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Adam L. Seidel's Legal Cases (2)

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Criminal defense

Michael Edward Dansby, Sr. v. State of Texas , 2013 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 744

May 08, 2013

OUTCOME: Reversed

The appellant asserted that his deferred adjudication community supervision was revoked unconstitutionally as a penalty for invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination by refusi ... ng to answer questions during the course of a court-imposed polygraph examination about past offenses. The Dallas Court of Appeals ruled that the defendant's community supervision had been legitimately revoked by the trial court, and the sentence of 18 years was upheld. The Court of Criminal Appeals then reversed and ruled that the defendant's probation was essentially revoked as a result of invoking his constitutionally protected right to remain silent, and that the court of appeals "improperly dodged" the constitutional claim. The case was remanded and is currently pending.

Appeals

Godfrey Mark v. Thaler, Director of Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice; 09-50672; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Jul 06, 2011

OUTCOME: Case remanded to the district court for review on the merits. Appeal still pending.

A federal district court in Waco ruled that Mark's post-conviction petition for habeas corpus relief (28 U.S.C.Â§2254) was not timely filed, and dismissed Mark's petition without addressing the merits ... of Mark's appeal. The district court also denied Mark a Certificate of Appealability. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit granted Mark a COA, and later, in a 2-1 decision, reversed the district court in a published opinion holding that the unusual factual history supported Mark's position that his habeas petition was indeed timely filed. The appeal was remanded to the district court for review on the merits of the case.