It’s official, the 2009 Prairie Dog” Seminar’s date has been set. It will be on March 5-6, our party will be March 6, and it will include a special FREE Nuts and Bolts Seminar on March 4. Please contact Laurie Key for details. More information will be posted here as we get it.
Innocence Project of Texas client, James Lee Woodard, was released from incarceration yesterday after serving more than 27 years for a murder that he has always maintained he did not commit. The victim, Woodard’s girlfriend at the time of the homicide, was found strangled and sexually assaulted on the banks of the Trinity River in Dallas, Texas. A rape kit was taken, and the evidence was preserved by the Southwest Institute for Forensic Sciences (SWIFS). When subjected to a DNA test, the rape kit indicated that James Woodard was not the victim’s attacker and that he had likely spent more than a quarter century in prison for a crime that he was not involved in.
Although at first glance this case appears to be a relatively simple DNA-based case, more than 1000 hours were spent by both the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and the Innocence Project of Texas investigating Woodard’s claim of innocence. Once the DNA results excluded Woodard as the victim’s rapist, both organizations set out to interview all relevant witnesses and piece together the story leading up to Woodard’s conviction. This collaborative effort is one of the first of its kind, and it is a testament to the integrity of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
For more information regarding James Lee Woodard and his case, please click here.
For more information about the collaborative effort of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and the Innocence Project of Texas, or to hear about the current state of justice in America today, please consider joining us tomorrow night for “Freedom and Justice in America: A Live Conversation Onstage” at the Angelika Theater in Dallas Texas. Details regarding this event can be found under the “Events” section of the ipoftexas.org website.
Door registration for the 2008 Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law Seminar begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, January 3, at Texas Tech University School of Law. Tuition of $50 gets you two full days (14.75 hours) of the best CLE in Texas, CD materials, breakfast both days, and Bill Trantham’s BBQ lunch on Friday. Another $10 buys lunch on Thursday with Craig Washington’s inspirational message included. And, for $25 per person, join us for the annual LCDLA membership party Thursday evening at Kershner’s 4-Bar-K (302 East 82nd Street): BBQ with all the fixins’, beer and wine, live music and dancin’! Proceeds will benefit the TTUSL Brendan Murray Scholarship Fund.
If you have a conflict at the Lubbock County Courthouse, all judges have promised to grant motions for continuance upon request to attend this seminar. So, there are no excuses for not attending this great event.
I hope to see each of you tomorrow morning.
The 28th Annual Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law Seminar is just around the corner: January 3 and 4 at the Texas Tech School of Law. THIS IS OUR SEMINAR! It is a big deal, and we all need to do our part to make it a success as usual. If you have not signed up yet, click this link and get signed up.
Be sure to sign up for the dinner and dance Thursday evening at Kershner’s 4-bar-K, as well as the other social events listed on the form.
If you have any problems signing up, or if you have any questions, just let me know, or any of the other course directors: Laurie Key, Rusty Gunter, and Donnie Yandell.
Don’t miss out on the topics from this outstanding program recently co-sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers (TCDLA) and Lubbock Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (LCDLA).
Choose from:
- Court of Criminal Appeals
- Defending Computer Crime & Law Office Computer Technology
- Domestic Assault
- DWI: Defense, Common Problems & Solutions, Jury Selection Techniques & Experts
- Ethically Representing the High Profile Case
- Ethics: Avoiding the Process
- Evidentiary Issues & Motion Practice
- Eyewitness Identification
- Federal Practice Tips & Traps
- Franchise Tax for Lawyers
- Innocence Can Take Many Forms
- Juvenile Law
- Preserving Error
- Search & Seizure and Statements
- Upcoming Legislative Highlights
= = = = = = = = = = =
If you missed this recent seminar, you still have three ways to get the latest updates from leading practitioners in criminal law.
ONE: Watch or listen to the presentations online anytime for MCLE participatory credit. Follow the link below for specific topic information or to register for all or part of this course in the Online Classroom.
Click here to search.
TWO: If you are just interested in the course materials, you can now download them from the Online Library, which houses over 8,000 fully searchable TexasBarCLE articles. Subscribe for an annual fee and download all you want, or purchase individual articles as you need them.
ACT NOW – Offer Expires May 31st: Use this special code to get $75 OFF the regular one-year subscription price of $295: 0705319999. Visit the Online Library here to subscribe.
THREE: Order the course book and DVD. Our Custom CLE staff will ship the materials you need to hold your own MCLE-accredited program. Call 800-204-2222, x 1575 for more information, or click here to access the order form for this course (PDF file)
1. At this time we appear to be on par with last year’s registration. Please pre-register by December 15th. If you sign up at the door, there will NOT be books available. Fax your registration, today! Officers and other “very important people” still must register. Only course directors and speakers do not have to register. Don’t be shut out, register now.
Click here to view and print registration form. Fax it today, even if it’s past the 15th.
2. Please send in your $100 for tickets to the Thursday night party. Give extra tickets to court personnel or employees for good PR. They really appreciate going to the party and its always nice to have a big crowd.
3. David Slayton will be present during the seminar to give demonstrations of the new remote access to the Lubbock County computer system available in January.
By now, you should have received:
1. A flyer for the 2007 LCDLA/TCDLA 27th Annual Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law Seminar, to be held January 4th and 5th at Texas Tech University School of Law.
2. A letter containing four $25 tickets to the January 4th LCDLA annual membership party at Cagle’s Steaks, featuring a country BBQ dinner, and live musical entertainment by Mike Pritchard with Blue Thunder & The Lightning Horns.
If you have not already done so, please return your completed flyer to TCDLA for the seminar. If you have not received the flyer, you can also sign up via the TCDLA website.
Also, please send your $100 in to Dennis Reeves to pay for your party tickets. If you have not received your tickets, or if you need additional tickets, contact Dennis at 797-3720.
REMEMBER THAT PROCEEDS FROM THESE EVENTS BENEFIT THE BRENDAN MURRAY CRIMINAL DEFENSE SCHOLARSHIP AT TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW.
The Lubbock Criminal Defense Lawyers Association hosted the 26th Annual Prairie Dog Lawyers Advanced Criminal Law Seminar January 6-7, and the State Bar’s webcast of the seminar was the first live CLE event of its kind to be made available in Texas. The 200-plus live participants established what is believed to be the largest attendance at any Lubbock County legal seminar. Co-hosted by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the program boasted 11.5 hours of CLE, and included several social events.
Highlighting the festivities was a luncheon January 6 honoring Lubbock County’s 50-year lawyers, held at the Texas Tech University School of Law. Seventeen of the 31 lawyers eligible for the honor appeared and were recognized, and each received a plaque commemorating significant contributions to the legal profession.* Nationally prominent Houston lawyer Dick DeGuerin, who is currently defending Congressman Tom Delay, inspired the overflow crowd with a rousing address on legal ethics.
LCDLA’s yearly blowout at Kershner’s 4-Bar-K rounded out the weekend’s festivities, with almost 300 in attendance for barbeque and dancing into the wee hours with Mike Pritchard’s Blue Thunder & The Lightening Horns.
Proceeds from the seminar and social events will benefit the Texas Tech Criminal Justice Clinic, a TTU law school program which gives students practical training and experience in criminal defense work.
Chuck Lanehart, LCDLA Court LiaisonLCDLA Hosts Record-Setting Seminar, Honors 50-Year Lawyers
LCDLA honored the 50 year lawyers from around the Lubbock area recently. Each person will be presented with an individualized plaque and recognized at the luncheon during the upcoming seminar. The following is the list of all those who were honored:
Mitchell Williams
Arthur K. Jones
Harold Harriger
Harry Jung
Worth Fullingim
William Moss
Carlton Dodson
James Brewster
James C. Bearden
Denzil Bevers
Forrest Bowers
James Bowman
Warlick Carr
Wendell Coffee
Ralph Daniel
J. Hadley Edgar
Cleddie Edwards
George Gilkerson
Alton Griffin
Hugh Harrell
Dan Hurley
Richard Jennings
Dale Johnson
Lawrence Melcher
Bobby Moody
Reed Quilliam
William Shaver
Roderick Shaw
Dean Shuman
Madison Sowder
Bill Tucker
Thank You for the honor of speaking to the very finest criminal trial lawyers in America! This seminar is the absolute high point of my year! Your celebration of Alton’s rich life was a wonderful example of the superiority of Lubbock lawyers, and Texas Tech Law School! What a wonderful happening it was!
Bob Hinton
Dallas, Texas
