FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FELONY CASES IN TEXAS.

So you were recently arrested and charged with a felony offense. You are probably wondering “How serious is my case? What can I expect? Will I get probation? Will I have to go to prison? Will I have a permanent criminal record? How can I prevent having a conviction? What is Deferred Adjudication? What if I want a jury trial?” These are all important questions for you to be asking about your case. What follows are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about felony offenses in Dallas and Tarrant County, Texas. This informational packet should give you a good idea of what to expect from the court system, and should put to rest some of your doubts and uncertainties about your case.

HOW SERIOUS IS MY FELONY CASE?

Felonies are divided into different classes including state jail felonies, 3rd degree felonies, 2nd degree felonies, first degree felonies and capital felonies.

State jail felonies have a range of punishment of a minimum of 6 months, up to a maximum of two years in state jail, and up to a $10,000 fine. Some common state jail felonies are possession of under 1 gram of a penalty group 1 controlled substance (cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin), possession of 2 ounces to 5 pounds of marijuana, theft 1500-20,000, theft under 1500 with two prior convictions, credit card abuse, some forgery cases, burglary of a building and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (auto theft).

Third degree felonies have a range of punishment of a minimum of 2 up to a maximum of 10 years in the penitentiary, and up to a $10,000 fine. Some common third degree felonies are driving while intoxicated with two prior DWI convictions, assault against a family member with one prior family violence conviction, possession of 1 to 4 grams of a penalty group 1 controlled substance, and some cases of forgery, fraud or tampering with government documents.

Second degree felonies have a range of punishment of a minimum of 2 up to a maximum of 20 years in the penitentiary, and up to a $10,000 fine. Some common second degree felonies include burglary of a habitation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, assault against a peace office, robbery, manslaughter, possession of 4 to 200 grams of a controlled substance, and possession with intent to deliver 1 to 4 grams of a controlled substance.

First degree felonies have a range of punishment of a minimum of 5 up to a maximum of 99 years or life in the penitentiary, and up to a $10,000 fine. Some common first degree felonies include murder, aggravated sexual assault with a child, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer, and possession of 4 to 200 grams of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Capital felonies have a range of punishment of either life in prison or death. Capital felonies include murder of a peace officer; murder committed during an aggravated robbery, aggravate sexual assault, or prison escape; murder for hire; serial murder or murder of a child under 6 years of age.

WHAT IS AN "INDICTMENT”?

If a defendant is charged with a felony, the state must first seek an “indictment” before the defendant is required to enter a plea or stand trial. In order to obtain an indictment, an assistant district attorney must appear before a “grand jury” and present the facts of the case to the grand jury. The grand jury is a panel of 12 citizens who serve for six weeks at a time. After the grand jury hears the facts of the case, they decide whether or not “probable cause” exists to believe the defendant committed the crime described in the information. If the grand jury believes that the state has presented them with enough evidence to constitute probable cause, then the foreman of the grand jury signs the bottom of the indictment. At this point, the case is said to be “true billed”, and the defendant is “indicted”. The case can then proceed to a district court, and the defendant can be required to appear in court and request a trial or enter a plea.

If the grand jury does not believe that sufficient evidence exists to constitute probable cause, then the grand jury rejects the case, and the case is said to be “no-billed”. If a case is no-billed, it is dismissed from the court’s docket, and the defendant is not required to take any further action, although the state may re-file the case within the period of the statute of limitations if additional evidence is obtained.

WHAT GOES ON IN THE GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS?

Rules of evidence do not apply in the grand jury proceeding. The assistant district attorney is permitted to present evidence in the form of “hearsay.” Usually, the assistant district attorney simply reads the police report to the grand jury. Occasionally, witnesses do testify. However, the defense attorney is not permitted to be present during the witness’s testimony or cross examine the witness. If the state agrees, the defense lawyer can send witnesses or even his own client into the grand jury room to testify and tell his side of the story to the grand jury. However, any participation by defense counsel in the grand jury proceedings is only by agreement with the state. The Defendant has no right per se to present evidence or have any role whatsoever in the grand jury proceeding.

SHOULD MY ATTORNEY BE INVOLVED IN THE GRAND JURY PROCEEDING?

If you hire your attorney before you are indicted, your attorney may be able to work out a more favorable deal for you if he gets involved with your case at the grand jury stage. If you are guilty of the offense you are accused of, a prosecutor may offer you a better deal if you waive indictment and save the prosecutor the trouble of presenting your case to the grand jury. If you are not guilty of the offense you are accused of, your attorney should speak with the prosecutor prior to indictment. If your attorney shows the grand jury prosecutor evidence casting doubt on your guilt, the grand jury prosecutor may pass that evidence along to the grand jury members. If the grand jury prosecutor believes that you are not guilty of the offense, he may even ask the grand jury to return a “no bill”, or indict you on a lesser-included felony or misdemeanor. Although in most cases the defense lawyer does not begin his work until after the grand jury has returned an indictment, in many cases it is to the client’s benefit for his attorney to work with the grand jury prosecutor prior to indictment.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY CASE IS INDICTED? HOW SOON WILL I HAVE TO GO TO COURT?

Once your case is indicted, you will be required to appear in court, usually within 30 days. At the first court appearance, your lawyer will speak with the prosecutor, and the prosecutor will make a “plea bargain offer”. In other words, the prosecutor will offer to enter into an agreement to recommend a certain sentence to the court, in exchange for your guilty plea. This is referred to as an “agreed recommendation for punishment”.

WILL I HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCEPT THE PLEA BARGIN AGREEMENT ON MY FIRST COURT DATE?

No. In most courts, on the first court date you can “pass to announce.” This means that your lawyer can ask the court coordinator for a continuance, and your case can be reset two weeks to thirty days in the future. During that time, you can confer with your lawyer and decide whether or not to accept the state’s offer. Your lawyer can also talk with the prosecutor and try to convince the prosecutor to make you a better offer.

After returning to court, you will generally be required to “announce”. This means that you will be required to inform the court whether you intend to plead guilty and accept a plea agreement from the state or plead not guilty and seek a jury trial. (This announcement is usually done through your attorney.) Not every court will allow you to continue your case for announcement. Some felony courts require defendants to announce on the first court date, when the state initially makes its offer.

WHAT IF I DECIDE I WANT TO ACCEPT THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFER AND PLEAD GUILTY?

If you decide to accept the state’s plea offer and plead guilty, the court will generally allow you to “set” your case for a plea. This means that you can ask for another continuance, and have your case reset thirty to ninety days in the future, at which time you will come back to court and plead guilty. The judge will then sentence you and you will begin to serve your sentence.

WHAT KIND OF PLEA BARGIN OFFER WILL THE PROSECUTOR MAKE?

Generally, the prosecutor will make an offer for probation, deferred adjudication, state jail time or penitentiary (prison) time.

WHAT IS PROBATION?

Probation is community supervision. It is a way for you to serve your sentence while still living and working in the community, rather than by going to state jail or prison. If you accept an offer for probation, the court will find you guilty, convict you, and sentence you to state jail or penitentiary time. But rather than make you serve the time, the court will “probate” the sentence and place you on community supervision for several years. For a state jail felony, the court can place you on probation for a minimum of 2 or a maximum of 5 years. For a third, second or first degree felony, the court can place you on probation for a minimum of 2 or a maximum of 10 years.

During the time that you are on probation you will be required to report in person to a probation officer once per month. You will be required to pass drug tests and complete community service hours. You may also be required to participate in some kind of class or counseling appropriate to your offense. Typically you will be required to submit to a substance abuse evaluation. If the evaluation determines that you are at a high risk for substance abuse, you may be required to attend counseling or treatment for substance abuse. In some less common cases, the court might require that you serve county jail time as a condition of probation. The court can order up to 180 of county jail time as a condition of a felony probation.

A typical probation sentence might be “5 years in prison probated for 7 years”. This means that you are on probation for seven years. Seven years is the “period of probation.” If you violate your probation during those seven years, you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years. Five years is your “exposure”. Your exposure can never be more than 10 years. Any sentence greater than 10 years cannot be probated.

WHAT IS DEFERRED ADJUDICATION?

“Deferred adjudication” is a special kind of probation where you are not convicted. You plead guilty but the judge does not find you guilty. Instead he “defers a finding of guilt” and places you on community supervision. If you complete the probation without any violations, the case is dismissed and you do not receive a final conviction. If anybody ever asks you if you were convicted of a felony, you can truthfully tell them no. Your case will still appear on your criminal record, but after 5 years in most cases you can petition the court for a “non-disclosure order”, sealing your record from the public.

WHAT IF I VIOLATE MY PROBATION?

If you violate your probation by failing to report, committing a new offense, giving a dirty drug test or failing to complete some other condition of probation, the prosecutor will file a motion to revoke your probation. You are entitled to a hearing at which the prosecutor must prove to the judge that you violated your probation. If the judge believes that you violated your probation, he can revoke you and make you serve your time. If you are sentenced to probation, the judge can sentence up to your exposure. For instance if your sentence is “5 years in prison probated for 10 years”, then if you are revoked the judge can send you to prison for a maximum of 5 years. However, if you are on deferred adjudication probation, upon revocation the court can sentence you anywhere up to the maximum sentence in the range of punishment for your class of offense. So, for instance if you are on deferred adjudication for a second degree felony, the court can send you to prison for up to 20 years if you are revoked.

AM I ELIGIBLE FOR PROBATION?

This is a tricky question. Most prosecutors will say that you are not “probation eligible” if you have a prior felony conviction. Strictly speaking, this is not true. You are only eligible to receive probation from a jury in the punishment phase of trial if you file an affidavit prior to trial certifying that you have never before been convicted of a felony (called the “application for probation.”) However, if you plead guilty it is possible to get probation pursuant to a plea agreement, even if you have a prior felony conviction. In most cases, however, the prosecutor will not offer a plea agreement for probation to a defendant with a prior felony conviction.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT WANT TO ACCEPT THE STATE'S OFFER?

If you decide that you do not want to accept the state’s offer for a plea agreement, you generally have two choices: you can plead not guilty and have your case tried by a jury, or you can plead guilty without a plea agreement and have the judge decide your sentence. This second option is called an “open plea”, or “pleading open to the court”.

WHAT IS AN "OPEN PLEA"?

An “open plea”, or “pleading open to the court” is when you plead guilty to the judge without a plea agreement. The judge decides your sentence after hearing evidence and arguments of counsel. Your attorney can present evidence or have witnesses testify on your behalf. After holding a sentencing hearing, the judge will decide your punishment.

Usually in an open plea on a felony case, before assessing punishment the court will order a pre-sentence investigation. After the defendant pleads guilty, the court will reset the case thirty to sixty days in the future for sentencing, to give time for the pre-sentence investigation. Typically, the pre-sentence investigation is done by a probation officer. The investigator will review the facts of the case and the history of the defendant. The investigator will interview the defendant, and will usually also interview the defendant’s family, employer and social contacts regarding the defendant’s history. The investigator will prepare a pre-sentence investigation report for the court. A copy of the report will be made available to the attorneys for the defense and the state. The judge will review the report and use it to base his decision on punishment.

IF I PLEAD OPEN, WILL THE JUDGE GIVE ME A BETTER DEAL THAN THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFER?

If you enter an open plea, the judge might give you a better deal, or the judge might give you a worse deal. The judge can sentence you anywhere within the range of punishment for your offense. The judge can defer a finding of guilt and give you deferred adjudication; the judge can find you guilty, convict you and sentence you, probate your sentence and place you on probation; or the judge can sentence you to state jail or penitentiary time and make you serve your sentence. As long as the judge’s sentence falls within the range of punishment allowed by law, you have no right to appeal. As a practical matter, your attorney will not typically advise you to plead open unless he believes that the judge will most likely give you a better sentence than the state’s offer.

WHAT IF I DID NOT COMMIT THE CRIME I AM ACCUSED OF?

If you are falsely accused of a crime, you should plead “not guilty” and request a trial.

HOW SOON WILL MY CASE BE TRIED?

Once you announce “trial”, your case will be set for trial 30 to 90 days in the future. On your trial date, your case will be set for trial with 10 to 20 other cases. The court will try the oldest case first and work its way back. Your case may be tried on your trial setting date, or your case may reset to another trial date, depending on how old your case is and how backed up the court’s docket is. You will be required to attend every trial docket setting until your case is reached for trial. It is not unusual for felony cases to be tried six months to year or after the date of arrest.

HOW DOES A JURY TRIAL WORK?

A jury trial is “bifurcated”, meaning that there are two parts to the trial. The first part of the trial is the guilt-or-innocence phase. The second part of the trial is the punishment phase. The trial only reaches the punishment phase if the jury returns a guilty verdict in the guilt-or-innocence phase.

The guilt-or-innocence phase of the trial begins with a process called “vior dire”, or jury selection. 60 potential jurors are brought into the courtroom, and the prosecutor and defense lawyer each have an opportunity to ask questions to the potential jurors. After each lawyer has had an opportunity to question the jury panel, each side can “strike” up to 12 potential jurors. The first 12 jurors left over after each side has selected their strikes will make up the jury. Jury selection is a process of elimination.

Once the jury is selected, each lawyer can give an opening statement. Once each side has made its opening statement, the state presents its evidence. The state gets to present its case first, because the state has the burden of proof. The state will call witnesses to the stand and have the witnesses testify. The defense lawyer will have an opportunity to cross examine each of the state’s witness. Once the state has presented all of its evidence, the state will rest its case. After the state rests the defense will have an opportunity to call witnesses or present evidence. Unlike the state, the defense is not required to call any witnesses or present any evidence. The state has the burden of proof in a criminal trial, and must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. If, after the state presents its evidence, a reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilty still exists in the minds of the jurors, the jury must find the defendant “not guilty” even if the defense presents no evidence whatsoever.

Once each side has presented its evidence and rested its case, then each lawyer will have an opportunity to make closing arguments to the jury. The prosecutor makes his closing arguments first, since the state has the burden of proof. After the defense lawyer makes his closing arguments, the prosecutor has the opportunity to speak to the jury again to make rebuttal arguments. Once both sides have made their closing arguments, the judge will instruct the jury about the law they must follow (the “jury charge”), and the jury is released to the jury room to deliberate. The jury can deliberate for as short or as long of a time as they choose before they reach a verdict. The jury verdict must be unanimous. If even one juror holds out for a different verdict than the majority, and will not change his mind, then the jury will be “hung”, and the judge must declare a mistrial. If the judge declares a mistrial, the case moves back to square one and must be retried.

During the guilt or innocence phase, the jury may only hear evidence that is relevant to whether or not the defendant committed the offense. Generally, the prosecution cannot present the jury with evidence of “extraneous offenses” (other crimes or wrongdoings committed by the defendant) during the guilt-or-innocence phase of trial. There are exceptions to this rule. The state may offer evidence of extraneous offenses during the guilt or innocence phase to try to establish the defendant’s identity, motive, or that the defendant’s acts were part of an ongoing series of related crimes. During the punishment phase, however, the prosecution is free to present evidence of other crimes committed by the defendant, to try to persuade the judge or jury to impose a harsher punishment on the defendant. The state can present evidence of the defendant’s prior criminal record at the punishment phase of trial, even though the defendant already finished serving his sentences on those priors.

WHO ASSES PUNISHMENT IN THE EVENT OF A GUILTY VERDICT?

The defendant can chose to have either the jury or the judge assess punishment at the punishment phase of trial. The defendant must make this decision before the start of trial. If you decide to take your case to trial, your attorney will counsel you on whether to choose to have the jury or judge assess punishment in the event of a guilty verdict.

WHY WOULD I WANT THE JUDGE TO ASSESS PUNISHMENT AT TRIAL?

A judge is more predictable than a jury. Judges hear felony cases every day, and are not as likely to be shocked by the facts the way a jury might be. If you do not have a previous felony conviction, then a judge is likely to probate your sentence following a guilty verdict on a non-violent offense, whereas the same jury who convicted you might send you to the penitentiary.

Also, the defendant is only eligible to receive probation from a jury following a guilty verdict at trial if he has never before been convicted of a felony. A defendant who has previously been convicted of a felony is not eligible to receive probation from a jury following a guilty verdict at trial, and must elect to have the judge assess punishment if he hopes to be probated.

WHY WOULD I WANT THE JURY TO ASSESS PUNISHMENT?

If you are in front of a “hanging judge” who has a reputation for being harsh on punishment, you might do better with the jury on punishment. Also, if you are charged with an offense that is classified as a “3G” offense, then, by law, you cannot not receive probation from the judge following a guilty verdict at trial. If you are charged with a 3G offense, you can only get probation from a jury following guilty verdict at trial.

WHICH OFFENSES ARE "3G" OFFENSES?

Article 42.12 Section 3G of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure contains a complete list of the 3G offenses. 3G offenses include murder, indecency with a child, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery, and aggravated kidnapping. Also, any other felony offense can be made a 3G offense if it is alleged in the indictment and proven at trial that a deadly weapon was used or exhibited in the commission of the offense.

WHAT IF I AM CHARGED WITH A 3G OFFENSE AND I HAVE A PRIOR FELONY CONVICTION?

This is a rock-and-a-hard-place. If you have a prior felony conviction you cannot receive probation from the jury following a guilty verdict at trial. If you are charged with a 3G offense, you cannot receive probation from the judge following a guilty verdict. If you are charged with a 3G offense AND have a prior felony conviction, you cannot get probation from the jury OR the judge following a guilty verdict at trial. If you have a prior felony conviction and are on trial for a 3G offense, you are truly “not probation eligible”. Your only hope of staying out of prison would be for the jury to find you “not guilty”, or to plead open and ask the judge for deferred adjudication. It is always within the judge’s legal authority to defer a finding of guilt following a guilty plea. In reality, if you are not probation eligible and you are hoping for probation following an open plea of guilt, your lawyer needs to be able to present a very compelling argument for why you deserve probation in order for you to have any hope of not going to prison.

AFTER I REJECT THE STATE'S OFFER FOR A PLEA AGREEMENT AND ANNOUNCE "TRIAL", CAN I STILL CHANGE MY MIND AND PLEAD GUILTY?

Yes. Although the State’s offer has been rejected at this point, the defense lawyer can still try to persuade the State to make a better offer, and the State is still free to enter into plea agreements after the case has been set for trial. Often the best offers are not made until the case is reached for trial or is on the “short list” for the upcoming trial docket. The reason for this is that prosecutors often do not contact their witnesses or review their cases in detail until they are forced to prepare the case for an upcoming trial. Often there exist weaknesses in the state’s case that are not evident when the case is reviewed on its face. Once a prosecutor realizes that he might not obtain a conviction if he proceeds with a jury trial, he may become very motivated to make a sweetheart offer to move the case off the court’s trial docket rather than waste the court’s time trying a questionable case. Often a prosecutor will offer a defendant charged with a felony the opportunity to plead to a “lesser included” misdemeanor offense, rather than proceed with a jury trial on a questionable case.

A good defense lawyer will try to persuade the prosecutor to make that sweetheart deal on the first court setting, and will bring whatever evidence he needs to show the prosecutor the weaknesses of his case. However, most prosecutors will not make those sweetheart offers until they are faced with the real possibility of a jury trial. Certainly it helps if the defense lawyer has a reputation for trying cases competently, and the prosecutor knows the defense lawyer is not bluffing when he suggests that he will take the case to trial.

THAT PROBATION OFFER THE STATE MADE ON OUR FIRST COURT DATE IS STARTING TO LOOK PRETTY GOOD. CAN I GET THAT DEL BACK, AFTER I REJECTED IT?

Once an offer for a plea agreement has been rejected, a prosecutor is under no obligation to re-offer the deal or put it back on the table. You are always taking a risk when you decide to reject the state’s offer.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? SHOULD I REJECT THE STATE'S OFFER AND TAKE MY CASE TO TRIAL?

Your attorney will counsel about whether you should accept the state’s offer or reject the offer and ask for a trial. Before you decide whether to take your case to trial, you will want to know if the state can prove its case. Your attorney will refer to the Penal Code to determine the elements of the offense. The “elements of the offense” are the facts the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a conviction. If the district attorney in your county has an “open file” policy, then the prosecutor will let your attorney read the police report. Although the district attorney will generally not let your attorney give you a copy of the report, your attorney usually can read the report to you.

Are the elements of the offense met by the facts described in the police report? Is the information provided by a key witness questionable on its face? Did the police violate your fourth amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure? Was there reasonable suspicion to detain you, and probable cause to arrest you? If any evidence was obtained as the result of a warrantless search without consent unsupported by probable cause, your attorney may file a motion to suppress evidence. If the elements of the offense are not met by the facts described in the police report, or if the state’s case relies upon evidence that comes from a sketchy witness or was discovered as the result of an illegal stop or search, then you may want to consider pleading “not guilty”. You may want your lawyer to have your case set on a trial docket and try the case before a jury or push for an unconditional dismissal or a lesser-included-offense plea.

I KNOW I DID SOMETHING WRONG, AND I DID SOMETHING WRONG, AND I THINK I BROKE THE LAW, BUT I DON'T THINK I AM GUILTY OF THE FELONY OFFENSE I AM ACCUSED OF. WHAT IS A "LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE"?

A lesser included offense is an offense of a lower class that has many of the same elements necessary to prove a greater offense. For instance, assault is a lesser included offense to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Trespass is a lesser included offense to burglary. Theft 50-500 is a lesser included offense to theft 1500-20,000. Possession of a controlled substance is a lesser included offense to delivery of a controlled substance. Driving while intoxicated is a lesser included offense to intoxicated assault. The list goes on and on. “Attempt” to commit an offense is always a lesser-included offense to the offense itself, and is always one offense class lower than the actual offense.

Many felony offenses have lesser-included offenses that are misdemeanors. If you are charged with a felony and the state has obvious problems with its case, your attorney may be able to persuade the prosecutor to let you plead guilty to a lesser-included misdemeanor. Your attorney may ask the prosecutor to agree to this on the first court date, and the prosecutor may say no. You might reject the state’s offer to plead guilty to the felony and ask your attorney to set your case for trial. Once your case gets close to being reached for trial, the prosecutor might look at his evidence and decide he doesn’t think his case is so good after all. The prosecutor might offer to allow you to plead guilty to a lesser-included misdemeanor after your case has been set on a trial docket.

TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE GREAT DEALS YOU HAVE GOTTEN FOR OTHER CLIENTS WITH FELONIES.

This is a true story. Recently one of our attorneys was appointed by the court to represent a client accused of fondling a child – a second degree felony. The accusation was very likely false. If convicted, the client faced up to 20 years in prison. The state offered to recommend a sentence of 8 years in prison. The client rejected the offer and asked for a trial. The client was indigent and could not afford to post bond. He sat in jail for seven months waiting for his trial. The week before his case was reached for trial, the prosecutor contacted us and offered to allow our client to plead guilty to the lesser-included misdemeanor offense of assault. The client accepted the offer and plead guilty to assault. The client was sentenced to 180 days in jail and was released that same day – credit time served. You can bet that client was happy!

This is another true story. Recently one of our clients was charged with the 3rd degree felony offense of intoxicated assault. He was driving while intoxicated and hit a pedestrian, seriously injuring him. If convicted, our client faced up to 10 years in prison. He had a self defense issue – he was trying to escape from being assaulted by a gang of men, including the man he hit. One of our attorneys contacted the grand jury prosecutor and sold the prosecutor on our client’s self-defense theory. The prosecutor offered to let our client waive indictment and plead guilty to the lesser-included misdemeanor offense of driving while intoxicated. The client pled guilty to a misdemeanor DWI and received 2 years probation. The case was never presented to the grand jury for felony indictment.

Here is yet another true story. Recently one of our clients was accused of striking his wife with the butt of a handgun – an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Our client said it never happened. Our client had a friend who overheard a cell phone conversation in which our client’s wife admitted that the allegations were false. We visited with the grand jury prosecutor and put her in touch with the friend. The grand jury prosecutor subpoenaed the friend to come in and testify in front of the grand jury about what she heard. The grand jury returned a no-bill, and the case was dismissed. We expunged our client’s record, and his criminal record is now clean.

These kinds of deals happen all the time, and our attorneys are always thinking outside of the box to try to figure out ways to get our clients the best possible deals. Our attorneys are NOT magicians, and we cannot get lesser included offense deals or dismissals for every client, or for a client who is clearly guilty of the offense he is accused. Our attorneys WILL work hard and fight hard to get every client, guilty or innocent, the best possible deal they have coming, or try their cases competently and aggressively in front of a jury.

CONTACT US

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