend. And, then, there's the whole time machine thing....
Continue reading "Genius?" »
Posted on Apr 17, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
In the first few days after the murder of the Kaufman County District Attorney it was widely reported that the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas was suspected. With the arrest of a disgruntled former justice ...
Continue reading "The Kaufman County Rewind" »
Posted on Apr 16, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
I try to avoid writing about pending bills because I want to focus on actual laws rather than potential ones, but the Texas Tribune has an interesting post about about a bill rolling back felony ...
Continue reading "Reduced Punishments for Repeat Prostitutes? (Updated)" »
Posted on Apr 14, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
I was on a panel this morning with other professionals who work in criminal justice to discuss this from my perspective as a defense attorney. My introduction was that all of us will have the ...
Continue reading "In the Image of God or the Tradition of Pilate" »
Posted on Apr 13, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Rosemary Lehmberg, the duly elected District Attorney of Travis County, Texas, (Austin) was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated late Friday night near the intersection of RM 2222 and FM 620, near ...
Continue reading "Travis County DA Arrested for DWI (Updated)" »
Posted on Apr 12, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
This sign was seen on Pierce street near downtown. All I can say is, I don't know the backstory here, but none of them can, as this blog has written many times.
Continue reading "Sign of the Times" »
Posted on Apr 9, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
If anyone is looking for yet another reason not to take a crime lab's word for it, comes a report from the Texas Forensic Sciience Commission that supervisors at the Texas Department of Public ...
Continue reading "DPS Ignored Bad Lab Work Too Long" »
Posted on Apr 1, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Rarely the week goes by that I do not receive a call or two about Texas Statutory Rape law. This can be confusing because Texas doesn't call it Statutory Rape. We call it " Sexual Assault of ...
Continue reading "16 Can Get You 20!" »
Posted on Mar 25, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Using tactics similar to those of Houston area police agencies, a North Carolina backpage.com prostiution sting caught an attorney from a recent high profile case and former World Series of Poker ...
Continue reading "Prostitution Bluff Catches Poker Star" »
Posted on Mar 13, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
In 1979, American Lawyer and author Walter Murphy' s novel, The Vicar of Christ became a best seller. It is the fictional story of an American lawyer and marine who wins the Congressional Medal of ...
Continue reading "Pope Named Francis A Novel Idea?" »
Posted on Mar 8, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Late last year, Marco Antonio Delgado, an El Paso lawyer accused of laundering $600 million dollars of drug money was denied bail by a federal court in El Paso, Texas. A few weeks later, the same ...
Continue reading "Should've Been a Banker" »
Posted on Feb 22, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
A colleague of mine likes to explain the law of possession to potential jurors in drug trials by relating an experience he had in college in hopes they might ultimately use their own life experience ...
Continue reading "Common Sense Is Often the Best Defense" »
Posted on Feb 8, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Sometimes it feels as though one can't make it a week without hearing of a local peace officer being accused or convicted of criminal activity or other misconduct. This week was no exception and ...
Continue reading "Bad Local Cops Make News, Unmake Cases" »
Posted on Feb 5, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Over the weekend, The New York Times published an op-ed by author Michelle Alexander on why police officers lie under oath. This is an important piece to consider for both the real world examples and ...
Continue reading "Testilying in the New York Times" »
Posted on Jan 26, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
People commonly ask DWI Defense Lawyers whether they should submit to a blood or breath test if pulled over. Typically this question is asked at a cocktail party or bar by someone who is already ...
Continue reading "Thousands of Reasons Not to Blow" »
Posted on Jan 25, 2013 By Q. Tate Williams
Driverless cars are coming and that according to the AP, that foretells the end of millions of jobs for people who drive for a living and even Paul Krugman is impressed. It also means the end of ...
Continue reading "Google Will Drive Down Crime" »
Posted on Dec 31, 2012 By Q. Tate Williams
I would guess that most criminal defense lawyers in America have handled a case or twelve related to the growing epidemic of the abuse of prescription pain killers - whether for possession, ...
Continue reading "Corporate Genesis of the Painkiller Abuse Epidemic?" »
Posted on Dec 20, 2012 By Q. Tate Williams
I frequently receive calls from fellow Texans who have successfully completed a Deferred Adjudication for a Class A Misdemeanor Assault on a family member. They want to know two things - can they buy ...
Continue reading "Even a Little Family Violence Goes a Long Way" »
Posted on Dec 13, 2012 By Q. Tate Williams
On September 25, 2012, in a Laredo federal courtroom, Josue Alejandro Salinas, 22, David Villarreal, 40, and Jose Vasquez, 44, were sentenced to federal prison for 84, 97, and 87 months, respectively ...
Continue reading "Special Treatment? Bank on It!" »
Posted on Dec 4, 2012 By Q. Tate Williams
In the interest of shameless self-promotion, below is a link to an article written by me published in the November, 2012, issue of Voice for the Defense, the online and print magazine of the Texas ...
Continue reading "Are Prostitution Stings Legal?" »
Posted on Nov 23, 2012 By Q. Tate Williams
The recent Presidential election reflected a recent trend in American politics, though not one discussed in the endless conservative navel gazing and liberal gloating over the results. For the first ...
Continue reading "Runs in the Family" »