Alison Grinter Allen

Moved and voted for a recommendation that Dallas police photograph people and their belongings when transferring them to another agency. The police oversight board approved her recommendation.

February 11, 2025Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: cityofdallas.legistar.com

Challenged a city legal interpretation that restricted the Dallas police oversight board's independent investigations. She questioned the secrecy of the opinion and asked whether police internal affairs investigated every misconduct complaint.

March 13, 2024Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: keranews.org

Criticized delays in Dallas County's required pre-probation risk assessments, reporting that they added about six weeks to cases. She also described high caseloads faced by court-appointed defense lawyers during the pandemic backlog.

May 18, 2022Supports Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties

Source: texasstandard.org

Defended civil-rights advocates’ service on Dallas’s police oversight board after a police-association threat to withhold cooperation. She argued that policing and civil rights shared a duty to protect people and treat them equally.

November 21, 2023Supports Civil Rights

Source: dallasobserver.com

Represented Crystal Mason in her illegal-voting defense alongside the American Civil Liberties Union and Texas Civil Rights Project. On September 24, 2026, Texas's highest criminal court dismissed the state's review petition, leaving her acquittal in place.

September 24, 2026

Source: aclu.org

Represented Afsheen Khan on criminal-mischief charges with a possible higher penalty for an alleged hate crime after graffiti at a church. She criticized that prosecution and its handling as a political choice.

October 2, 2025

Source: mondoweiss.net

Voted to send a letter seeking clarification of Dallas police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The police oversight board approved the letter. She supported public scrutiny of the police chief's approach.

June 6, 2025

Source: cityofdallas.legistar.com

Moved and voted for a Dallas police oversight board request for police officers' residency and demographic data, including breakdowns by rank and assignment. The board approved her motion.

January 14, 2025

Source: cityofdallas.legistar.com

Moved to require follow-up reports on two critical police incidents and seconded a recommendation to investigate each person's complaint separately. The Dallas police oversight board approved both motions.

August 13, 2024

Source: s3.amazonaws.com

Defended three organizers prosecuted after a march against a Confederate monument in Gainesville. The appeals court upheld their seven-day jail sentences and $2,000 fines. It rejected a claim that her trial defense was inadequate because the record did not establish deficient performance.

November 15, 2023

Source: bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com

Defended Neil Noble against a stalking charge and argued that delays violated his right to a speedy trial. He later handled his own appeal. The appeals court upheld his conviction and rejected his claims of an inadequate trial defense on the undeveloped record.

December 1, 2022

Source: supremecourt.gov

Represented Dallas County jail detainees who sought to sue together over COVID-19 conditions. The court dismissed their release claims in 2020. She withdrew with court permission in October 2021; the public docket recorded the case closed in September 2022.

September 14, 2022

Source: clearinghouse.net

Sought clemency for Reality Winner in an unsuccessful bid to reduce her sentence, then announced her transfer from prison to home confinement in 2021. Winner remained in federal custody while serving a 63-month sentence for leaking classified information.

June 14, 2021

Source: whsv.com

Represented Randy Dale Adams in a challenge to police use of a motel's guest registry. The trial judge excluded evidence, but the appeals court reversed. Texas's highest criminal court refused her petition for further review.

January 10, 2018

Source: search.txcourts.gov