Appeals court hears arguments in Burke case

Texas’ highest criminal court will decide if the judge in the trial in which former Beaumont police officer David Todd Burke was convicted of official oppression erred by not allowing defense attorneys to strike for cause a potential juror who indicated he might not be able to be fair.

Federal appeals court sides with Beaumont in Newman case

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a district judge’s ruling that the city of Beaumont should not be a defendant in the civil rights lawsuit of Derrick Newman against two police officers.

‘Zero Tolerance’ policy questioned in Newman appeal arguments

Whether a so-called “zero tolerance policy” instituted by the Beaumont Police Department in designated high-crime areas of the city led to the beating and Tasing of Derrick Newman in August 2007 was the the primary focus of oral arguments in Newman’s civil lawsuit before a federal appeals court Tuesday.

WikiLeaks’ Assange: Journalist, Source, Activist or Peter Pan?

Is Julian Assange, the co-founder and public face of the whistleblower organization/website WikiLeaks, a source for news organizations, a journalist himself, or an activist/provacateur? According to one prominent journalist who worked with him, Assange himself is seldom very sure.

Burke and Guedry only defendants left in Newman civil suit

A federal judge has dismissed three of five Beaumont police officers named as defendants in a civil rights case stemming from the arrest of Derrick Newman during a late-night traffic stop on Aug. 24, 2007.

Of newspapers, storms and whistleblowers

What a difference a decade makes.

Appeals court upholds Burke conviction

A Texas appellate court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of former Beaumont police officer David Todd Burke for official oppression.

Guedry to get new trial, judge says

Former Beaumont police officer James Cody Guedry will get a retrial of his official oppression conviction, Jefferson County Criminal District Judge John B. Stevens Jr. said in a written ruling issued Friday, which began, “Sometimes we are faced with decisions between what is easy and what is right.”

Ruling on retrial motion in Guedry case expected Monday

Following a charged hearing Thursday, Jefferson County Criminal District Judge John B. Stevens Jr. is expected rule Monday on whether former Beaumont police officer James Cody Guedry is entitled to a retrial of his official oppression case.

Anthony Graves and his “angel” recount fight for freedom

Anthony Graves, the Texas man exonerated last fall after spending 18 years — 12 of them on Death Row — for a heinous crime he didn’t commit, held a Houston audience enthralled Friday as he described his remarkable journey toward freedom and his new mission to speak out for justice.