Rare Opportunity May 25, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , add a comment
There’s nothing like getting the criminal charges hanging over an innocent man — which would require him to do prison time AND register for life as a sex offender, too — dismissed!
What a great feeling.
The “Troublemaker”? May 5, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , 2comments  The prosecutor asked the judge to hold status hearings at a prison unit instead of in the court. I think that violates the U.S. and Texas Constitutional guarantees to a public trial, among other things.
On Wednesday, I asked the court’s coordinator if I could schedule a meeting with the judge and the prosecutor to discuss my objections to this.
Later that day, I returned a call from someone at the prosecutor’s office. When he answered the phone, he asked, “Is this the troublemaker?”
I took it as a compliment. 
P.S. When I switched from civil to criminal law, I certainly didn’t expect to encounter so many Constitutional issues before my first criminal docket call. (There’s case law which suggests conducting hearings in a prison violates the First, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and maybe a couple provisions of the Texas Constitution, too.)
Depression: Men Get Angry, Not Sad May 3, 2007
Posted by Idta in : Criminal Law , add a comment This week I met six clients (one woman and five men) in prison. One man was especially angry and lashed out repeatedly. His conduct was counter-productive, to say the least.
At first, I attributed his anger and outrageous claims to his mental illness, low I.Q., and the fact he has been held in solitary confinement for a long time. Undoubtedly, those contribute to his problems. But today, my friend Michael reminded me that this client is depressed, and I remembered anger is often a symptom of depression in men.
I hope that I will keep this in mind as I work with clients with similar problems.
Depression: Men Get Angry, Not Sad
http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/7/1663_51924.htm
“Whatever the reason, mens symptoms of depression can be misleading, because they often dont involve crying or feeling sad. Frequently, male depression first shows up in physical symptoms, such as headaches, gastrointestinal distress, and sexual dysfunction. Other symptoms can include:
Irritability, anger, and lashing out
Substance abuse
Inability to function at the office
Interrupted sleep patterns”
