Andrew & Andrew on Texas Criminal Defense

The Innocence Project of Texas (which is a separate entity from the Innocence Project based in New York), was founded in 2006 by defenders Mike Ware and Jeff Blackburn. Since that time, IPTX has grown to be one of the leading innocence organizations in the country having exonerated or freed 35 people. The Andrews talk with IPTX staff attorney Caitlin Gilbert; someone who has long been devoted to fighting for the wrongfully convicted. This highly successful office runs like a well oiled machine with staff attorneys evaluating over 1,000 cases per year. Click here to contact the IPTX offices.

The Andrews interview Julie Balovich and Shane O’Neal who just pulled off a huge win in Alpine, TX. Convicted of murder, their client was initially sentenced to 37 years in prison before Julie signed on and filed a Motion for New Trial. Many defenders will know how difficult it is to get a hearing set on this motion let alone having it granted by the trial court. Thats exactly what Julie did. Not satisfied with a half victory, Julie continued fighting for her client and brought on Shane O’Neal to help try the case. Listen in for their story along with pro tips on dealing with injustice in your own backyard.

The Andrews discuss one of the newest penal code sections in todays episode and its a bit od a doozy. Chapter 76 of the Penal Code is where you’ll find the new Terrorism statute. This ain’t your grandpa’s terroristic threat charge either; this is all new and is being filed in Texas (we know from personal experience). So put on your thinking caps and your defender’s pants and settle in for some learnin’.

The Andrews have a fascinating conversation with Sesenu Woldemariam from the Bexar County MAC. He walks us through a more in depth analysis of juvenile law, what to look out for when handling a juvenile case, and some tricks of the trade he has picked up throughout his career. Sesenu is probably the smartest guest we’ve had on the show as he has two degrees from Yale University. This is a great interview that is sure to give you all tons of great information. If you have questions about juvenile law, contact him here.

The Andrews take a deeper dive into Padilla, removal proceedings, bars to naturalization and, most importantly, what you Defenders can do to assist your clients going through possibly one of the scariest moments of their lives. Justin Tullius is an attorney with the Managed Assigned Counsel office of Bexar County, Texas. This man knows what he’s talking about as he’s been in the immigration law field since being licensed in 2007. Listen in as he shares with you some of the work-arounds contained within the immigration laws. Justin loves the Texas Tornados, hence the title of this episode coming from one of their albums.He recommends you read Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire and Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernandez.

The Andrews have a conversation with Anne Burnham on todays episode. Anne is an Assistant Public Defender with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office in the appellate division. She talks with us today about relationships with our clients and our duties towards them. Click here for templates Anne discussedClick here for the Texas Rules of Professional ConductClick here for the Man in the Arena speechClick here for TechBytesClick here for JusticeText

The Andrews have a conversation with Anne Burnham on todays episode. Anne is an Assistant Public Defender with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office in the appellate division. She talks with us today about relationships with our clients and our duties towards them. Click here for templates Anne discussedClick here for the Texas Rules of Professional ConductClick here for the Man in the Arena speechClick here for TechBytesClick here for JusticeText

The Andrews have faces made for audio-only podcasts. We are not models. The ABA, though, loves their models; namely the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Today we discuss a new opinion just handed down regarding case or fact pattern discussion and disclosure on listservs. You can find Formal Opinion 511 here.