JOHN T.
FLOYD LAW
FIRM
Federal Criminal Defense
Lawyer
EXPERIENCED FEDERAL CRIMINAL LAWYER
TRIALS, SENTENCINGS, AND APPEALS
SERIOUS FEDERAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE
Phone (713) 224-0101
E-mail jfloyd@JohnTFloyd.com
"Serious Federal Criminal
Defense Throughout Texas
"
March 22, 2010
“BAD MOON ON THE RISE”
Keep America Safe: Right Wing Fanatics Attack Lawyers, Constitution, and Fundamental Right to Legal Representation
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
March 10, 2010
BIG BROTHER’S WATCHING!
Law Enforcement Seeks Cell Phone Surveillance in Continued War on Crime; But Who’s Watching Them? …Federal Judges
March 02, 2010
PROBLEMS WITH POSITIVE IDENTIFICATIONS
Leading Cause of Wrongful Convictions: Mistaken Identification by Eyewitnesses
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been 251 innocent people exonerated in this country by DNA evidence over the last two decades. The most disturbing aspect of this phenomenon of “convicting the innocent” is that more than 75 percent of those convictions involved mistaken identifications (according to the New York-based Innocence Project)—one or more witnesses pointing a finger of guilt at the wrong person. What is even more disturbing is that at least one-third of these mistaken identification cases involved two or more witnesses.
February 22, 2010
AN ELECTION TORPEDOES THE CONSTITUTION
Politics of Terror Threaten Constitution
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The recent election of Republican Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts has effectively torpedoed the constitutional right to silence by any “terror suspect” arrested on American soil. Elected to replace the legendary liberal Senator Ted Kennedy, who died of brain cancer last August, Brown used the “politics of terror” to seal his stunning upset victory over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Brown accused the Obama administration of being “soft on terror” with its decisions to close Guantanamo Bay and to prosecute “9/11 mastermind” Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and co-conspirators in a New York federal civilian court rather than before a military tribunal.
February 15, 2010
MICHAEL JACKSON’S DOCTOR CHARGED WITH INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair.
How do you save someone determined to destroy himself?
That question will surely be in the mind of most jurors who will ultimately decide the personal and professional fate of Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist, who was formally charged on February 8, 2010 with involuntary manslaughter in Los Angeles in connection with Michael Jackson’s death. Murray was the superstar’s personal physician last June when he administered the powerful anesthetic propofol and two sedatives to help Jackson, a renowned insomniac, get some sleep. The sleep aids put the pop singer to sleep permanently.
February 08, 2010
WHO IS AAFIA SIDDIQUI: TERRORIST OR GOVERNMENT PAWN?
The Tragic Case of the “The Gray Lady of Bagram”
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
January 25, 2010
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: JUDICIAL CHAOS LEADS TO HORRIFIC SENTENCING DISPARITIES
Court Describes Federal Sentencing Disparities as “A Picture of Injustice”
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
January 18, 2010
THESE ARE DANGEROUS TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE
Civil Commitment: Pre-Emptive Strike against Future Acts by Convicted Sex Offenders
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
January 11, 2010
MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT OF 2009
Fear Mongers Continue Calls for Military Tribunals to Avoid Burdens of Complying with Constitution and Rule of Law
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
January 04, 2010
ARGUMENT AGAINST GITMO CLOSURE DEFEATED BY ACT OF TERRORISM
Recent Arrest, Detention and Charging of Attempted Airplane Bomber Illustrate Fed’s Ability to Handle Terror Suspects in Civilian Courts
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
December 21, 2009
THE REAL DANGER OF EXTRANEOUS OFFENSE EVIDENCE
Man Convicted on 2 Counts Indecency with a Child Found Actually Innocent After Nearly Two Decades in Prison: Extraneous Evidence False, Expert Testimony Wrong.
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
December 07, 2009
TRYING KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMAD IN FEDERAL COURT IS NOT END OF WORLDFederal Trials Open to the Public, for Terrorism Cases Support American Constitutional Concepts of Fair Trials, Justice
November 23, 2009
THE AGONIZING GITMO DILEMMA
Enemy Combatant Cases in Federal Courts Chart Uncertain Path
By Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
November 09, 2009
THE RIGHT TO AN IMPARTIAL TRIAL STRUCK WITH CRITICAL BLOW
Failure to Strike Prosecutor, Victim of Sex Crime, from Jury not Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
October 19, 2009
WHO ARE THE REAL HOME GROWN TERRORISTS?
Right-Wing Patriot Groups, White Supremest, Neo-Nazis Pose Growing Threat
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
September 14, 2009
Sex Tourism: A International Dilemma
Federal Initiatives Aimed at The Continuing Problems of Human Trafficking , Sex Slavery and Exploitation of Children
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
September 08, 2009
CIA PROBE NECESSARY TO PROTECT RULE OF LAW
Investigating Crimes of Torture: Expecting and Demanding Accountability
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and paralegal Billy Sinclair
August 24, 2009
THE MAGIC DNA BULLET LOSES SOME OF ITS LUSTER
Fabricating Fake DNA, Defending the Accused in the New World
August 10, 2009
SENTENCING ENTRAPMENT: A FALLOUT OF REFORM
Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Officials Manipulate Investigations, Defendants Receive Greater Sentences
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
July 13, 2009
SUPREME COURT CHANGES CONFESSION LANDSCAPE
Montejo v. Louisiana; Suspects in Criminal Investigations Must Invoke Right to Counsel and Remain Silent, Even if Represented by Counsel
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
July 06, 2009
IS ROBERT ALLEN STANFORD A REAL FLIGHT RISK?
The Bail Reform Act of 1984 and the Presumption for Release on Bond
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
June 22, 2009
U.S. SUPREME COURT LIMITS VEHICLE SEARCHES
Arizona v. Gant, 129 S.Ct. 1710, (2009); Vehicle Searches after Arrest
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Consider the following hypothetical. Two patrol officers with the Houston Police Department were following a Cadillac in an area known for gang and drug activity. Loud music was coming from the vehicle as it swerved several times from lane to lane. The officers decided to stop the vehicle for failure to maintain a single lane of traffic. In Texas, a law enforcement officer may lawfully stop a person for a traffic law violation.
June 08, 2009
A GLIMPSE AT THE NATION’S DRUG PROBLEM
20:1 Crack/Powder Ratio Still Flawed; Incarceration of Most Drug Offenders Absurd and Obscene
May 25, 2009
THE GITMO DILEMMA
Don’t We Have Prison Space for a Few More?
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Shortly after assuming the presidency, Barak Obama announced his intention to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently houses 240 individuals classified as “enemy combatants” suspected of having engaged in some form of terrorism against the United States. The president stated that he was studying the various options for dealing with these detainees.
May 11, 2009
A DEFENSE AGAINST TORTURE
The rule of law prevails over the demands of politics
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In the wake of the Obama administration’s release of the “terror memos” and the political firestorm the release generated, the president has instructed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review all the facts and circumstances surrounding the “torture” interrogations conducted by CIA and U.S. military personnel and make a determination of whether criminal charges should be filed either against those who approved the torture interrogations or those who conducted them, or both. Any decision Attorney General Holder makes will trigger an intense political backlash.
May 04, 2009
THE PLAGUE OF PIRACY
Youthful Pirate Faces Life in Federal Prison if Convicted on Piracy Charges
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the lone survivor of the four Somali pirates who attacked the United States flagged-ship Maersk Alabama on April 8, 2009, was recently indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on five criminal counts, including piracy under Section 1651 of the Title 18 of the United States Code.
April 27, 2009
THE CIA TERROR MEMOS
Legal Opinions Redefine Torture, Criminal Acts
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Bush administration’s 2001 declaration of “war on terror” critically—if not irreparably—injured the constitutional soul of America. This nation can no longer look other civilized countries in directly in the eye and unequivocally say it is the moral leader of the “free world.”
April 13, 2009
CHILD PORN: AN INCREASING PROBLEM IN ALL SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY
Federally Funded Task Forces Make Online Crimes Against Children Top Priority
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There has been a recent rash of media reports about local residents getting arrested or sentenced for possession of child pornography. For example, on March 13, 2009, the Houston Chronicle carried a report about a Houston attorney being given a six and one-half year sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake. Williamson possessed 84 child pornography images on his computer. After he completes his prison sentence, the suspended attorney will be under “supervised release” for the rest of his life, must register as a sex offender, and attend a sex offender treatment program.
March 30, 2009
BOOK RELEASE
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd
I am happy to announce the release of another book by my good friends Billy and Jodie Sinclair entitled Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor, released by Arcade Publishing (New York). The book is a compelling collection of essays commenting on the death penalty from many different perspectives about this controversial and, in my opinion, most despicable, inhumane and arcane of punishments that continues to thrive in this so called modern world.
March 23, 2009
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR
By: Billy Sinclair
I am pleased to announce, through the website of the John T. Floyd Law Firm, that my wife, Jodie, and I have recently released our second book, Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor. Released by the prestigious publishing house Arcade Publishing (New York), Capital Punishment is a collection of fourteen essays that examines the entire spectrum of the subject of the death penalty: its methods of executions, its Southern regional phenomenon, its racism, its tortuous botched executions, and its impact on our society.
March 16, 2009
BOOK RELEASE
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: AN INDICTMENT BY A DEATH ROW SURVIVOR
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd
I am happy to announce the release of another book by my good friends Billy and Jodie Sinclair entitled Capital Punishment: An Indictment by a Death Row Survivor, released by Arcade Publishing (New York). The book is a compelling collection of essays commenting on the death penalty from many different perspectives about this controversial and, in my opinion, most despicable, inhumane and arcane of punishments that continues to thrive in this so called modern world.
March 09, 2009
UN-INDICTED CO-CONSPIRATOR(S): AN UNNECESSARY STIGMA
The Right Wing and the Council on American-Islamic Relations; No Due Process for the Unindicted
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
What exactly is a un-indicted co-conspirator?
Attorney Peter R. Rient defined the term as any person the Government alleges “agreed with others to violate the law but who is not charged with an offense and who, consequently, will not be tried or sentenced for his criminal conduct.” 1/
February 23, 2009
SENTENCING DEPARTURES SINCE BOOKER
Defense Lawyers Must Prepare for Federal Sentencing
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The United States Supreme Court in 1996 held that federal district court judges had discretion to depart from the recommendations of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. See: Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 91, 98 (1996).
February 09, 2009
OBSCENE EMAILS AND CARTOONS NOT PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT
Obscene Drawings, Cartoons, Sculpture, Paintings that Depict Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct Not Protected Free Speech
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On March 30, 2004, Dwight Whorley visited a public resource room maintained by the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond. The room is equipped with Commission computers, printers and copiers which may be used by job seekers. A woman in the room noticed that Whorley was receiving what appeared to her as child pornography on a Commission computer. She promptly alerted Commission staff about suspicions. An officer manager and two supervisors went to the resource room where they found Whorley standing in front of a printer with some papers in his hand. One of the supervisors requested that Whorley show him the documents. Whorley complied. The documents depicted Japanese anime-style cartoons of children engaged in explicit sexual conduct with adults.
February 02, 2009
JUDICIAL WAR OVER CRACK SENTENCING COMES TO AN END
Moore and Spears: District Courts have Discretion to Reject the 100:1 Crack/Powder Cocaine Ratio
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
Last October we posted a blog entitled “The Judicial Wars Invoked by Crack Sentencing” (Oct. 24, 2008). The blog focused on a judicial tiff between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of James Eric Moore. We are pleased to report that the Supreme Court has finally put this issue to bed in two cases this Term.
January 12, 2009
NO RIGHT TO SUE INTERNET SEX SERVICE
Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places, Turning a Blind Eye
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
SexSearch is an “online adult dating service.” It charges a fee to assist its paid members in their search of sexual encounters. An Ohio gentleman identified only as John Doe became a “Gold Member” of SexSearch in October 2005 for a fee of $29.95 per month. John Doe accepted the “Terms and Conditions” of the website which included a “promise” that he was at least 18 years of age.
January 05, 2009
ONLINE SOLICITATION OF A MINOR
Online Solicitation of a Minor Statutes and Free Speech
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 2005 the Texas Legislature enacted Article 33.021, Texas Penal Code, which prohibits “sexually explicit” communications between someone who is 17 years or older and someone who “represents himself or herself to be younger than 17 years of age.” Some respected legal bloggers have opined that such online sexually explicit “communications” may violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
December 22, 2008
A DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN NEED OF REFORM
Ethical Lapses, Forensic Impropriety and Extreme Carelessness; Another Day at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center
December 08, 2008
INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN CAPITAL CASES
Failure to Properly Prepare for Trial, Basis for Federal Habeas Relief
In 2001 the two female justices on the U.S. Supreme Court spoke out about the quality of legal representation afforded to criminal defendants facing the death penalty in this nation.
December 01, 2008
THE WAR ON TERROR ENJOYS RECENT VICTORIES
Government Finally Reaches the Holy Land in Complex Case of Providing Financial Support to Terrorist
America has a disposition toward war. The nation was created through war, and except for brief periods of respite, America has been at war with itself and other countries throughout its history. When not at war with other nations, America has found a need to declare “war” on one social ill after another, particularly over the last five decades. Beginning with President Lyndon Johnson’s “war on poverty” through President George W. Bush’s “war on terror” following 9/11, government officials have consistently used a war slogan to justify one social crusade after another.
November 24, 2008
RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS - Supreme Court Discusses “Pre-Existing Right” to Keep and Bear Arms
There have been several recent national news reports concerning the dramatic increase in the sale of firearms, particularly in Texas, since the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. The day after Obama was elected, the Cheaper than Dirt gun store in Fort Worth, Texas sold $101,000 worth of merchandise. Guns stores throughout Virginia have reported that sales have increased by 50 percent since Election Day. The FBI reported that by October 26, 2008 there were 62,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007 – a 25% increase.
November 17, 2008
YES WE CAN - Now what do WE Do with It
The “election” is over. Former Illinois Senator Barack Obama is now President-elect Obama. While it was a tremendous victory for the “Audacity of Hope” movement, it was an even greater victory for those who believe that social justice, racial tolerance, political unity, and strong presidential leadership are needed for this nation to heal its daunting economic woes and restore its proper role as moral leader in the world community.
November 10, 2008
CAN ONE SPOUSE BE MADE TO TESTIFY AGAINST THE OTHER?
The Spousal Privilege in Criminal Cases
A potential client of the John T. Floyd Law Firm recently asked if his wife could be compelled to give testimony against him concerning possible criminal conduct. Like any answer to most legal questions, our answer to the potential client was “depends upon the circumstances.”
November 03, 2008
HEARSAY EVIDENCE, OBJECTIONS
The Critical Need For Timely And Specific Objections During A Criminal Trial
There is rarely a time when a defense attorney does not find the need to object during a criminal trial because the prosecution either attempts to introduce inadmissible evidence or engages in some questionable conduct concerning the proffer of evidence.
October 27, 2008
THE JUDICIAL WARS INVOKED BY CRACK SENTENCING
Supreme Court: Federal Judges Have Discretion at Sentencing
Under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, a federal district court judge must consider each of the factors prescribed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) when imposing an appropriate criminal sentence. The § 3553 factors are:
October 24, 2008
FABRICATION:
The Only Defense In Sexual Assault Cases Not Subject To Rebuttal Evidence, Keeping Extraneous Crimes, Wrongs, and Acts Out
October 06, 2008
CYBERSEX CONVERSATIONS NOT A CRIME?
“Role Playing” in Cybersex Conversations Could be a Legitimate Defense in § 2422(b) Internet Solicitation Cases
September 29, 2008
Fifth Circuit Orders Acquittal in 1964 Mississippi Murder Case, Cold Case Initiative Fails, Statute of Limitation Prevails
Several years ago the Federal Bureau of Investigation created a Cold Case Initiative designed to bring to justice persons who committed horrific racially motivated crimes during the 1950s and 1960s civil rights era. One of those cases involved James Ford Seale, a former Mississippi deputy sheriff, who was convicted in June 2007 of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in the disappearances of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee.
September 22, 2008
CPS VERSUS FLDS
Enormous Mismanagement of the FLDS Case, Loss of $12 Million to Taxpayers, And an Egregious Affront to Fundamental Principles of Law
September 08, 2008
FEDERAL SENTENCING: DISCRETION MAKES A COMBACK
Following Booker, Kimbrough, Rita and Gall; District Courts Exercising Power to Sentence as Deemed Appropriate, Considering Case-Specific Factors, § 3553(a)
August 29, 2008
PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in part, that “no person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.”
August 25, 2008
MEMBERS OF BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION ALIEN TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION PLEAD GUILTY
(LAREDO, Texas) – Members of the Ortiz family alien trafficking organization, based in Bryan/College Station, Texas, have pleaded guilty to federal alien trafficking charges, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated an investigation into the organization in January 2005, which ultimately revealed a large-scale alien smuggling operation that since 1999 has transported hundreds of undocumented aliens from the Mexican border to the Bryan, Texas, area.
August 18, 2008
Texas Man Pleads Guilty in International Child Exploitation Enterprise Case
WASHINGTON and PENSACOLA, Fla. – Erik Raymond Wayerski, 46, of Leander, Texas, pleaded guilty today to charges related to his involvement in a vast global child pornography trafficking enterprise, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Thomas F. Kirwin and FBI Executive Assistant Director J. Stephen Tidwell announced.
August 11, 2008
THE INEQUITY OF ONE DEATH, ONE LIFE; Inequities in the Application of the Death Penalty
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
On July 23, 2008 the State of Mississippi executed Dale Leo Bishop for his involvement in the beating death of 22-year-old Marcus James Gentry. The Bishop execution was significant only because he became the third person put to death in this country who did not actually kill the victim while the actual killer received life imprisonment.
August 04, 2008
FLDS MEMBERS INDICTED BY GRAND JURY
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Mr. Billy Sinclair
The grand jury is a powerful weapon in the hands of state and federal prosecutors. An old legal adage says that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich if it the “target” of a criminal investigation.
July 28, 2008
FBI SUPPORT EMPLOYEE AND SON CHARGED IN FEDERAL INDICTMENT
DALLAS — A support employee with the FBI in Dallas, Deborah Lee Stinson, 55, and her son, Mark Alan Stinson, 27, both Dallas residents, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Both defendants surrendered this morning to federal officials and will make their initial court appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney at 3:00 p.m.
July 21, 2008
RACIAL PROFILING AND THE FBI
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses FBI’s Push to Legitimize Racial Profiling
On July 3, 2008 the Associated Press reported that the United States Justice Department was considering adoption of new rules that would allow the FBI to investigate persons without any probable cause of wrongdoing.
July 14, 2008
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA’S DISSENT FROM THE DARK SIDE
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Scalia’s Blistering Dissent Accusing Justices of Aiding Terrorist
The Supreme Court on June 12, 2008 issued a decision that marked the first time in the nation’s history that the constitutional right to the writ of habeas corpus was conferred on enemy aliens detained abroad by American military forces engaged in an ongoing war. See: Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. ____ (2008) [Slip Opinion No. 06-1195 & 06-1196].
July 07, 2008
HOUSTON ATTORNEY INDICTED FOR RECEIVING AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
(HOUSTON, Texas) - Warren Reid Williamson, of Houston, was arrested yesterday by immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for attempting to receive, receiving and possessing child pornography as well as destruction of records, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle has announced. A federal grand jury indicted Williamson Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
June 30, 2008
PRIVILEGE OF HABEAS CORPUS EXTENDED TO GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Boumediene v. Bush, The Balance of Powers
In a sharply divided 5-4 ruling, the United States Supreme Court recently extended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus to “detainees” held Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – commonly referred to as “Gitmo.” The decision marked the first time in the court’s history that it has ruled that non-citizens held in custody by the United States in a territory over which another country has de jure sovereignty enjoys the protection of the Constitution.
June 23, 2008
BARRY BONDS: HOME RUN KING OR STEROID USER?
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Perjury, Obstruction of Justice and the Barry Bonds Case
Barry Bonds was 21 years of age when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986. He was lean, mean, and fast – and certainly not considered a fearsome home run slugger. During his first seven years in the majors, he averaged 25 home runs a year.
June 16, 2008
Texas Businessman Found Guilty of Submitting False Statements to Federally Insured Bank
WASHINGTON – A federal jury convicted a Sherman, Texas, businessman on two counts of submitting a false statement to a federally insured financial institution, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich announced today. The charges arose from a multi-district investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division.
June 09, 2008
TERRORISM: WILL THE PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION PREVIAL IN UPCOMING DEATH TRIAL?
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses War on Terror and Insult to the Constitution and Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self Incrimination
June 02, 2008
A DEATH PENALTY TRIAL - By Mr. Billy Sinclair - May 28, 2008
The death penalty trial in this essay actually occurred. It is based the well-publicized facts, offense reports, and the trial transcript concerning my arrest, indictment, prosecution, and sentence to death for the December 5, 1965 shooting death of a convenience store clerk in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The trial was marred by documented suppressed mitigating evidence, perjured testimony, and ineffective assistance of counsel. The death penalty verdict, I believe, was obtained by the State of Louisiana because of these constitutional violations. By the time I was able to establish these violations in a court of law in 1984, they were considered “harmless errors” because the death sentence had been vacated.
May 26, 2008
EXECUTIONS: THE UGLY REALITY AND RACIAL IMPLICATIONS CONTINUE
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd Discusses Race to Restart the Death Penalty, Ugly Reality of the Ultimate Penalty
May 19, 2008
CHINESE CHEMIST CONVICTED IN THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS
(HOUSTON, Texas) – A Chinese formulation chemist has been convicted and sentenced for committing theft of trade secrets from an International company doing business here locally, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle and FBI - Houston Special Agent in Charge Andrew R. Bland III announced today.
May 12, 2008
SUPREME COURT RULING ON LETHAL INJECTION WILL PROVE LETHAL
HOUSTON CRIMINAL ATTORNEY John Floyd Discusses Ruling by Supremes in Base v. Rees; Poisoning not Cruel and Unusual Punishment
May 05, 2008
FOURTH AMENDMENT: U.S SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES ISSUE OF SEARCH/SEIZURE IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Search and Seizure Issues Presented in Virginia v. Moore and Implications on Texas Suppression Claims; Justice Scalia Views Constitution as “Dead” Document.
April 28, 2008
OWNERS/MANAGERS AND DRIVERS OF COMMERCIAL BUS COMPANIES INDICTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
(HOUSTON, Texas)—Eighteen persons, including alleged drug traffickers and the owners/operators of commercial bus companies operating from Mexico into the Rio Grande Valley to numerous U.S. cities and their drivers, have been indicted for transporting large loads of marijuana and cocaine in specially modified commercial buses and money laundering.
April 21, 2008
Two Indicted in San Antonio in Connection with Federal Civil Rights Investigation
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury in San Antonio, Texas, has returned a seven-count indictment today, charging former Bexar County Adult Detention Center (BCADC) Corrections Officer Brandit Franco with federal civil rights violations for using excessive force against two inmates in 2006. Deputy U.S. Marshal Benjamin Bates was also indicted for his misconduct related to the grand jury investigation of the incident.
April 14, 2008
TERROR, TORTURE AND TRANSFERS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Continued Litigation Caused by the Bush Administration’s Handling of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay
April 07, 2008
SEVERAL CHARGED IN CONSPIRACY TO OBTAIN FRAUDULENT IMMIGRATION BENEFITS
(HOUSTON, Texas) - A federal grand jury has returned a 19-count indictment against five individuals for conspiring to obtain fraudulent work visas for more than 80 Indian nationals, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.
March 31, 2008
PROSTITUTION, POLITICIANS AND PUNISHMENT
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd discusses Prostitution in light of the Eliot Spitzer Scandal; Selective Prosecution?
March 24, 2008
WISE COUNTY, TEXAS, RANCHER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON ON MONEY LAUNDERING CONVICTION
Susan Gail Ray Admitted Fraudulently Obtaining Approximately $6 Million From Her Employer - the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, Florida
March 17, 2008
Federal jury convicts Texas man of possessing, transporting child pornography - Defendant faces up to 30 years in federal prison
DALLAS - A federal jury here today convicted a Grand Prairie, Texas, resident on both counts of a superseding indictment charging one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, Northern District of Texas, announced the conviction; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigated this case.
March 10, 2007
THE WALSH ACT AND ITS “SORNA” IMPLICATIONS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Sex Offender Registration Act
In July 2006 President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“Walsh Act”). Title I of the Walsh Act is called the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) which expanded the National Sex Offender Registry and established sanctions up to a maximum of twenty years for sex offenders who do not comply with the law’s registration requirements.
March 03, 2008
Departments of Justice and Homeland Security Announce International Initiative Against Traffickers in Counterfeit Network Hardware
WASHINGTON - Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, Assistant Director James Finch of the FBI’s Cyber Division, Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Commissioner W. Ralph Basham, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Inspector Peter Goulet of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) today announced the results to date of an ongoing international enforcement initiative between the United States and Canada that targets the illegal distribution of counterfeit network hardware manufactured in China.
February 25, 2008
U.S. Congressman and Associates Indicted on Multiple Counts Including Fraud, Extortion, and Money Laundering
WASHINGTON - Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Diane J. Humetewa announced today that a federal grand jury in Tucson, Ariz. returned a 35-count indictment yesterday against Richard G. Renzi, 49, of Flagstaff, Ariz., the U.S. Representative from Arizona’s first congressional district; James W. Sandlin, 56, of Sherman, Texas, a real estate investor and Renzi's business associate; and Andrew Beardall, 36, of Rockville, Md., Renzi’s business associate.
February 18, 2008
PROSTITUTION: “THE WORLD’S OLDEST PROFESSION” AND NOW A VERY SERIOUS CRIME
HOUSTON CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY John T. Floyd Discusses Federal Prosecutions of Prostitution Rings
Eric Hayes and Terrence Williams were “pimps” in a nationwide prostitution ring until they were convicted last October in a Toledo, Ohio federal court. In fact, they referred to themselves as “pimp partners.”
February 11, 2008
TWO HORIZON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR MARIJUANA DISTRIBUTION OPERATION
United States Attorney Johnny Sutton announced that 18-year-old Rene Humberto Perez and 19-year-old Rosalia Vega of El Paso were sentenced to 121 months and 46 months in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in a marijuana smuggling and distribution organization.
February 04, 2008
ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM BY A CONVICTED FELON
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses the Current State of the Law Regarding Illegal Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
January 28, 2008
Former Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) Employee Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud the Department of Defense
WASHINGTON – Wallace A. Ward, 26, of Spring Lake, NC, a former employee of Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) who worked at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to receive bribes, make false statements, and file false claims announced Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge T.S. Ellis III set sentencing for April 11, 2008. Ward faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.
January 21, 2008
DESTRUCTION OF THE CIA INTERROGATION TAPES: A SAGA OF OFFICIAL ABUSE OF POWER
Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses Whether Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes Could Lead to Criminal Culpability for the President or his Crew
January 14, 2008
FORMER BP AGENT AND HIS WIFE CHARGED WITH TRANSPORTING ALIENS
(LAREDO, Texas) - David Cruz, 32, a former Border Patrol agent stationed in Laredo, and his wife, Susana Lopez-Portillo De Cruz, 35, have been arrested as a result of warrants issued following the December 2007 return of a sealed indictment charging them with conspiring with others to transport and harbor illegal aliens, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent in Charge Jerry Robinette announced today.
January 07, 2008
THE AGE OF STEROIDS OR STEROID RAGE?
Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd Discusses Due Process in Light of Major League Baseball and the Mitchell Report
December 31, 2007
PLEA IN CASE INVOLVING BOMB THREATS TO AIRPORT
(McALLEN, Texas) – A 19-year-old U.S. citizen living in Reynosa, Mexico, pleaded guilty before a federal judge to one count of providing false and misleading information by an internet threat/hoax to the McAllen Miller International Airport, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.
December 24. 2007
SUPREME COURT CRACKS BARRIER ON CRACK SENTENCING
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Significant Developments Effecting Crack Cocaine Sentences from U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Sentencing Commission
December 17, 2007
HOW FAR DOES THE POWER OF HABEAS CORPUS EXTEND?
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Latest Gitmo Appeals before Supreme Court: Will America Remain Symbol of Liberty?
December 10, 2007
TEXAS STIFFENS PUNISHMENT FOR SEX OFFENDERS
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses Lynch Mob Mentality of 2007 Texas Legislature Handling of Sex Offenders
The 2007 Texas Legislature enacted a number of measures that severely increased the punishment for sex offenders. One of those measures makes second convictions for first-degree "sexually violent offenses" involving victims 14 years of age or younger a capital crime punishable by death or life without parole.
December 03, 2007
Three Former British Bankers Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud in Enron Case
WASHINGTON – Three former employees of the British bank National Westminster Bank Plc (Nat West) have pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud in connection with a secret investment with former executives of the Enron Corporation, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.
November 26, 2007
THE DUTY TO REPRESENT
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd Discusses the Ethical Dilemma of Representing the Cooperating Witness
November 19, 2007
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd
The Houston CHRONICLE, in a front-page October 28, 2007 article entitled “Houston a Major Hub for Human Trafficking,” reported that the U.S. State Department estimates that approximately 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year.
November 12, 2007
SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE THE 100:1 CRACK/POWDER COCAINE RATIO
Houston Criminal Attorney John T. Floyd Discusses the Inherent Tragedy Caused by the Crack/Powder Cocaine Ratio and the Unreasonably Long Prison Sentences for Low-Level, Non-Violent First Offenders.
November 05, 2007
THE ANGOLA TWO
There are actually state punishments worse than death. The Angola Two have experienced such a punishment.
It was through the “Prisoner Grievance Committee” that I came to know an inmate named Irvin “Life” Breaux. A New Orleans native, Life was serving a life sentence for killing another inmate who made homosexual advances toward him. Life was one of the many “militants” who had been locked up in 1972 following the stabbing death of a prison guard named Brent Miller at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. I chronicled Life’s story and his tragic death in an article entitled “A Prison Tragedy” published in the prison’s newsmagazine, THE ANGOLITE (July-Aug. 1979). I won the prestigious American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award in 1980 for the article.
October 29, 2007
CRIMINAL ATTORNEYS STILL WATCHING THE U.S. SUPREME COURT, DECISIONS EFFECTING SENTENCING GUIDELINES
Rita v. United States, 125 S.Ct. 2456, 2463, 168 L.Ed.2d 203 (2007)
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Booker gave many defense attorneys hope that the often draconian Sentencing Guidelines would soon be pronounced dead, they still remain largely intact. Judges must still consult and consider the guidelines and, with Rita’s “presumption of reasonable” standard, any sentence they hand down within the guidelines will most likely withstand appellate review. However, the Supreme Court has created a real opening for “thorough adversarial testing” of the sentencing procedure by allowing judges to depart from the guidelines if given good reason under the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Defense attorneys must take this opportunity to effectively present their clients’ best case at sentencing before the federal courts. After all, criminal defendants and their offenses of conviction are unique and individual and should be treated as such by the courts when assessing a just punishment.
October 22, 2007
THE LAW AND CONTRADICTION
It has been said that the law is a mystery. One thing is certain: those who make and interpret the law often reach contradictory and antipodean results. This reality frequently reduces the law’s noble pursuit of justice irrelevant. Two recent news stories underscores this reality: the decision by the United States Senate to block efforts by a bipartisan effort to restore the right of terrorism suspects to utilize habeas corpus to challenge their detention and other remedies to challenge conditions of their confinement; and the decision by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger declaring unconstitutional the three-drug protocol used to execute condemned inmates in Tennessee.
October 15, 2007
ENILE PLETHYSMOGRAPHY:BIG BROTHER AND PUNISHING THOUGHT
Criminal Defense Attorneys Keep Eye on Conditions of Probation, Parole and Supervised Release, Sex Crimes Convictions
October 08, 2007
WHEN ERROR IS HARMLESS
Federal Criminal Appeal Lawyers Struggle With “Harmful” Errors
In 1962 Ruth Elizabeth Chapman and Thomas Leroy Teale robbed, kidnapped, and murdered a bartender in the State of California. See, Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 19, 87 S.Ct. 824 (1967). They were tried and convicted together. The two defendants did not take the witness stand in their own defense. Chapman received a life sentence and Teale was sentenced to death. Id.
October 01, 2007
THE JOSE PADILLA CONVICTION: A BUSH VICTORY OR A DEFEAT FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
Criminal Defense Lawyers for Padilla Argue for Dismissal Due to Outrageous Conduct of the Government
more...
September 24, 2007
TERRORISM SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT
Federal Criminal Lawyers Must be Prepared to Fight the Terrorism Sentencing Enhancement Found in USSG § 3A1.4.
Sabri Benkahla was convicted on charges of making false statements to a federal grand jury and lying to the FBI and for obstructing justice with statements that he had never seen or received military-type training in Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan in 1999. See, United States v. Benkahla, 2007 WL 2254657 (E.D.Va. Aug. 3, 2007).
September 17, 2007
MEDICARE/MEDICAID FRAUD:Criminal Defense Lawyers Defending Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
Fraud has been woven into the fabric of the federal health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, since their inception. Congress in 1977 conducted a series of hearings to examine the infestation of theft and patient abuse prevalent in the Medicaid program. See, Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse § 6.11 (2007)[Alice G. Gosfield] {hereinafter MedFraud}.
September 10, 2007
A PALESTINIAN IN AN AMERICAN PRISON
Essay by Billy Wayne Sinclair
E-mail Billy Wayne Sinclair Billy@JohnTFloyd.com
He was short.
I was tall.
He was an Arab.
I was an American.
He was a Muslim.
I was a Christian.
September 3, 2007
THE CRACK COCAINE LEGACY: PUINISHMENT DISPARITY IN THE FEDERAL COURTS
In 1986 University of Maryland basketball sensation Len Bias was found dead from a cocaine overdose. Despite toxicology reports showing that the drug overdose resulted from powder cocaine, media reports connected the basketball star’s death to a “crack” cocaine overdose and continued to spread that misperception.
August 27, 2007
THE INFORMANT IN THE NEW YORK TERROR PLOT
Earlier this month (June ’07) the federal government indicted four men – one from Trinidad, another from Tobago, and the other two from Guyana – in a “terror plot” that targeted New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Labeled “homegrown terrorists,” the four men were introduced to the American public with sensational media fanfare and boogaboo warnings from federal law enforcement officials.
August 20, 2007
GOTTI CRIME FAMILY TAKES A HIT
Peter Gotti, John Matera, and Thomas Carbonaro, all members of the New York City Carlos Gambino Crime Family, were charged in a federal indictment of participating in a criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). A jury found Carbonaro and Gotti, the brother of former crime boss John Gotti, guilty of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) and (d); and extortion in the construction industry in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951. See, United States v. Matera, et al., No. 05-0392 (2nd Cir. May 30, 2007).
August 13, 2007
THE TERROR ATTACK ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
America has lauded itself as a country that cherishes individual liberty. Our constitution and the Bill of Rights are held out as models for the rest of the world to immolate. But America has never been comfortable protecting civil liberties in times of national crises.
August 06, 2007
Government Continues Assault on Writ of Habeas Corpus
Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri is a resident alien in the United States. He was arrested in this country and labeled an “unlawful enemy combatant.” He has an appeal pending before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. This appeal raises several significant issues:
Can the provisions of the Military Commissions Act which foreclose habeas corpus relief to an “enemy combatant” be applied to an individual who has not been “properly determined” to be an enemy combatant.
JULY 27, 2007
A RIGHT OF CONFRONTATION
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses against him. Inherent in this Sixth Amendment guarantee is the right of the defendant to be present at every stage of the criminal trial in order to effectively cross-examine adverse witnesses. See, Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 403 (1961). See also: 36 Geo.L.J.Ann,Rev.Crim.Proc., 628 (2007).
July 11, 2007
Boumediene v. Bush; Court Turns Deaf Ear to Fundamental Principals of the Great Writ of Habeas Corpus and Gives Big Brother a Blank Check.
On April 2, 2007 the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia which, in February, ruled that Guantanamo Bay detainees did not have a right to habeas corpus review of their indefinite confinement or any other constitutional protections. Boumediene v. Bush, 476 F.3d 981 (D.C. Cir. 2007). The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the Boumediene appeal effectively closes the door to any judicial relief for the approximately 385 held at the Guantanamo facility for more than five years - unless the Supreme Court at some point chooses to revisits Boumediene issues.
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