Mistrial declared in case of former stripper, boyfriend accused of murder
Jun 13, 2011
OUTCOME: Mistrial
A judge declared a mistrial Monday after a Travis County jury reported being hopelessly deadlocked on whether a former stripper and her boyfriend committed murder or aggravated robbery in the death of ...a strip club patron last year.
The Defendant, 23, had been accused of killing Elmore Allen, 49, after he left the Hot Bodies Gentlemen's Club. Counsel argued that the Defendant struck Allen to protect his girlfriend from an impending sexual assault.
The jury deliberated for three hours Friday and close to eight hours Monday. The foreman first reported that the panel was split 7-5 in the early afternoon, and despite state District Judge Bob Perkins' encouragement that they reach a verdict, the jury foreman later reported it was hopeless.
"It is our firm belief that this decision is final and will not change without a surrender of our conscientious convictions," the foreman wrote in a note read by Perkins in court.
Prosecutor Kathryn Scales said prosecutors would further evaluate the case before deciding whether to proceed to trial again.
One woman seated with the defendants' supporters cried.
Defense lawyer David Frank said the decision shows weaknesses in the state's case. Jurors told them the split was 7-5 in favor of acquittal.
Criminal defense
Sexual Assault Dismissed in Bastop County
Nov 01, 2000
OUTCOME: No Billed by Bastrop County Grand Jury
Client was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in April 1999 in Bastrop County. We hired a Polygraph Examiner who found that the defendant showed no deception in answering questions abou...t the charges. We brought in a forensic psychologist specializing in child sex cases. The psychologist produced a report which favored the client's innocence claim. We consulted with CPS workers and obtained records showing the propensity of the complaining witness to fabricate. We obtained additional information from the complainant's treating physicians which helped challenge the state's allegation of abuse. On-going protracted discussions with the Assistant District Attorney handling the case was essential. RESULT: THE CASE WAS NO BILLED BY GRAND JURY.
Criminal defense
Coffee-table art or off-the-shelf porn?
Apr 30, 1998
OUTCOME: Acquitted on 4 out of 5 counts.
FROM THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: The photographers' work has been found in coffee table books, shown in galleries and museums coast to coast and can be found in Austin' s largest bookstores, includ...ing Barnes & Noble and Book People.
This week, in a Travis County courtroom, photographs from Sally Mann' s Immediate Family'' and Jock Sturges' ``Radiant Identities,'' as well as a Canadian film and photos from a Time-Life book on photographing children, are being called child pornography.
The books, which contain black-and-white photos of nude children and adolescents, have been part of a sharp art vs. porn debate across the country, with anti-pornography protesters urging prosecutors to file charges against book stores that sell such work.
That debate is now playing out before an Austin jury hearing the case of a Manor man.
Police began investigating Richard Thomas Roise, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a boy in Tarrant County in 1991, because they suspected him of molesting a 10-year-old boy he had befriended. When the boy refused to talk to police, they seized books, films and photos from Roise's motel room and charged him with possession of child pornography.
Roise, 41, who if convicted faces 25 years to life in prison as a habitual criminal, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer argues that the seized material has artistic and educational value and is not pornography.
If Roise is convicted for possessing these books, will the bookstores that sell them face felony charges as well? And what about the Austin Public Library, which has Mann's book in its collection? Or other residents who own the books or rent the movie?
Thwarted investigation
Roise had been living at the Manor Inn for two months when the mother of the boy told police that her son had gone to buy sodas with Roise and had been away for hours.
In a dresser drawer, [police] also found an album with 29 photographs of naked children.
Roise's lawyer, David Frank, hired New York photography critic A.D. Coleman as an expert witness. Coleman, who wrote the introduction for Sturges' ``Radiant Identities,'' said that the 29 photos came from other widely available photography books, including the ``Photographing Children'' installment from a Time-Life book series.
State law defines child pornography as an image of a child under age 18 engaging in sexual conduct. Among the elements of sexual conduct are intercourse - real or simulated - masturbation and lewd exhibition of the genitals.
Although ``Leolo,'' a 1992 film by French Canadian director Jeane- Claude Lauzon, was shown in U.S. art theaters and doesn't contain nudity, prosecutors argue that two scenes depict masturbation. As for the nude photos in the books and the photo album, [prosecutors] said the poses are sexually suggestive and therefore lewd.
But the law doesn't define ``lewd,'' Frank said. ``That means that whoever is on this jury says that lewdness means whatever they think it means.''
Book chain under fire
Sturges and Mann have been controversial since their books were released in 1992.
Mann pointed her lens at her three children over a seven-year period. Sturges, who got his start in the 1970s photographing naked hippies at his brother's California commune, recruits nudists to pose for him. ``Radiant Identities'' is full of naked blond children.
Those who consider the photos offensive argue that just because the work is dubbed "art'' and sold in chain stores doesn't mean it's not pornographic.
A buyer for Book People, Ell Watts, testified this week for the defense in Rose's trial. Watts defended Mann and Sturges, saying no photography collection would be complete without their work.
``What's next?'' she asked outside the courtroom. ``If they can get off the shelves what they find offensive, can I get off the shelves what I find offensive?''
Criminal defense
Not Guilty - DWI
N/A
OUTCOME: Not Guilty in 15 minutes
This case involved a DWI prosecution where my client was stopped for speeding and failing to signal. The officer reported a strong odor of alcohol coming from my client's breath and that he had lost t...he normal use of his mental and physical faculties.
We demonstrated to the jury that the arresting officer failed to properly instruct and demonstrate the field sobriety tests and abused his power during the confrontation.
Despite the officer's poor instructions, my client presented well on his video. Once the officer was exposed for misrepresenting the facts, the jury stopped believing anything he had to say. My client was able to get a quick not guilty followed by a quick expunction of his criminal records.
