Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Re: Please help

Dear LawGuru Friend,

I will take a shot at answering your question. I see Andy Casanave has already answered you, although I have not read his answer. He is an old prosecutor himself, so he has probably already given you good advice. You ask what are your rights, what can you do, something like that. Well, first of all, make up your mind to beat this charge. Demand a trial and do not plead guilty, unless, of course, the prosecutor makes you an offer you can't refuse. Of course, I believe in hiring a lawyer to get one through such a matter as you have, but you have to be careful about lawyers who are "plead-'em-guilty" lawyers. They want a fee, but about all they do is plead their clients guilty. Look out for such a lawyer. I assume you have no prior record; and as a practical matter, you do not have to fear jail. First offenders, even when they are found guilty, seldom ever get sent to jail. But you do not need a conviction against you. A conviction will follow you throughout life, and every time you have to fill out a job application or such, and they ask if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you have to say "yes" and explain that; and that is embarrassing, to say the least. You might attempt to have the meth (drug) suppressed as evidence, just in case the cop pulled you over and/or searched your car illegally. That is a hard thing to prove, however; as the present state of the case-law has pretty much wiped out all of the protections that the Fourth Amendment formerly provided a motorist. Further, it might be that the state (of TX) will not do the necessary chemical drug testing to prove that whatever they found was an illegal drug. Don't count on that, however, as most police departments nowadays have pretty good forensic laboratoies to assist them. You did not state your age, but you should look to see if your county and/or it's D.A.'s office has a type of "pre-trial diversion" program whereby you are never convicted nor sentenced on the charge: some type of alternative criminal-charge resolution set-up, sometimes called "deferred adjudication," whereby you can keep a conviction off your record. And in the case you are just flat-out innocent of any wrong-doing, tell them to take their charge and shove it and make them put you on trial and prove in fact that you are guilty of what they have charged you with. It could be that when the cops turn the evidence over to the prosecutor (D.A.) that the prosecutor will not even accept the charge against you. Cops make thousands of arrests, and prosecutors prosecute hundreds of cases. There is more to it all than this, but this is something to consider. Hang in there! Don't give up! Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA

(337) 478-6126

Re: Please help

Contact a Texas lawyer.

Re: Please help

Don't take any advice until you speak with a Texas criminal attorney.......actually your question should have been posted to the Texas attorneys on LAWGURU.......