The article titled “But Your Honor, He’s an Illegal! Can the Undocumented Worker’s Alien Status Be Introduced at Trial?” co-authored by Houston personal injury attorney [email protected], Jr. of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner has recently been published in the Spring 2011 issue of the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy.
Co-authored with Texas Southern University Law Professor Lupe Salinas and Texas attorney Eloisa Morales Arteaga, the article discusses how state courts have been hesitant to admit evidence of a witness’s undocumented status. The article explains that courts across the nation are recognizing “the prejudice that is engendered within the terms ‘illegal alien,’ ‘illegal immigrant’ and ‘undocumented worker,’ and have tried to strike a balance between this prejudice and its possible relevance.”
Texas is one state that has specifically taken a position on witness’s statuses, according to the article, establishing that “any relevance that the alien status of an injured worker may have in a particular case is likely outweighed by its prejudicial effect.”
The article has previously appeared in several publications, including the August 2010 edition of the Houston Lawyer, the March/April 2011 edition of Litigation Commentary & Review, the April 2011 edition of the Texas Bar Journal and the April 2011 edition of the American Association for Justice’s Trial magazine.
A partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, [email protected] has been named a Super Lawyer seven times since 2004. He is president of the Hispanic National Bar Association and a past president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas. Mr. Agosto has founded several scholarship foundations that benefit Hispanic law students. He is also a frequent presented of issues relating to civil litigation and has appeared across the country to deliver presentations ranging from advocacy tips to the evidentiary relevance of the illegal status of injured workers.
Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner has helped thousands of clients and families of those who have been catastrophically injured in cases involving motor vehicle and trucking accidents, workplace injuries, defective products, medical malpractice, aviation crashes and other personal injury accidents.
To contact [email protected], Jr. or any of the personal injury attorneys at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, visit the firm’s website at www.abrahamwatkins.com or call (713) 222-7211.