Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Urges Those Who Were Wrongfully Accused To Remain Hopeful

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A man who went to prison for nineteen years for a murder that he did not commit continues to work through the process of clearing his name. John Nolley’s most recent step towards victory came earlier this month when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his murder conviction. Nolley has been out of prison since the combined efforts of the Innocence Project, and the Conviction Integrity Unity in the Tarrant County district attorney’s office secured his release two years ago.

One of the bases for John Nolley’s murder conviction was jailhouse informant testimony, a form of evidence that proved to be so problematic that the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office, and eventually the entire state of Texas, had to reform the way such testimony is handled. In Nolley’s case, not just one, but two informants gave false testimony which tainted Nolley’s trial so severely that the district attorney’s office agreed that his pleas for relief were valid. The new law will help other defendants avoid wrongful convictions. There is also the possibility of relief for people who are currently in prison who were wrongfully convicted.

Texas’s new law on jailhouse informant testimony was passed last year, with the aim of improving accuracy in the Texas criminal justice system by calling for the more careful handling of testimony given by jailhouse informants. False testimony like the kind that kept John Nolley behind bars for almost twenty years is the most common reason for death row inmates to be exonerated.

One of the dangers of jailhouse informant testimony is that people who are incarcerated have an incentive to lie to potentially obtain a personal benefit. In the interest of catching informants who do try to lie their way to a better deal, the new law requires county and district attorney’s offices to keep records of various types of information about the informants who provide testimony against others. For example, each informant’s criminal history, as well as the details of any benefits informants receive in exchange for their testimony, and records of any previous cases in which they testified must be shared by prosecutors with defense attorneys.

In passing the law requiring transparency and careful handling of jailhouse informant testimony, Texas took a step forward in making its criminal justice system more accurate. Since jailhouse informant testimony is used to secure many convictions across America, it is essential that other states follow Texas’s lead and take a careful account of how that testimony is obtained and used in their own courts so that they can correct problems with their state laws and move in the direction of increased accuracy.

In addition to moving through the process of fully exonerating John Nolley, the district attorney’s office is continuing its investigation into the murder in the hope that the person who did commit the murder will be brought to justice. If John Nolley is exonerated, he will be able to access a state benefits program that compensates the wrongfully accused.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Strong Advocacy for Texas Defendants

A Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you resolve your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Urges Those Who Were Wrongfully Accused To Remain Hopeful

/in /by

A man who went to prison for nineteen years for a murder that he did not commit continues to work through the process of clearing his name. John Nolley’s most recent step towards victory came earlier this month when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his murder conviction. Nolley has been out of prison since the combined efforts of the Innocence Project, and the Conviction Integrity Unity in the Tarrant County district attorney’s office secured his release two years ago.

One of the bases for John Nolley’s murder conviction was jailhouse informant testimony, a form of evidence that proved to be so problematic that the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office, and eventually the entire state of Texas, had to reform the way such testimony is handled. In Nolley’s case, not just one, but two informants gave false testimony which tainted Nolley’s trial so severely that the district attorney’s office agreed that his pleas for relief were valid. The new law will help other defendants avoid wrongful convictions. There is also the possibility of relief for people who are currently in prison who were wrongfully convicted.

Texas’s new law on jailhouse informant testimony was passed last year, with the aim of improving accuracy in the Texas criminal justice system by calling for the more careful handling of testimony given by jailhouse informants. False testimony like the kind that kept John Nolley behind bars for almost twenty years is the most common reason for death row inmates to be exonerated.

One of the dangers of jailhouse informant testimony is that people who are incarcerated have an incentive to lie to potentially obtain a personal benefit. In the interest of catching informants who do try to lie their way to a better deal, the new law requires county and district attorney’s offices to keep records of various types of information about the informants who provide testimony against others. For example, each informant’s criminal history, as well as the details of any benefits informants receive in exchange for their testimony, and records of any previous cases in which they testified must be shared by prosecutors with defense attorneys.

In passing the law requiring transparency and careful handling of jailhouse informant testimony, Texas took a step forward in making its criminal justice system more accurate. Since jailhouse informant testimony is used to secure many convictions across America, it is essential that other states follow Texas’s lead and take a careful account of how that testimony is obtained and used in their own courts so that they can correct problems with their state laws and move in the direction of increased accuracy.

In addition to moving through the process of fully exonerating John Nolley, the district attorney’s office is continuing its investigation into the murder in the hope that the person who did commit the murder will be brought to justice. If John Nolley is exonerated, he will be able to access a state benefits program that compensates the wrongfully accused.

Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra – Strong Advocacy for Texas Defendants

A Texas Criminal Defense Attorney can help you resolve your Texas criminal law matter. Call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra, at (903) 753-7499, or fill out a contact form on our website.

 

Texas Family Law Attorney Says Not All Foreign Divorces Are Valid in Texas

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The population of Texas includes many people who were born outside of the United States. These people may have lived in their home countries for many years before coming to the United States, and some of them even married and divorced in their countries of origin before they arrived in Texas. Since their arrival, they have established themselves in Texas, and many of them are now successful business owners or are enjoying other forms of success and prosperity.

The success and security that some immigrants are building for themselves in Texas could be in jeopardy, thanks to a law that recently went into effect which essentially allows Texas to decide whether or not it will honor judgments of foreign courts. In other words, the divorce that you thought was final in your home country might not be valid in Texas. Fortunately, you may be able to protect yourself and the life that you have been building here in Texas by pursuing a Texas divorce.

The new law allows the Texas Supreme Court to make rules that restrict recognition of foreign judgments that might run afoul of due process or the constitutional rights of any of the parties to whom those judgments apply. Many countries have laws that result in judgments that do pass muster under the new law. Some nations have laws that vary drastically from American laws, especially those countries where women have significantly fewer legal rights than men do. Divorce decrees from those countries, as well as prenuptial agreements and other legal judgments from those countries that are not fair and equitable,  will also be declared invalid by Texas courts because Texas requires fairness and equitability in judgments made by its courts.

A case that is now in the Texas court system provides an example of how the potential for conflict between the decrees of foreign courts and the law as applied by Texas courts can affect individuals. A foreign-born man came to Texas and built several enterprises. A few years after he arrived, the ex-wife whom he had married and divorced in his home country came to Texas and asserted a claim to half of everything that the man had acquired because her foreign divorce from him is not valid in Texas. While we do not know how the Texas courts will resolve that case, it is a very concerning example of the types of implications that the law regarding foreign judgments could have.

When immigrants try to divorce in Texas, and they own property in another country, they may encounter difficulty in obtaining recognition of a Texas divorce decree awarding the property to either spouse in the courts of their home country. A strategy that courts and attorneys can use to circumvent this issue is to have the foreign property get legally divided by a court in the country where it’s located, and then consider the value of the foreign property awarded to each spouse in completing the property division portion of the Texas divorce decree.

A Texas family law attorney can help you decide whether to pursue a divorce or division of property in Texas and or elsewhere. If you obtained a divorce in a foreign country, your Texas Family Law attorney can help you evaluate whether getting a Texas divorce would benefit you or protect you in any way. To learn more, call (903) 753-7499, to arrange a consultation with Texas Family Law Attorney Alex Tyra. Alternatively, visit our web page anytime and submit an online contact form.