Recent Posts in Firm News

• Posted By Shane Phelps 16-May-2015

  A Memorial Day Call to Action: Our Local Criminal Justice System is Failing our Combat Veterans

  But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 19-Apr-2015

  The Completely True Story Behind Atticus Finch Day

  “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. — Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird Every year for the past seven years in Brazos County, attorneys gather, clad in seersucker apparel, to pause ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 5-Apr-2015

  Of Beaumont, Justice, and Waffles (Part the Second)

  Some time ago, in a legal jurisdiction far, far away – okay, Beaumont – I was appointed Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney Pro Tem to present to a grand jury cases against two Beaumont police officers for allegedly tampering with ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 5-Jan-2015

  Gas Chromatography, DWI, and Me

  I was an English Literature major at Rice University. I have always believed, and have always counseled young people determined to go to law school, that an undergraduate degree in English is the best preparation for law school. At Rice, I learned ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 24-Oct-2014

  Rest in Peace, Your Honor

  THE HONORABLE KENNETH KEELING Almost four years ago, as I was closing out one chapter of my life (as a career prosecutor) and beginning a new one (as a criminal defense attorney), I had the good fortune to meet Judge Kenneth Keeling of Walker County. ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 14-Jul-2014

  Getting Life: The Most Important Book You Will Read This Year

  I’ve just finished reading one of the most moving and important books I’ve ever read. Now, respectfully, you need to read it. The book is Getting Life: An Innocent Man’s 25-Year Journey From Prison to Peace. It is the story of ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 28-Jun-2014

  When It's Personal, Suddenly the Fourth Amendment is a Big Deal

  The United States Supreme Court handed down its decision in two very important Fourth Amendment cases involving privacy and smart phones this past week. The two cases, Riley v. California and United States v. Wurie (decided together), addressed the ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 27-May-2014

  Like It or Not, A Not Guilty Verdict is Justice

  Last week I won a not guilty verdict in a.21/.22 breath test DWI case. It was a satisfying victory because high test result DWI’s are not easy to win. The blood alcohol level at which persons are presumed to be intoxicated in Texas is.08. My ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 19-Feb-2014

  New Office Tour Video

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 5-Dec-2013

  Tonight on CNN: "An Unreal Dream"

  In 1987, I sat in a Williamson County courtroom and watched and listened as an innocent man was convicted for brutally murdering his wife. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. I was a law student at the University of Texas School of Law and worked ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 17-Nov-2013

  Defendants: Human Beings or Just Another File?

  In the years I worked as First Assistant District Attorney in Brazos County, I had many discussions about the philosophy of prosecution with my boss, the elected district attorney. We agreed about most things, but sometimes differed on fundamental ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 4-Jul-2013

  Have you read the Declaration of Independence?

  Two hundred and thirty seven years ago a group of patriots, fed up with government over-reaching and abuses, signed their names to one of the most significant documents in the history of mankind, the Declaration of Independence. Two hundred and ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 24-Jun-2013

  Of Beaumont, Justice, and Waffles

  My criminal defense practice has grown considerably in the past two years. So much so, in fact, that I find myself traveling all over Central and East Texas handling cases. In the past few months, I have been to Houston, Austin, Georgetown, ...

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• Posted By Shane Phelps 17-May-2013

  Finally, "Open File" is the Law in Texas

  More than 25 years ago, as a young law student working for a small criminal defense firm in Austin, I sat in a Williamson County courtroom and watched then-District Attorney Ken Anderson convict an innocent man of heinously murdering his wife. ...

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