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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Reinvigorates DNA Testing Law
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) handed down a decision that removed previous restrictions against prisoners seeking DNA testing to prove their innocence.
Billy James Smith, a Texas state prisoner, filed a motion for DNA testing. The court appointed an attorney to represent him. The attorney filed a formal …
Billy James Smith, a Texas state prisoner, filed a motion for DNA testing. The court appointed an attorney to represent him. The attorney filed a formal …
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More from this issue:
- Guards Rape of Prisoners Rampant, No Solution in Sight, by Gary Hunter
- I Wake Up in Middle-of-Night Terror, by Erika Huggins
- Prisoner Rape Is Torture, by Stop Prisoner Rape
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ohio Woman Raped by Guard Awarded $625,000
- European Court of Human Rights Voids UKs Blanket Bans On Prisoner Voting, by Matthew Clarke
- Michigan DOC Improperly Calculated Sentences and Released Prisoners; Officials Fired and Demoted, by Gary Hunter
- California Valdivia Attorneys Awarded $6.5 Million For 12 Years Work, by John E Dannenberg
- Problems Continue In Maryland Prisons and Jails, by Michael Rigby
- Pennsylvania Correctional Industries Overcharges Customers, Stockpiles Cash, Fails Mission, by Matthew T. Clarke
- Georgia Prisoner Beaten By Guard Awarded $22,000
- $100,000 Settlement For Black Oklahoma Prisoner Beaten By White Prisoners
- Texas State Representative Criticized For Helping Prisoners and Families, by Matthew T. Clarke
- Texas Politicians Provided Perks Using Prisoner Slave Labor, by Matthew T. Clarke
- Bubble-Gum Computers in Washington State DOC, by Gary Hunter
- $475,000 Settlement In California Suicide Suit
- California Prison Guards Overtime Doubles to $277 Million
- Transgender Wisconsin Prisoners Continue Hormone Treatment Despite Law, by Michael Rigby
- $365,000 Settlement For Restrained, Untreated Michigan Boot Camp Prisoner
- Armor Correctional Health Services: A New Company Blossoming with Political Payback, by David Reutter
- Ohio Awards $662,000 to Man Wrongly Imprisoned for Rape
- Korean Company Employing Prisoners Receives Coveted Quality Award
- Canadian Prison Sanctioned Skin-Art Saving Society Health Problems, by Gary Hunter
- California DOC Drug Program Funds Squandered, by Marvin Mentor
- Survivors of Texas Jail Suicidee Win $516,000 Against Phone Provider, by Matthew T. Clarke
- North Carolina Prisoner Taps Jails Bank Account for $120,000
- Muslim Prisoner Attacked by Other Muslims May Sue Prison for Failure to Protect, by Marvin Mentor
- Alabama Sheriff Charged With Raiding Jail Food Fund
- EMSA Negligent In Florida Jail Prisoners Death, County Pays $65,000, by Michael Rigby
- $790,000 Settlement In Ulcer Death of Georgia Jail Prisoner
- No Qualified Immunity for Failure to Perform Timely Liver Biopsy, by John E Dannenberg
- Florida District Court Awards Federal Prisoner $829.65 for Lost Property
- Tolling Provision Appeals to NY Personal Injury Action
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Reinvigorates DNA Testing Law, by Matthew T. Clarke
- $769,000 Awarded For Death of Asthmatic Virginia Jail Prisoner
- California Third-Level Administrative Appeals May Be Filed with Prison Appeals Coordinator, by John Dannenberg
- No Qualified Immunity for Retaliatory Transfer; Jury Awards $219,000 in Damages
- Ninth Circuit Holds Prisons Not Immune In ADA and RA Suit
- Ohio Pre-S.B. No. 2 Indeterminately Sentenced Prisoners Who Took a Plea are Entitled to Meaningful N, by John E Dannenberg
- RLUIPA Bars Total Ban on Melanic Literature
- Alabama Clarifies Prisoners Right to Call Witnesses At Disciplinary Hearing, by Matthew T. Clarke
- Washington Courts Authority to Order Community Custody Limited
- California Supreme Court Resolves Conflict From Concurrent Sentences With Different Credit Earning R, by John Dannenberg
- News in Brief:
- Actual Innocence Required in Washington Criminal Malpractice Actions
More from Matthew T. Clarke:
- New York Governor Pataki Institutes Lawless Civil Commitment , Aug. 23, 2016
- Indiana Court of Appeals: Standard of Medical Care Same In and Out of Prison, March 7, 2016
- Texas Group Finds Correlation between Incarceration Rate and Academic Achievement, June 12, 2015
- Fifth Circuit: Texas May Not Enforce Rule Prohibiting Religious Beards, June 12, 2015
- Tennessee Supreme Court: No Separate Parole Dates for Consecutive Sentences, June 15, 2013
- Oklahoma Legislators Not Considering Closing State Prisons, Unless They Are, Nov. 15, 2009
- Phoenix New Times Executives Arrested for Reporting About Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Aug. 15, 2008
- Riots at CCA Prisons Reveal Weaknesses in Out-of-State Imprisonment Policies, May 15, 2008
- Iowa Sued Over Proselytizing Fundamentalist Christian Prison Program, May 15, 2007
- Report on Status of Guantanamo Prisoners Released; Controversy Continues, Oct. 15, 2006
More from these topics:
- Federal Habeas Quick Reference Guide for State Prisoners, Sept. 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Cause and Prejudice.
- Sixth Circuit Holds Kentucky Deficient-Counsel Belated-Appeal Procedure Tolls Federal Habeas One-Year Limitations Period, Sept. 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Failure to Preserve Challenge, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches.
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Abuse of Discretion Standard, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Formally Available, Rarely Granted: A State Prisoner’s Guide to Federal Habeas Relief, Sept. 1, 2026. Administrative Exhaustion, Habeas Corpus, Bureau of Prisons Orders, Administrative Law/Remedies, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches, Federal Rules of Evidence, Statute of Limitations.
- Eleventh Circuit Holds § 2255 Motion Not “Second or Successive” After Intervening Amended Judgment Corrected Unlawful Sentences, Even as to Claims Concerning an Undisturbed Count, Aug. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Effect of Vacatur.
- FBI Approves Rapid DNA Workflow for CODIS, Aug. 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Databases, Forensic Sciences, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Florida Supreme Court Announces “Results” of Postconviction DNA Testing Under § 925.11 Include Underlying Testing Data Necessary for Expert Analysis, Holding That No Additional Burden Applies Once a Motion for Testing Has Been Granted, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, Disclosure of Records, Public Records, Forensic Sciences, Scientific Testimony or Evidence.
- Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence, Evidence - Admissibility, Claim of Innocence.
- Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026. Release and Reentry, Habeas Corpus, First Step Act, Community Confinement/Home Detention, Credits.
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Appealable Issues/Orders, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant.