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Appeals &
Habeas Corpus Proceedings
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A direct appeal in Texas is to a court
of appeals and then to the Court of Criminal Appeals. An appeal in
federal court is to the Fifth Circuit and then to the United States
Supreme Court. A state habeas corpus application is heard by the
convicting court, but the decision is made by the Court of Criminal
Appeals; if relief is denied, the petitioner can proceed to federal
court if his time limit has not expired. A federal habeas petition is
decided by the district court, with appeals possible to the Fifth
Circuit and the Supreme Court. Randy has obtained relief for numerous
clients in state and federal post-conviction cases.
Innocence
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Randy was the first lawyer in Texas to use DNA
evidence to obtain the exoneration and release from prison of an
innocent man. As a result of his work in this area, the Texas
Legislature enacted legislation to require DNA testing in closed cases
under certain circumstances and to increase the maximum compensation to
wrongfully convicted prisoners from $25,000 to $500,000. He secured the
release of the following innocent men on the basis of DNA testing:
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Kevin Byrd was pardoned after serving over 12
years of a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault.
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A.B. Butler was pardoned after serving over 17
years of 99-year sentences for aggravated sexual assault and
aggravated kidnapping.
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Anthony Robinson was pardoned after serving over
ten years of a 27-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault; he
received compensation from the State of almost $250,000
Ineffective Assistance of
Counsel
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Randy has obtained relief for clients who were
not competently represented by trial counsel, including:
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Charles Murphy, sentenced to 40 years for several aggravated
robberies, was represented by counsel who gave him incorrect advice
regarding the consequences of pleading guilty.
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Baron Boyington, sentenced to 50 years for arson, was represented by counsel
who failed to object to inadmissible evidence and improper argument.
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Cesar
Riascos, sentenced to life for murder, was represented by counsel who
failed to object to inadmissible evidence and improper argument.
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Charles Winn, sentenced to 50 years for murder, was represented by
counsel who failed to investigate whether the deceased committed
suicide.
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Evaristo Valencia, sentenced to 75 years for aggravated possession of
cocaine, was represented by counsel who failed to object to the
prosecutor’s improper argument regarding the law of parole.
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Terry
Thompson, sentenced to life for murder, was represented by counsel who
failed to object to inadmissible evidence and improper argument.
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Edwin
Drinkert, sentenced to 15 years for murder, was represented by counsel
who failed to object to erroneous jury instructions and improper
argument.
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Antoine Abdel-Sater, sentenced to 80 years for aggravated possession
of cocaine, was represented by counsel who failed to object to
inadmissible evidence and improper argument.
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Claudis Pryor, sentenced to 20 years for aggravated assault, was
represented by counsel who failed to present the correct theory of
defense.
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Jesse
Talamantez, sentenced to 99 years for murder, was represented by
counsel who failed to impeach prosecution witnesses with their prior
inconsistent statements.
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Noe
Beltran, sentenced to death for capital murder, was represented by
counsel who failed to impeach prosecution witnesses with their prior
identifications of another man as the killer.
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Ernest
Lombard, sentenced to 65 years for aggravated robbery, was represented
by counsel who failed to raise viable issues on appeal.
Prosecutorial Misconduct
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Randy has obtained relief for clients who were
convicted after the prosecution suppressed favorable evidence or
knowingly used perjured testimony, including:
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Randall Dale Adams was sentenced to death for capital murder. The
State failed to disclose to the defense prior inconsistent statements
of prosecution witnesses and presented perjured testimony that a key
witness identified
Adams in a lineup, when in fact she had identified
someone else.
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Rodney Muldrew was sentenced to life for murder. The State elicited
perjured testimony that its key witness had not received compensation
for his testimony.
Fourth Amendment Violations
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Randy has obtained relief for clients who were
convicted after the police violated their right to be free from an
unlawful arrest or search, including:
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Richard Berg was convicted of possession of cocaine after he was
unlawfully detained and searched in an airport gift shop.
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Elvis Black was sentenced to 25 years for murder after the court
improperly admitted his confession, which was obtained as a result of
an unlawful warrantless arrest.
Other Constitutional
Violations
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Randy has obtained relief for clients who were
convicted as a result of various constitutional errors, including:
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James “Sugarman” Russell was sentenced to 50 years for aggravated
robbery after the court improperly admitted the deceased complainant’s
testimony from an examining trial.
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Carl Davis was convicted of obscenity based on an unconstitutional
statute that presumed a person’s knowledge that the content of certain
material was obscene.
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Jack Franklin was sentenced to 75 years for theft, but the evidence
was legally insufficient to prove an essential element of the offense.
Miscellaneous Errors
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Randy has obtained relief for clients
who were convicted as a result of various pretrial or trial errors,
including:
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Stevon McCarter was sentenced to 15 years for delivery of cocaine
after his lawyer was not given sufficient time to question the jury
panel.
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Stevon McCarter was sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy and
possession of cocaine after the court improperly refused to sever a
felon-in-possession count (that enabled the jury to learn that he was
an ex-convict) from drug counts.
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Carl Govan was sentenced to eight years for aggravated robbery after
the prosecutor improperly elicited police testimony that a series of
bank robberies in the area had ended after he was arrested.
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Frank McKoy was sentenced to one year for interstate transportation of
stolen property after the court improperly admitted opinion testimony
regarding the strength of the government’s case.
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James Perryman was sentenced to 99 years for aggravated sexual assault
after the court improperly admitted police opinion testimony that he
was a “power reassurance rapist.”
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Sue Miller was sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping after the court
failed to instruct the jury on the defense of mistake of fact.
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Leon Sanders was sentenced to 50 years for murder after the court
allowed the prosecutor to argue that a verdict of not guilty by reason
of insanity would result in him being “cut loose” on the streets.
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