Kratom is an herbal supplement derived from a tropical tree called the Mitragyna speciosa. This tree, which is member of the coffee family, is native to Southeast Asia, where people have used its leaves as both a sedative and a stimulant for centuries. Today, people worldwide tout the benefits of kratom for treatment of opioid…

Thousands of people across the United States are in prison due to wrongful convictions. Many of these wrongful conviction cases are due to false confessions. It can be difficult to understand why someone would confess to a crime they did not commit, especially crimes like murder or sexual assault. However, there are a variety of…

Texas State Representative Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, has co-authored the “Second Look” Bill, legislation that would require the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to give certain youth offenders a second look at parole at 20 years, instead of 30 or 40 years. It also requires the Board to look at the personal growth and maturity…

New Mexico is poised to legalize recreational marijuana, with two bills approved and headed to the governor’s desk for signing. The bills, which Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has praised, will legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older, and expunge arrest and conviction charges for certain offenses. Retail sales are set to begin no later…

Interactions with law enforcement can be stressful; especially if you are being arrested for a crime you may not have even committed. Not every police officer treats suspects gently, and it is natural to want to argue with or even resist the arresting officer in an overwhelming situation. However, resisting arrest here in Texas can…

Will Texas be one of the next states to legalize marijuana? Although it has long felt unlikely here in the Lone Star State, a variety of bills introduced into this year’s legislative calendar might make legalization a reality. With more than a dozen marijuana-related bills pre-filed at the end of 2020, Texas could be poised…

Being pursued by a police officer – for whatever reason – is enough to activate many people’s fight-or-flight response. When forced to make an instinctual choice between the two, it might feel like “flight” is the proper option, especially when resisting arrest is another charge in itself. However, fleeing from arresting officers comes with its…

Many people believe that strangulation, or choking, is a form of assault. And this is true – however, what many people are unaware of is that strangulation is a felony crime. Before 2009, choking or strangling was considered a misdemeanor assault, but legislature passed that year upped intimate partner strangulation and suffocation to a third-degree…

The online world gives people the opportunity to create entirely new personas and personalities. When someone can hide behind their laptop, creating a world that requires no proof that someone is who they say they are, they can create an environment rife for what’s called “catfishing.” Catfishing is using a false persona or identify to…

Violating your probation can cause you some big problems with the Texas criminal justice system. Being put on probation in the first place means that the court trusted you enough to sentence you to probation instead of jail, so any violation of those conditions won’t be taken lightly. If you’re facing criminal charges or have…