Written by the lawyers who handle the cases.

The Writ of Habeas Corpus

There is a one-year filing deadline, and missing it ends the case regardless of what the claim was worth. How post-conviction relief is structured, which vehicle applies, and why evidentiary hearings are rare.

Extradition

An extradition hearing is not a trial. What the court actually decides, on what standard, and where the contestable ground lies — dual criminality, treaty coverage, specialty, and the executive decision that follows certification.

Charged With a Crime in Another Country

Which government has physical custody, which one wants it, and whether the two have a treaty. Also why United States law can reach conduct committed entirely overseas.

What a RICO Charge Requires

Predicate acts, enterprise and pattern — and the difference between criminal RICO penalties and civil RICO treble damages, which is the point most often stated wrongly.

How Texas Classifies Criminal Charges

The eight punishment categories, including the state jail and capital felonies that published lists routinely omit, and how enhancement paragraphs move a case out of its category.

You Won. Why Don’t You Have Your Money?

A Texas judgment is a piece of paper. What the homestead and wage exemptions protect, what post-judgment discovery actually reaches, and the one step to take on day one.

They Moved the Money. Can You Still Get It?

You may not have to prove anyone meant to cheat you. A transfer for less than fair value while the debtor was insolvent can be undone — but one category carries a one-year deadline that runs from the transfer.

Your Business Partner Will Not Show You the Books

You do not have to sue to see the company’s records. What the written demand has to say, what the company must hand over, and what the refusal itself tells you.

After the Verdict: The 30 Days That Decide the Appeal

A verdict is not a judgment. The deadlines that run from the signature, which motions extend them, and which complaints are waived if they are not raised first.

The Judge Got It Wrong Mid-Case. Can You Appeal Now?

Mandamus is not a faster appeal. The two things you have to show, where it actually works, and the twenty-day deadline on the orders you can appeal immediately.

Rare Earth: Original Mandamus Jurisdiction in the Texas Supreme Court

On the narrow circumstances in which the Supreme Court of Texas will exercise original jurisdiction, and what a petitioner has to establish to get there.

Shawn A. Johnson. State Bar of Texas, Texas Supreme Court History & Current Practice (2021).

Post-Judgment Discovery and TUFTA: How to Get Paid

Collection is the part of a commercial case nobody plans for. On post-judgment discovery, turnover, receiverships, and fraudulent-transfer claims under the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act.

Shawn A. Johnson, author and presenter. State Bar of Texas, Advanced Evidence and Discovery Course (2020).

Harmless Error Rule Revisited: What the Trial Lawyer Needs to Know to Create Reversible Error

On preserving error in a criminal trial in a form an appellate court can act on.

Steven J. Lieberman (December 2002).

Initiating the Attorney-Client Relationship

Steven J. Lieberman. University of Houston, Advanced Criminal Law Course (2008).

“Make Whole”: The Need for Gross-Ups in Employment Discrimination Cases

On the tax consequences of lump-sum back-pay awards, and why a judgment that ignores them does not make a plaintiff whole.

Shawn A. Johnson, 17 Hous. Bus. & Tax L.J. 31 (2016).

A Law and Economics Approach to Privacy Policy Misstatements

On the case for a cost-benefit analysis within the Federal Trade Commission’s deception framework.

Shawn A. Johnson, 18 Colum. Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 79 (2016).

Brookshire Brothers v. Aldridge: Making the Spoliation Instruction a Litigation Unicorn

On what remains of the spoliation instruction in Texas after Brookshire Brothers, and what a party must now show to obtain one.

Shawn A. Johnson, Note, 3 Tex. A&M L. Rev. 445 (2015).