Recent Blog Posts

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Online Tool Tracks Texas Jail Population That Can’t Make Bail

By Kevin L. Collins | Published November 1, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: ACLU, COVID-19, criminal defense | Comments Off on Online Tool Tracks Texas Jail Population That Can’t Make Bail

While defendants who can pay bail can await trial outside of jail, thousands of Texans without the means to afford bail remain behind bars. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, those incarcerated face a higher risk of becoming infected. Texas taxpayers are also penalized, as incarcerating defendants who have not been convicted costs the state approximately $905 Read More

Court “Resets” Unduly Prolong Incarceration Before Trial

By Kevin L. Collins | Published October 1, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: COVID-19, guilty plea, plea bargain, pretrial detention | Comments Off on Court “Resets” Unduly Prolong Incarceration Before Trial

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic spike in Texas court resets —rescheduling of trials or hearings to later dates. Many criminal courts have been closed since March 24 due to health concerns, and court proceedings previously scheduled in the spring and summer have been pushed off for several months. Court resets Read More

Cash Bail Is Often Unjust to the Poor, But What Are the Alternatives?

By Kevin L. Collins | Published September 1, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: cahs bail, excessive bail, reminder systems, unsecured bonds | Comments Off on Cash Bail Is Often Unjust to the Poor, But What Are the Alternatives?

On any given day, more than 450,000 people across the U.S. are sitting in jail awaiting trial because they cannot afford to pay their bail. Many of them, perhaps a great majority, are poor people who find themselves incarcerated while people with financial means – who are accused of the same or even more serious Read More

How Bail Decisions Are Being Affected By COVID-19

By Kevin L. Collins | Published August 1, 2020 | Posted in COVID-19, Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: bail, coronavirus, federal prisons, prisons | Comments Off on How Bail Decisions Are Being Affected By COVID-19

U.S. prisons are the world’s most crowded, housing people in close contact with each other 24 hours a day. Combine that closeness with the already limited availability of health care in correctional facilities and it’s no surprise that jails and prisons have become hotbeds for coronavirus. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and prison administrators Read More

Pressure Grows to Shrink Jail Populations Due to COVID-19 Infections

By Kevin L. Collins | Published July 6, 2020 | Posted in COVID-19, Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: bail reform, coronavirus, Marshall Project, no-cost personal bonds | Comments Off on Pressure Grows to Shrink Jail Populations Due to COVID-19 Infections

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing renewed calls to shrink jail populations to help people avoid possibly contracting COVID-19 as the state has become the nation’s biggest virus hotbed. By the end of June, more than 8,200 inmates in the Texas prison system had tested positive for COVID-19 and 79 prisoners had died of the Read More

Texas Bail Reform Spreading to Travis and Bexar Counties

By Kevin L. Collins | Published April 30, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: pretrial release in Texas, seeking bail in Bexar and Travis counties, Texas bail reform | Comments Off on Texas Bail Reform Spreading to Travis and Bexar Counties

The U.S. Constitution prohibits the setting of excessive bail in criminal cases. However, countless defendants in Texas are kept in custody awaiting trial solely because of a lack of financial resources. Requiring cash bail creates a significant disparity on the basis of income, regardless of the defendant’s potential danger to the community or risk of Read More

What Happens if You Host a Gathering While in Quarantine?

By Kevin L. Collins | Published April 14, 2020 | Posted in COVID-19, Criminal Law | Comments Off on What Happens if You Host a Gathering While in Quarantine?

Along with the serious health risks associated with coronavirus, Americans are burdened by quarantine orders and similar directives that forbid them from seeing their loved ones, even for major events such as holidays and birthdays. It can be tempting to try to break the rules, especially for people who believe that they don’t fall into Read More

Texas Bail Reform Seeks to Balance Public Safety and Defendants’ Rights

By Kevin L. Collins | Published January 15, 2020 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: bail reform, class action, discrimination, initial bail hearing, public safety | Comments Off on Texas Bail Reform Seeks to Balance Public Safety and Defendants’ Rights

In Texas as elsewhere, bail allows criminal defendants to be released pending trial, under penalty of forfeiting their bail bonds if they fail to appear. Bail decisions are based upon the seriousness of the criminal charges and on the defendant’s criminal record, risk of flight and danger to the community. But in actual practice, bail Read More

Texas Bail Reform Litigation Highlights the Need for Counsel Immediately Upon Arrest

By Kevin L. Collins | Published October 16, 2019 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: bail, bail reform, discrimination, initial bail hearing, right to counsel, Sixth Amendment | Comments Off on Texas Bail Reform Litigation Highlights the Need for Counsel Immediately Upon Arrest

Miranda warnings have been a thorn in the side of prosecutors since the 1963 landmark Supreme Court ruling made denial of the right to counsel a ground for voiding a confession. But while a defendant may demand to have a lawyer present during questioning, there is no explicit right to representation at another critical stage Read More

Texas Bail Reform Legislation Falls Short, But System Improvements Are Underway

By Kevin L. Collins | Published August 7, 2019 | Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged Tags: arraignement, arrest, bail, bail reform | Comments Off on Texas Bail Reform Legislation Falls Short, But System Improvements Are Underway

More than two years after federal courts ruled cash bail systems in Dallas and Harris counties unconstitutional, the Texas legislature has been unable to pass bail reform legislation. In May 2019, the House passed a bill that would have implemented measures to make bail more available to poorer defendants. But the bill never made it Read More

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COVID-19 Notice

We are here to help and support you through these generally challenging times with your specific legal issues. You will be able to reach me or my staff through our main telephone numbers, and of course by email: [email protected]. Phone conferences for existing and potential clients are available, as is the video conference feature through the Zoom app. Zoom may present some privacy challenges so phone conferences are preferred. Please take care of your health by following the measures recommended by the CDC, and by state and local authorities.

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