The Heiskells visit at the Goldstein & Orr table during the NACDL FCJ gala. Fun was had by all!
https://norml.org/blog/2020/06/05/a-founder-looks-at-50-attorney-gerry-goldstein-and-the-early-years/
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A Founder Looks at 50: Attorney Gerry Goldstein and the Early Years of NORML
My niece passed the bar!!! Congratulations, counsel!!!
Dr. Albert Diaz is now home where he belongs. He was released from FPC Montgomery today.
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Criminal charges always should be taken seriously, whether they are misdemeanor charges or felony charges. Misdemeanors are crimes that are considered less serious, and felonies are some of the harshest offenses. Within those broad categories, Texas law provides for several distinctions to determine the severity of the charge and the correlating consequences.
If you are facing charges for a felony or misdemeanor offense, contact a criminal defense lawyer at Goldstein & Orr. Call us at (210) 226-1463 to discuss your case during a free initial consultation. #criminaldefenseattorney #texascriminaldefenseattorney
Visit the link to learn more information about misdemeanor charges in Texas: https://www.goldsteinhilley.com/misdemeanors/
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Defense Attorneys for Misdemeanor Charges in San Antonio, TX
Marijuana is one of the most commonly abused substances in the United States. It is a product of the cannabis plant and is currently used as a recreational drug and a medical aid. The Texas Controlled Substances Act defines the criminal offenses and penalties associated with marijuana use in the state. Visit the link to read more: https://www.goldsteinhilley.com/marijuana-defense/
If you were arrested for marijuana possession or any other drug-related offense, it is in your best interest to obtain skilled and aggressive representation from an experienced criminal defense attorney. The attorneys at Goldstein & Orr represent clients charged with possession, possession with intent to sell, delivery and trafficking cannabis. #cannabislaw #cannabisattorney #marijuanalaw #criminaldefenseattorney #marijuanaintexas
Many of these cases involve unreasonable and illegal searches and seizures that should be thoroughly contested in court. Call us at (210) 226-1463 for a free confidential consultation.
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Investigations Regarding Violence at the Capitol
An ex-gang member from San Antonio, TX was sentenced to death in 2002 for the alleged offense of the kidnapping and murder of a hispanic male. Within that same year, the Supreme Court held in Atkins v. Virginia that it would be a “cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment” to sentence people with “mental retardation” (intellectual disability) to death. In 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the case to trial court. The Court of Criminal Appeals accepted the recommendation of the trial court and accepted it in a ruling, indicated that Mr. Gutierrez, an intellectually disabled man from San Antonio, would have his sentenced reduced for the alleged offense of a 1999 shotgun murder. Visit the link to read more: https://www.goldsteinhilley.com/news/exgangmember-sentencedoverturned/
Cynthia Orr and Gerry Goldstein are honored to represent Geronimo Gutierrez and to have played a part in saving the life of a person who is ineligible for the death penalty. If you believe your rights are being violated or you are being accused of committing an offense retain an experienced criminal defense attorney.
At Goldstein & Orr, our experienced attorneys can discuss with you the charges pending against you, the potential penalties that can be imposed, and the best ways to fight the charges during a free, confidential consultation.
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San Antonio ex-gang member death sentenced overturned
Gerry Goldstein and Cynthia Orr represented Geronimo Gutierrez with TDS and David Weiss
Former San Antonio gang member’s death sentence overturned due to intellectual disability
Photo of Bruce Selcraig
Bruce Selcraig
Dec. 4, 2020 Updated: Dec. 4, 2020 7:33 p.m.
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Geronimo Gutierrez, 24, at his capital murder trial in 2002.
Geronimo Gutierrez, 24, at his capital murder trial in 2002.
Photo: JERRY LARA /SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has commuted the death sentence of an intellectually disabled San Antonio gang member to life in prison for a 1999 shotgun murder.
Geronimo Rene Gutierrez, who is now 43, was sentenced in April 2002 for the abduction and slaying of Rick Marin of San Antonio. Gutierrez, then 21, killed Marin so he could steal his Ford Mustang for its engine, court documents said.
Shortly after the trial, the U.S. Supreme Court held that intellectually disabled persons are exempt from the death penalty. Gutierrez’s appeals raised the issue of his own disability because he was found to have an IQ of 72, according to a press release issued by the Bexar County District Attorney’s office.
That measurement was within the range of intellectual disability defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
A separate Supreme Court ruling in 2017 found unconstitutional the framework for deciding intellectual disability claims that were applied to Gutierrez’s initial appeals because they were not based on the views of medical experts.
Experts for the state and the defense have since agreed Gutierrez was intellectually disabled. In 2019, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded this case to the trial court, which made a new recommendation. The appeals court accepted it in a ruling last week.
“The appeals of death penalty cases are lengthy and costly for taxpayers,” said District Attorney Joe Gonzales, according to the press release. “While the standards for executions of persons with intellectual disabilities have changed since this offense was committed, they still apply to people on death row.
“This court ruling means this Defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison and Mr. Marin’s family will not have to worry about this case coming back for trial. I hope this ruling brings them some peace.”
A deputy working in the Bexar County jail testified during the punishment phase of Gutierrez’s trial that the accused told him as part of the prisoner classification process that he was a member of the “Big Time Kings,” which a gang expert later testified was “the largest street gang in San Antonio.”
At least eight former death row prisoners in Texas have since been resentenced to life in prison after their cases were reconsidered under the guidelines of a case known as Moore vs. Texas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
More than a dozen prisoners, however, saw challenges to their death sentences rejected under what was later ruled an unconstitutional definition of intellectual disability and were executed.
Bruce Selcraig is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Bruce, become a subscriber. BSelcraig@express-news.net
