I always try to educate myself by looking at the Message Board at the website of the Texas District and County Attorney's Association. It's normally pretty good stuff and I learn some law from time to time.
But I almost spit out my coffee this morning when I saw that John Bradley (the frighteningly overaggressive DA out of Georgetown) is now trying to figure out a way of indicting someone for the Third Degree Felony of Tampering With Evidence in what would normally be a routine DWI case. His crazy theory: If the arrested DWI suspect doesn't provide a sample of his breath (which he has the absolute right to do), then he must be tampering with evidence (to-wit: his breath). So let me get this right: I'm arrested for DWI (a Class B misdemeanor that carries with it a maximum of 180 days in jail) and he wants to indict me for a Third Degree Felony (that carries a maximum of 10 years in prison)? All because I didn't blow into a machine that is in the exclusive control of DPS and whose accuracy is constantly being debated?
It never ceases to amaze me how his mind works. (The discussion about this issue is here and its fun to see how all the prosecutors around the state are so scared of this guy that no one will put him in his place).
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7.27.2005
Maybe There's A Way To Get The Death Penalty, Too
I always try to educate myself by looking at the Message Board at the website of the Texas District and County Attorney's Association. It's normally pretty good stuff and I learn some law from time to time.
But I almost spit out my coffee this morning when I saw that John Bradley (the frighteningly overaggressive DA out of Georgetown) is now trying to figure out a way of indicting someone for the Third Degree Felony of Tampering With Evidence in what would normally be a routine DWI case. His crazy theory: If the arrested DWI suspect doesn't provide a sample of his breath (which he has the absolute right to do), then he must be tampering with evidence (to-wit: his breath). So let me get this right: I'm arrested for DWI (a Class B misdemeanor that carries with it a maximum of 180 days in jail) and he wants to indict me for a Third Degree Felony (that carries a maximum of 10 years in prison)? All because I didn't blow into a machine that is in the exclusive control of DPS and whose accuracy is constantly being debated?
It never ceases to amaze me how his mind works. (The discussion about this issue is here and its fun to see how all the prosecutors around the state are so scared of this guy that no one will put him in his place).
