tvc184

Obviously I have no clue at all about this serious incident…. Let’s go out on a limb and say some of the people arrested are low level players like in my Organized Crime examples. Like maybe they were not the actual shooters or the getaway driver but have been involved in other more minor crimes with a group. Maybe they made a phone call to let people know that the party was underway. Whatever….. Because of the organized crime law however, the people that may not have actually took part in the shooting itself might be facing up to 99 years in prison. Do anyone think that through a lawyer, they might give up the right to remain silent and cooperate in prosecution in lieu of reduced charges?

Stackin’ ‘em line cord wood…..

BS

I read somewhere about 35 years ago (way before Google) that the FBI, believe from studies some thing like 90% of major crimes were committed by someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It did not mean that they were plastered but maybe a guy about to commit a robbery might have two or three beers to take the edge off. Consumed courage….

Also on the Organized Crime law, I have talked about a group of people (called a Combination) committing crimes but they may not know each other. This is the actual law from the Penal Code. Sec. 71.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter, (a) "Combination" means three or more persons who collaborate in carrying on criminal activities, although: (1) participants may not know each other's identity; (2) membership in the combination may change from time to time; and (3) participants may stand in a wholesaler-retailer or other arm's-length relationship in illicit distribution operations. You can see that they don’t even have to know each other and the membership can change. It does not have to be a static group of let’s five people in all five people always committing the same crime. That’s why I gave the example in the other thread about a guy breaking into homes another guy is storing the stolen property and a couple other guys help sell the stolen items but don’t even know who stole it or where. A combination goes back to gang laws but all illegal enterprises are not gangs. Just because they don’t have a name, a common hand sign or specific color, etc.. the are still under the gang type laws. A defendant or his attorney cannot make the case, this guy is not in a gang because they don’t have a name or color. The state legislature simplified it by coming up with the term combination where the state doesn’t have to prove that people actually belong to a specific gang.

I mentioned it in the other thread but this is where Organized Crime really could potentially come into play. Failure To Report Felony in this case seems pretty weak. The elements of that crime are that a person witnessed what a reasonable person would believe is a felony resulting in serious injury or death… AND… has a reasonable belief that it has not been reported. I am not sure where they have probable cause that this guy witnessed the crime AND reasonably believe that it had not been reported. Really? It seems like a stretch at best. Anyway, let’s assume just for legal discussion that any person witnessed such a shooting but didn’t report it. That would imply that the person was in a vehicle that was used. Had the person just been in the crowd, he would have reasonably known that 911 had been called.a So he is in the car. Driver? Lookout? It doesn’t even matter under Organized Crime. In fact, if such a person was a driver or a lookout, that would be a direct participant (accomplice which isn’t used in Texas) and there would be no need for the organize crime law. If however the person was in a loose group of people committing any of a whole list of crimes that apply to the Organized Crime law and he was involved in any way, the person could potentially be charged with Organized Crime- Aggravated Assault in a case like this. To make it more clear, let’s say the group of people were breaking into cars, beating people up and stealing checks and forging names. Those are either misdemeanors or low grade felonies like a State Jail felony has a two year maximum sentence. So the person committing low level crimes with this group, can be charged in Organized Crime for the most serious crime committed by members of the group. Maybe that person should only committed a couple of forgeries where nobody got hurt or broke into a car to steal a wallet. He personally might have only committed those crimes where nobody got hurt and they were misdemeanors with a year in jail maximum. Even though he personally did not commit any serious crimes, he could potentially be charged with the shootings and not be facing a year in jail for a crime he actually committed (and failure to report a felony has a one-year maximum) but 99 years. I have no clue who this guy is or if any of that applies to him. All I know is the public information that he was arrested for failing to report a felony which again is a misdemeanor. The situation makes for an interesting scenario on the OC laws though as an example. I’m sure we have all heard the saying, you’re judged by the company you keep. In the case of criminal law, that might be true to the point of a person facing a serious criminal charge for something that they did not even personally commit but were in a group of criminals who did.

Actually (just a point of law) alcohol does legally play a factor in criminal law. Texas law says that the use of alcohol cannot be used as a defense to prosecution however it can be brought up as a mitigating factor in punishment. In this case the guy should be charged with Capital Murder which only has two punishments. Life without parole or execution. A lawyer is legally allowed to bring up intoxication to plea for life in prison. But that is just the law. I agree with your assessment. I just have a hard time getting away from opinions without bring up law. 🤣

I think you are correct, they likely will overturn Chevron. I agree that Chevron needs to be overturned but agencies should and do have rule making authority. It just has to be (or should be if Chevron is overturned) within clear guidelines. In bump stocks, the ATF should have determination authority. If I come up with a newly designed gun tomorrow, who determines if it is a rifle, handgun, machine gun, etc.? Do you convene Congress for every item ever invented or patented? The problem with the bump stock determination is that is doesn’t fit the definition given by Congress (which I believe was the Fifth Circuit ruling). Congress defined a machine gun as a firearm firing more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger. ATF has incorrectly said that a bump stock does that with the single pull but it really doesn’t. The trigger still has to be reset and activated each time. The stock simply assists in it. But no matter, someone has to decide. An example is the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Like all states, Texas requires a tax for some outdoor activities in the form of a hunting license or fishing license. So who sets the tax rate? The elected Texas legislature? Nope, it’s the TPWD. So how does a non-elected government agency issue legal taxes? It is because the elected legislature gave them that authority. Without such authority, nothing could ever be done. The problem is that the SCOTUS Chevron decision gave federal agencies the right to go outside of strict construction or called the rule of lenity. If a law was so ambiguous that people would scratch their heads and say, we really aren’t sure what that means, Chevron gave agencies the right to fill in the blanks as they saw fit. That is the problem. The rule of strict constitution says that if something is not clearly stated, it can’t be enforced. In the EPA case as an example, Congress had the authority to allow the EPA to regulate emissions. They just can’t make up their own standards which if what the EPA did. Congress didn’t give the EPA the authority to set caps on emissions based on criteria that the EPA wanted. Congress COULD HAVE given that authority and the EPA could do exactly what they did. The problem is that they didn’t. Could they have given the authority to the EPA? Certainly. Did they? No My point is that agencies do have rule making or determination authority, should have and even the setting of guidelines (in the cases such as fishing licenses, even taxes). It just had to be the clear intent of Congress. Chevron gave them leeway to go outside of clear intent.

I think that is a normal belief. I kind of thought he might be taken alive. He is a no morals low life who was intoxicated. He was not a mass murderer or at least, as far as we think of them. This was not a plan to involve a school or a former place of business because he was mad at the world and this was his final justice. We all probably know people with a short temper but this guy’s short temper mixed with intoxication and with his practically no morals whatsoever, caused a terrible scene. Once he was off his high and no longer the big man on campus, he not only surrendered but was cowering under dirty clothes. I was leaning more toward him hiding in some wooded area or swamp and had finally had enough misery and just gave up. He was a powerful man with a gun in his hand and against women and children. I was maybe 70/30 that he would surrender. He thought he was bad when angry but he wasn’t ready for suicide.

There is probably a better than 50/50 (maybe like 90/10) chance of Chevron being overturned and going to the doctrine of strict construction.

Oh yes, it’s Capital Murder. They might not have filed the paperwork yet and give to the grand jury but it is definitely Capital Murder. That is not even debatable unless they have the wrong guy. In fact, he committed Capital Murder three different ways. Capital Murder is Murder with specific circumstances. In this case, Capital Murder special circumstances are l: 1. Killing any person under 10 years of ago. 2. Killing more than 1 person in a single incident. 3. Killing a person while committing a Burglary. If any of those situations apply, it is Capital Murder. Maybe the sheriff means that they just haven’t brought the formal charges yet.

Because it may be interesting….. Organized Crime (OC) is not a crime by itself. OC is an enhancement to certain other crimes if committed with 3 or more persons. The punishment is generally one degree higher than the most serious crime committed. In this case Aggravated Assault is a second degree felony or up to 20 years in prison. By charging OC, it would move the punishment to a first degree felony and up to 99 years maximum. They will probably get indicted for Organized Crime-Aggravated Assault. The Agg Assault with at least 3 people is what allows the enhancement to Organized Crime. What may also be interesting in the OC law, the participants don’t need to know each other. They don’t have to all be in the same room and say, let’s do this. For example…. A guy gets with an acquaintance and says that he wants to start breaking into homes in the daytime when people are at work. He does not need the acquaintance’s help in the burglaries but he wants the acquaintance to hide the stolen property because the acquaintance has a big shed in his backyard. If the acquaintance can help sell the property, he can keep some of the cash. The acquaintance agrees and says that he has a friend with a lot of street contacts who can get rid of the stolen property quickly. The friend in turn has a cousin who will help him. So the first guy starts breaking into homes and stealing various items. He gives it to the acquaintance who has it for a while in the shed. The acquaintance gets with his friend to sell the stolen property. The friend gets his cousin to help him. So the guy that started the whole thing has no clue who the acquaintance’s friend is and he certainly does not know the cousin. In fact, the acquaintance does not know his friend’s cousin. So…. A-Original guy breaking into homes B-the acquaintance C-his friend D-the cousin A knows B only B knows A and C C knows B and D but not A D only knows C B, C and D are knowingly possessing stolen property at some point but take no part in the burglaries. C and D don’t even know who the guy is. Burglary of a Habitation is a second degree felony. Since this involved at least three people, even though they did not all know each other and had no clue where the crimes were being committed, they can all be included in organized crime. The Burglaries can now be enhanced to a first-degree felony carrying that 99 year maximum sentence and….. all 4 can be charged with Organized Crime-Burglary. Since the cousin who is helping to sell the property that he did not know where it came from or who the guy was that stole it, is now face 99 years in prison. THAT…. is the Organized Crime law.

In I think 1971, Nederland beat a high ranked (#1?) Sterling team 3-0 at Bulldog Stadium on a field goal with about 15-20 seconds left in the game. Fifty years ago was a long time for my memory to fade but I always remembered as Houston Sterling. Perhaps it was Baytown Sterling? I think (memory again) Nederland’s kicker was David Burns??

Yeah, pretty much. They present investigations to the attorneys who decide what to do. The police: Take photographs/videos. Collect physical evidence such as drugs, stolen property, etc. Interview witnesses/suspects. Take fingerprints/dna/etc. Etc. Then hand the case file over to the DA… who also has their own police department.

Go to a firearms counter at a big box sporting goods store and listen. 🤣 I have heard things that are completely wrong. I am not talking like an opinion like brand A is better than B. I am talking about wrong. Even a young person at a specialty counter was expected to have some basic knowledge of the product. Not so much any more. I think I have told this story before, but a few years ago I was at Subway sandwich with my partner at work. He ordered a 6 inch sandwich and I ordered a 12 inch sandwich. The conversation went like this: I would like a 12 inch on white bread. We don’t have that. OK give me a 12 inch wheat. We don’t have that. OK, what do you have? We have white, wheat, jalapeño cheese… OK, give me the 12 inch white. We don’t have that. Sir, all we have is 6 inch and foot long sandwiches. We don’t have 12 inch bread. My mistake, give me the foot-long white.

A little more in depth… Arrest: An arrest is authorized if probable cause exists that a crime was committed. The fact that a person has been arrested gives no inference of guilt. An arrest doesn’t charge a person with a crime. It simply means that PC existed at that moment allowing a person to be taken into custody to be identified and allowed to post bail to see IF criminal charges should go forward. Police: Cannot file charges for a crime in court. Only a state or federal attorney can file charges in a court. There is a common phrase that the police filed charges against a person but the police can’t file charges in court. The police can file paperwork or turn an investigation over to the state attorney/DA. Basically an officer says, I have looked into a situation, recovered some evidence, have spoken to witnesses and this is what I found. The DA will review the case to determine if criminal charges should go forward. It can be after an arrest or with no arrest. Charges: The DA, after reviewing a case, can accept or deny charges. Again this can be after an arrest or with no arrest. In cases of a misdemeanor in Texas, it is the DA’s discretion or opinion if charges should be filed in court. If the DA determines the a case should go to trial, the DA files the “complaint” or charge in court. The complaint is the actual piece of paper or the charging document for a trial. It will be like, In the name of the State of Texas, John Smith is charged with committing theft on or about July 15, 2021 in Jefferson County, Texas. That is filing charges in court. In Texas I think a Class C misdemeanor complaint is called a “complaint”, A or B misdemeanor complaint is called an “information” and a felony complaint is called an “indictment”. For an indictment in Texas it must come from a grand jury. I think about half of the states use the grand jury system. Others use the discretion of the DA (like Texas does in misdemeanors only) to file felony criminal charges with no independent review. So…. The police can arrest with or without a warrant. While any crime can be arrested with a warrant, the authority to arrest without a warrant has limitations on time frame, location and in limited situations and crimes. A PC arrest only authorizes the police to bring a person into custody to be identified and to be allowed to post bail in a promise to return for any future court proceeding or trial. An arrest with PC as far as filing charges or determining what charges to file is meaningless. The DA can reject or change any charges after an arrest. Only the DA (or United States Attorney for federal charges) can file the charging documents to get a case to trial. The police can turn over an investigation to the DA/USA for review after an arrest or with no arrest but can’t themselves file charges in court. The phrase that the police are “filing charges” only describes the turning over of an investigation to the DA/USA for review. The police in effect say, “DA, look what we found”. The DA will determine if a case goes any further and what crime(s) (if any) should be actually charged regardless of what an arrest was for. The DA will then file the appropriate complaint in the appropriate court if charges are to go forward. How many social media or even news media comments have we seen like, the police filed charges and brought this guy to trial. No, the DA at his/her sole discretion did that. Clear as mud?

Yes, in fact (great question) warrants have nothing to do with charges being filed. Maybe (likely?) a misunderstood part(s) of law. Accusations, warrants, filing charges, indictments, court complaints, etc., are or can all be different. They are sometimes used interchangeably in discussions when technically they are related as involving criminal justice but one may have nothing to do with the other… other than being in criminal justice. If anyone is interested….

Then he can’t legally have a firearm but that is probably the least of his problems. What is odd is that they issued Murder warrants (according to the media) when this is clearly Capital Murder (for 3 reasons) or possible death sentence case.

Re-entry after deportation is a felony. If it is true that he was caught three times, at least twice he was found committing a felony and released.

If they are a permanent resident/legal alien, yes. I believe that if aliens are in this country on a work or visiting/vacation visa, they are also prohibited from even possessing firearms unless for a specific purpose such as a foreign law enforcement officer on official business or hunting. My wife for example is a permanent resident alien with what is commonly called a green card. She can go into Academy and walk out with a legally purchased firearm. Her niece who has visited us on a visa, could not.

I have hunted with a .223 AR.

Horrific, disgusting, sad….. I don’t know if there are words to describe how bad these murders were. Strangely, in the small city of Cleveland, TX, this is the second Capital Murder in the last two weeks.

The culpable mental states from highest (most culpable) to the lowest are: Intentionally Knowingly Recklessly Criminal Negligence Proof of a higher mental state automatically proves all lower states. So they can charge a person with intentionally committing crime but if there are lower available options in that particular, it doesn’t have to be proven. Some crimes show multiple mental states and if so, only the lowest has to be proven.

This situation came up a few months ago when the police arrested the Texas Longhorns basketball coach, Chris Beard for Assault/Impeding. The situation was really beaten up in another sports forum on how the coach was going to prison and blah blah blah. My first comments were, simply by reading the new stories, as released by the police and certainly not knowing exactly what happened, the charges would probably be dropped. It was likely a lawful arrest but could also likely be self defense. I also commented that had this been a regular citizen, the case would probably have been dropped within a week. Of course, being big news, it was drug out for several weeks. The coach claims that he is living girlfriend attacked him and he shoved her away. That was where I got into speculation…. If you reach up and shove someone away who’s attacking you and your open hand goes against the throat, it might momentarily gag the person or restrict breath. By law the choking statute says it is a crime, even if it is recklessly committed. So was he reckless? Probably. But remember that we have the right of self-defense even up to deadly force if needed. The right of self defense means that what you did is a crime, but it is justified under certain circumstances. If a person is attacking you, do you have the right to shove the person away? I would say yes. Soon after the arrest, the girlfriend made a public statement that she told the police that she did not wish to file charges and that she was the cause of it, attacking him. So now you have basically an admission by the woman that she came at him. Is he allowed to use the force necessary, in this case, just shoving her away, to defend himself in what would otherwise be a crime? Yes, he might’ve recklessly impeded her breath which would be a crime however, does he have the right of self defense ? I would again say yes. I have mentioned this before, but under Texas law if you bring up evidence of self-defense, which could be testimony, you do not have to prove that self defense was reasonable. The DA has approved for the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that it was not. This is a classic case of he said/she said, however in this case they both apparently agree. So the police in fear of covering up for a celebrity (in my opinion), make the arrest because she might have said yes, he briefly choked me. Okay, that is probable cause. After several weeks, the district attorney, released a statement, saying, we are dropping charges This was the statement from the DA: “After a careful and thorough review of the evidence, recent public statements, and considering Ms. Trew's wishes, our office has determined that the felony offense cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt," the Travis County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. Wow, after several weeks the DA decided that it could not be proven. 😂😂😂

Under the same punishment reasons for a third-degree felony, it shows if the assault is against a public servant. Again, if you slap your neighbor, it’s a misdemeanor but if you slap a cop, it’s up to 10 years in prison.