felony charges

Some West Campus residents said they are taking extra precautions when walking home at night after felony charges were filed Monday against a man in the case of an attempted sexual assault perpetrated against a UT student between 2 and 3 a.m. on Nov. 1 as she left her sorority house, according to an arrest affidavit.

Joseph Edward Barkley, 23, remained in Travis County Jail on Tuesday for both the attempted sexual assault and felony charges in the case of an aggravated robbery that occurred on Nov. 8 and left Barkley with stab wounds, the affidavit said.

Could the headline to this post lead to third-degree felony charges? Should they? (via Grits for Breakfast)

The Governor’s reason for vetoing the expunction bill:

House Bill No. 3481 would authorize the expunction of criminal records, including law enforcement case files, 180 days after an arrest if no formal misdemeanor or felony charges have been filed.

Current statutory provisions require that the statute of limitations for the particular offense, usually at least two years, expire before criminal records may be destroyed, including in cases involving misdemeanor offenses.

The jury instructions in U.S. v. Lori Drew read, in part:

In order for the defendant to be found guilty of the lesser crime of accessing a protected computer without authorization or in excess of authorization, the Government must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt.

First, the Defendant intentionally accessed a computer without authorization or in excess of authorization.