Tag Archives: texas

(School) Grounds for a Lawsuit

No child left behind

The parents of a 7-year-old student in Texas are taking legal action against the Teravista Elementary School District for violating their daughter’s constitutional rights of “life, liberty, privacy, bodily integrity and happiness.” On more than one occasion, the safety of the child was placed at risk when she was wrongfully placed on a school bus instead of being taken to an after-school program.  The parents of the child, naturally concerned that something like this could happen more than once, filed a lawsuit after not resolving anything in administrative meetings with the school.  It is not publicly known how much the family is suing for, but the family hopes a court of law will accurately award them fair compensation. Continue reading →

Two race cars speed closely side by side on a track at Bristol Motor Speedway. A large crowd of spectators fills the stands in the background, and the track is marked with racing stripes and logos.

Trouble in Texas for Ricky Bobby Sports Saloon

Lawsuit on tap

Sony pictures is filing a trademark lawsuit against “Ricky Bobby Sports Saloon & Restaurant” in Fort Worth, Texas, where scantily clad waitresses are referred to as “Smokin Hotties”. The restaurant is said to be inspired by the 2006 Will Ferrell Film ‘Talladega Nights’ which causes concern for Sony Pictures. The studio has a number of complaints that include, misleading customers about the source of origin for the Ricky Bobby Saloon. According to the suit Sony was not asked permission and is now demanding that that the restaurant pay up.

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EX PARTE DUSTIN DOAN

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Criminal courts

I came across a new Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision that should be read by anyone who practices criminal defense law in Texas. The cite is 369 SW3d 205. Before this decision many judges in Texas were ruling that the Rules of Evidence do not apply to probation revocation hearings because they were adminstrative in nature. This case clarifies that the Texas Rules of Evidene do apply to revocation hearing. As of this decision, hearsay is not allowed to be used as evidence in revocation hearings. I hope this helps! This case is a must read.

Unconstitutional Search Leads to Lawsuit

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Justice

To quote an exhilarating and thrilling movie of our time, Superbad, “I assume you all have guns and cocaine.”  This thought might have been running through State Troopers David Farrell and Kelley Helleson’s minds when they pulled over Angel Dobbs and Ashley Dobbs.  The two women are suing the Texas State troopers for an unconstitutional body cavity search.  They were pulled over for littering with cigarette butts on a highway in Irving, Texas.  The state troopers suspected the two ladies of smelling like marijuana so they felt it necessary to pull them out of the car and search them.  Angel Dobbs passed the sobriety test and the car was searched.  They then continued to search their persons, going so far as to reach in their genitals.  The women claim that State Trooper Kelley Helleson did not even change gloves when she searched each girl.  Angel and Ashley are now suing for the humiliation and violation that was caused during the search.

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New Student IDs Track the Student’s Location

This tag is probably already in your dog.

Two schools in Texas have begun implementing a new form of student ID.  This “Identification Card” does much more than just provide a form of identification for the student, it actually tracks their current location. These ID cards are known as RFID’s, or radio-frequency identification cards.  RFID’s give school administrator’s the ability to see where the students are physically located at any given time of day.  This tracking program was started by the school district in an effort to keep the students in school and to reduce truancy.  People hope that this tracking program will increase daily attendance and lead the school district to save as much as $175,000.  This amount is lost daily due to low attendance from the students.  Higher attendance could also lead to an increase in state funding of up to $1.7 million.  Furthermore, this tracking program will increase student security and safety, increase attendance, grant access to various parts of the school, as well as influence purchasing power within the school.

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