Jeff Sessions on Marijuana: Taking Billions From Americans

Attorney general Jeff Sessions’ anti-marijuana policy is aimed to cripple a multi-billion dollar industry, and will put millions of Americans out of work. The recently renewed war on marijuana is aimed at taking no prisoners, and kicking every American in the industry to the curb. Sessions has placed marijuana on the Schedule I substance list, along with LSD and heroin. If the government truly wants to take aim at the national debt, there would be no better place to start than continuing the expansion of the legal marijuana industry. However, Jeff Sessions is looking to roll back previous policy, which effectively eliminate jobs estimated to reach over 1.1 million in the next decade.

Continue reading “Jeff Sessions on Marijuana: Taking Billions From Americans”

Lying or Excessive Force, Which is Worse?

Last week, an Austin Police Department officer was fired for lying about using excessive force during an arrest. This leads us to an important question in regards to the responsibility placed on an APD officer. Are the police more concerned with the use of excessive force or officers lying about their actions in the field? In this most recent situation, the unfair treatment of a citizen was not probable cause for a police officer to be relieved of duty. The fact that the officer lied about the facts of the arrest was cause for his dismissal.Continue reading “Lying or Excessive Force, Which is Worse?”

Law Office of James Gill Honors Veterans

Our local Austin law firm understands the sacrifice that our nation’s veterans have made. Our veterans risk not only their lives but in many cases their mental health as well.   The  hardships our veterans face are numerous. The Law Office of James Gill looks to help veterans in any way possible, and so we are now providing substantial discounts and in some instances free services to veterans who are in need of any legal services that James Gill can provide.

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Is Poor Lab Work Going to Cost a Man His Life?

On Wednesday, in the state’s most superior criminal court, a closer look into Areli Escobar’s case was ordered. Escobar was convicted and sentenced to death in the 2009 sexual assault and stabbing of his neighbor, a young 17-year-old high school student. Nearly a decade later, Escobar’s defense lawyer is calling for a reconsideration of the work that was done by the Austin police crime lab, which Escobar is saying ruined his case.Continue reading “Is Poor Lab Work Going to Cost a Man His Life?”

Austin Lawyer Adam Reposa Sentenced to Six Months

austin-lawyer-adam-reposaOne of great things about our country is that every person is guaranteed a right to a fair and just trial. Is this the direction that our current court system is going in? Is putting lawyers in jail for contempt of court the correct way to go about this?Continue reading “Austin Lawyer Adam Reposa Sentenced to Six Months”

No Refusal Weekend Austin, Texas Initiative

Austin’s No Refusal Weekends: What Does It Really Mean?

The Austin Police Department is continuing their “No Refusal DWI” policy which began earlier this year. The enforcement of this policy runs from 10 PM through 5AM every Friday and Saturday night and continues into Sunday morning.

The next “no refusal” weekend will occur this weekend from September 22nd through the 24th. But what does this initiative actually entail?Continue reading “No Refusal Weekend Austin, Texas Initiative”

Austin Crime Lab Scandal: Justice Ignores Compromised DNA

Austin Police Department DNA Lab Fails the Public and the DWI Law System

austin-apd-dna-labYou wouldn’t eat food that’s been left out for eight days. Would you use 8-day-old DNA to solve a crime? To choose a punishment that might alter someone’s life forever? That’s what’s been happening with hundreds of DNA samples at the Austin Police Department due to a broken freezer and a failure by lab officials to report the problem.Continue reading “Austin Crime Lab Scandal: Justice Ignores Compromised DNA”

Celebrities Arrested for Carrying Guns at the Airport

gun-at-the-airportSo who’s been busted for trying to carry a gun onto a plane recently? In June, it was Zonnique Pullins, rapper T.I.’s stepdaughter and member of the girl group O.M.G. You could say she missed her flight, since she was arrested in the morning of a Thursday and got her release the next morning.

Other celebrities caught carrying weapons at the airport include Too $hort, 2 Chainz, and reality TV personality Spencer Pratt.Continue reading “Celebrities Arrested for Carrying Guns at the Airport”

What the Supreme Court’s Decision Does to Texas Marijuana Laws

austin-criminal-attorneyTexas marijuana lawyers like James Gill will tell you that the Supreme Court has been very active recently, and not just because it has that vacant seat that is so heavily discussed in the news right now. They made a significant decision on March 21 regarding marijuana law in Colorado that may have long-term implications. At some future date, if Texas marijuana laws are loosened or abolished, historians and legal scholars may point at this decision as the first step toward legalization.Continue reading “What the Supreme Court’s Decision Does to Texas Marijuana Laws”

My Life with Barry Cooper: Never Get Busted

by James Gill

Barry Cooper of KopBustersDescribed by The Progressive as “the strangest, most brazen activist America has seen in decades, Barry Cooper was one of the top U.S. narcotics officers until he reconsidered and became an anti-drug-war authority. His story has garnered coverage in such diverse outlets as Fox News, NPR, CNN, MSNBC and The Texas Observer. He is a client of the Law Office of James Gill.

Sometime in early 2004 I was flipping through the latest issue of Playboy and happened to come across a news blurb on a man by the name of Barry Cooper. I had never heard of him nor could I have ever expected that one day he would become my client and good friend.Continue reading “My Life with Barry Cooper: Never Get Busted”