Feb. 25 - TCOLE - 6 hours #3150 General Law
Feb. 26 - TCOLE - 4 hours #3189 Legislative Update
Speaker: Tom Krampitz, BPU General Counsel
Speaker: Lindsey Roberts, (Retired), First Assistant District Attorney, Williamson County
This training presentation will focus on relevant caselaw as it relates to cell phone seizures and searches. There will be a focus on the requirements of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 18.0125 and the requirements for a search warrant and search warrant affidavit. The language in affidavits as set forth in Baldwin v. State will be emphasized during this portion of the lecture. The issues of “consent” and the “scope of consent” will also be discussed. The 4th amendment and recent Texas caselaw developed in Stocker v. State and Fraser v. State will be applied to different scenarios and the legal “nexus” between a cellphone and an offense or offenses under investigation will be discussed in detail. The U.S. Supreme court cases of US v. Morton, US v. Smith, US v. Uu, US v. Civil and US v. Harborth will also be discussed. Exceptions to the exclusionary rule will also be discussed as cited in Wehrenberg v. State, Lopez v. State, US v. Powell, and Wiltz v. State. Seizure during custodial circumstances as outlined in State v. Granville, will be distinguished. The impact of the holding in Riley v. California on an officer’s ability to search cell phones will be discussed. The actions of an officer with respect to seizing a cell phone which are permissible and distinguishable after Riley v. California will also be presented.
Speaker: Feliciano Acevedo, Forensic Expert/Consultant, Forensicrocks, Round Rock, TX
This training will be presented by a forensic examiner with twenty-two years of experience in forensics who retired as a forensic examiner detective after thirty-three years in law enforcement. The presentation will begin with a definition and explanation of the meaning of digital forensics. Prosecutors will learn how a cell phone or other digital device can be used not only as an “instrument” of a crime, but all of the information the device can contain which can be “fruits of the crime” or evidence that can be used to “prove” elements of a crime or criminal episode. Prosecutors will learn how this digital evidence can be preserved and acquired. They will learn proper methods of handling this evidence and how evidence can be isolated from networks for preservation. Prosecutors will learn the basics of how to identify the digital evidence and use those identification methods for admitting the evidence in court hearings or trials. This presentation will further cover the topic of “digital tracking” and how this evidence can be used in investigations and trial. The trainer will discuss how a PowerPoint (presented to a jury) using digital tracking evidence was recently used in a Human Trafficking Resulting in Death (to the victim) case, which followed the victim’s path from origination in Haiti to her death in Texas. This training will also inform prosecutors on the questions that should be asked of any forensic examiner to obtain the best expert and discover the best evidence that may be contained in a digital device.
Speaker: Feliciano Acevedo, Forensic Expert/Consultant, Forensicrocks, Round Rock, TX
Speaker: Feliciano Acevedo, Forensic Expert/Consultant, Forensicrocks, Round Rock, TX
Speakers: Hope Hohertz, Texas Department of Public Safety; and Mike Johnson, Texas Department of Public Safety
This team of certified peace officers who comprise a portion of the State of Texas’ Crash Reconstruction team will present information on the evidence prosecutors should know is available in vehicle crimes which result in serious bodily injury or death cases. Prosecutors will be presented with an array of the types of vehicle evidence that are present in serious vehicle crashes. They will learn the types of vehicle evidence to observe, the type of vehicle evidence to ask local law enforcement to secure and preserve until it can be reviewed by experts, and how to introduce this type of evidence during an investigation, grand jury presentation or trial. Prosecutors will learn the type of human evidence that crash investigators are trained to look for and the evidentiary hypothesis and conclusions that can be reached through expert observation and expert investigation. Environmental evidence and cause and effect of this type of evidence in a vehicle crash will also be discussed. Prosecutors will learn the best methods to preserve and present these different types of evidence for trial. Prosecutors will also learn about the type of case for involvement from, and the protocol for assistance from this specialized team to assist their local law enforcement in investigation and trial.
Speakers: Hope Hohertz, Texas Department of Public Safety; and Mike Johnson, Texas Department of Public Safety
Speaker: Melissa Hightower, (Retired) Chief County Attorney Investigator, Williamson County
This four-hour training presentation will cover the new legislative enactments from the 89th Texas Leg. Session and the Special Session with emphasis on changes to the Texas Penal Code, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Texas Occupations Code, Texas Health and Safety Code, and Texas Education Code. Additionally, the course will cover changes that were implemented by new caselaw from the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Special emphasis will be given to bills that were adopted, deleted or changed existing laws effecting law enforcement, District Attorneys and/or their offices, and the Judiciary.
Speaker: Melissa Hightower, (Retired) Chief County Attorney Investigator, Williamson County
Speaker: Melissa Hightower, (Retired) Chief County Attorney Investigator, Williamson County