A criminal conviction has been remanded to my district court, and the punishment phase will commence today, beginning with a voir dire. For those that have picked a jury for the punishment phase alone before, what do you typically focus on?

Thx

What kind of case is it? What are the basic facts? And what do you know about the defendant?

Criminal mischief, class b misd, no real history

D threw tacks onto a road in order to pop officer's tires.

Did it work? Enough to halt a pursuit I mean?

There have been several cases here on the border where suspects throw a pyramid shape made from welded nails out during a chase. They are designed so that a point lands facing up whichever way they hit the ground. So far there have been several situations where law enforcement or civilain vehicle tires were punctured, but, thank God, none yet that resulted in a serious accident. News reports also have indicated that area State Rep. Aaron Pena, Jr. is going to propose legislation to deal with these devices.

please give us a day or so in advance and we might can respond with something helpful to you

It was last minute. Appreciate the responses.

There wasn't any pursuit, just an investigation of an incident at a private residence. But it certainly destroyed nearly 2000 dollars worth of tires.

quote:

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Originally posted by Ted Hake:
News reports also have indicated that area State Rep. Aaron Pena, Jr. is going to propose legislation to deal with these devices.

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See HB 47 by Pena

It probably needs a defense for rental car places, etc., that use reverse tire strips to prevent theft. If anyone sees any other unintended consequences, pass them along to me.

Just last night a local news channel showed police car dash camera footage of a suspect throwing caltrops out during a chase and reported that two law enforcement vehicles had suffered tire damage; that the vehicle being pursued had ended up flipping over; and that both suspects had, however, gotten away. To my knowledge, law enforcemtn has not yet been able to determine who is making the devices.

Um, you can buy them on the internet... They used to be available at a store in Dallas called Spy Supply.