Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

How many mistrials before a case is dismissed?

A simple traffic ticket in Aug 05 in a small Texas county has resulted in 2 mistrials and the last reset made by judge in June 06 because the officer wasn't avaliable for trial. 2.5 years later I called the court for a dismissal and they want to retry me. How many do I have to go through before they realize they are waisting the county's money. It is easy to throw a mistrial so I want to know how long they will continue this? Is there any recourse for a citizen if the state is abusing the system to continue to call it for a trial and causing me a lot of undue expense to get to the court 5 hrs away?


Asked on 8/28/08, 8:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Gustitis Criminal Defense Lawyer

Re: How many mistrials before a case is dismissed?

Unfortunately, there are no procedural rules requiring the dismissal of a criminal prosecution following a mistrial. The State has absolute discretion in prosecuting a case, regardless of the number of hung juries, or other mistrial issues. Beyond this, though, the prosecutor and court are accountable to the public for the proper use of community resources. If they are wasting their time on a case they can't prove, then maybe the local newspaper needs to run a story about the irresponsible use of the public's resources. Good luck.

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Answered on 8/29/08, 10:48 am


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