Houston Criminal Law Journal by Texas Lawyers covering DWI Drunk Driving Arrests, Criminal Defense Charges, Drug Possession, and Assault

While there is been a lot of talk about building a new jail in Harris County, Texas there has not been much discussion about reducing the amount of people that are in jail today for a low level misdemeanor offense such as marijuana possession.  I have stated before that the law in Texas allows for a police officer to cite a person to appear in one of our fifteen County Criminal Court at Law for marijuana possession.  The Harris County District Attorney's Office (HCDAO) has openly refused to allow officers to do this for the past two years despite the aim of the law being reduction of jail overcrowding.  The HCDAO prides itself on following the law, but for some reason is not doing it in this instance.  Meanwhile, people are getting arrested and await a court date while being housed in the overcrowded Harris County jail.  Why is the public allowing this to happen if current public opinion is against the policy of jail time for small amounts of marijuana possession?  Probably, because the media is not reporting this discrepancy as they should.

It is time that Sheriff Adrian Garcia, all 15 misdemeanor judges, and the Harris County District Attorney, Pat Lykos start allowing officers to write citations for low level marijuana possession like other counties have been doing for a while now.  Alternatively, if the HCDAO opposes them on this issue pretrial bonds should be granted for every person that is charged with this crime.  A pretrial bond will insure that someone is not jailed for something that the law clearly states may be handled by a citation.  In turn, this may reduce the amount of people that sit in the county jail.  I can not believe that this is that difficult to implement.

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This past Monday was one of the most chaotic days for Harris County Misdemeanor Prosecutors because every criminal attorney in Houston, like myself, wanted to know the facts surrounding Pretrial Diversions for first time DWI offenders in Harris County, Texas.  Unbelievably, the prosecutors had as much information as I did.  They did not know the guidelines, when it was going to be implemented, or who would qualify.  One thing is for sure, Kate Dolan, the chief of the misdemeanor section, is going to be a busy lady.

If you have any questions regarding a DWI in Texas please contact a Houston DWI Lawyer at (713) 225-1038.

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Since we have been criminal defense attorneys in Houston for over twelve years we have represented clients in just about every profession.  Routinely, we inform people that are in the airline industry that a pending criminal charge may prevent them from entering certain countries.  If you have a trip planned to a foreign country please check if you will be allowed entry with a pending criminal charge.

Also, a lot of courts in Houston will restrict your travel outside of  Harris County while on bond even for a simple DWI charge.  If you need any help with your criminal case please contact our law firm at (713) 225-1038.

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I have discussed before how Harris County Judges treat those accused with their first DWI. There are a lot of judges that will go beyond what the law requires when someone finds themselves in court for their first DWI like requiring a person to install the ignition interlock device when they are involved in an accident .  Now MADD is pushing legislators to require anyone convicted of a DWI in Texas to get the ignition interlock device. This proposal is going too far.  Our DWI laws already provide a substantial hardship for someone convicted of a DWI. MADD likes to point out recent deaths that involved repeat offenders driving a vehicle.  In my opinion, relying on these instances is misplaced.  Why punish the first time offender when there are programs in place to make sure this does not happen again such as the Victim Impact Panel that is usually led by a MADD representative, the DWI School, and the drug/alcohol evaluation that a person undergoes when they are placed on probation.  Also, MADD overlooks that anyone that has an alcohol rate above rate over .15 when driving is required to place the device in their vehicle.  Texas law adequately deals with repeat offenders by requiring a hard suspension (no occupational license) for those convicted of a subsequent DWI within five years. Additionally, DPS license suspensions increase for repeat offenders,  MADD should focus their attention on someone other then the first time offender who usually has not been arrested before and is unlikely to re offend because of the traumatic experience of being arrested.  I am sure the "Benjamins" have something to do with this new crusade.

If you need assistance with your first DWI case in  the Houston, Texas area please contact our law firm at (713) 225-1038 or click here to visit our website.

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You may remember Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Dart from early this year.  He was the one that was trying to protect innocent renters in the Chicago, Illinois area.  Sheriff Dart is grabbing headlines again by using a scheme to lure people that have outstanding criminal warrants.  Law enforcement notoriously have a difficult time capturing individuals that have outstanding warrants for low level crimes. Typically, an individual is not arrested for these type of warrants unless they are stopped by law enforcement for some reason.  What Sheriff Dart did and other government agencies do is lure gullible people by promising them a reward for their attendance.  In past years, individuals have been promised holiday gifts, television sets and cash rewards.  

Please take care of any warrant you may have because it will cost you much more in in the long run.  You would not believe how many felony cases are filed because the person being arrested for the traffic warrant has some type of illegal substance.  Think about the cost of that traffic warrant versus paying for an additional warrant for the new charge, hiring an attorney, and your time going to court for both charges.

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Plaxico Burress, New York Giant wide receiver, is unlucky that his crime did not occur in Texas. While possessing a handgun at a place that sells alcohol is a felony in Texas his range of punishment would be from two to ten years in prison as opposed to the three and one half to fifteen years he is facing in the state of New York.   Moreover, the bond is outrageously high at $100,000. In Harris County, Texas his bond would have been set at $10,000.  Granted money is not an issue right now for him, but that is a difference of paying a bonding company $1,000 in Texas and paying one in New York $10,000.

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It seems prices for just about everything are falling...could illegal drugs be next?  This is probably the least of your worries unless you or someone you care for is arrested with a large amount of drugs.  Typically, in Houston, Harris County, Texas the value of the drugs determines the bond amount.  In fact, the bond is set at double the street value.  Just last month gas was selling for half as much as it is today.  If cocaine prices have similarly dropped so would the bonds in a criminal drug case.  For example, if someone was arrested for a drug charge and the street value was $100.000 last month the bond amount would initially be set at $200,000, but if that street value has decreased and now is $75,000 the bond should be set at $150,000.  That is a difference of $5,000 when bonding someone out of jail. 

Recently, I was use this theory as part of my argument to get someone a bond.  The bond in that particular case was initially set at $80,000, but a magistrate judge decided to strip the person of their bond.  I was able to go to the presiding judge and have the bond reinstated and lowered to $50,000.  That saved my client's family over $3,000 when bonding him out. 

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Mr. Y came into our office because the police has been trying to get in touch with him. He had an idea what it is concerning, but was not sure if he should explain to the police what happened. The short answer is Do NOT SPEAK TO THE POLICE WITHOUT TALKING TO AN ATTORNEY FIRST.

As a Criminal Defense Attorney in Houston I come across people that do not follow this advice and pay dearly for it later.  For some reason, people think that they can explain their way out of situation by talking to police.  Typically, people end up getting charged for a crime that the police did not have enough evidence for a conviction before they started talking. Keep in mind that in the United States you have the right not to incriminate yourself. Use that right before talking to the police and you will make your life much easier.

 After speaking to us Mr. Y took our advice and was never charged with a crime.

If you need assistance with your criminal case in Houston, Harris County, Texas please contact our law firm at (713) 225-1038 or visit our website at www.mmalaw.com.

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In a lot of instances a court will initially set a very high amount in a case. For example, in a theft case where the value of the alleged property that was stolen is one hundred thousand ($100,000) the court will routinely double that amount and set the bond at two hundred thousand ($200,000). However, if you hire a lawyer before raising the money to bond the person out of jail the lawyer should be able to go to the court and have the bond reduced to a more reasonable amount. In the above scenerio a lawyer would be able to save you thousands of dollars when making a bond. Typically, a bonding company will charge you a 10% fee for bonding someone out of jail. The two hundred thousand dollar bond will cost you twenty thousand dollars and the one hundred thousand dollar bond will cost you ten thousand dollars. Thus,hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney in Houston will pay for itself by getting the bond reduced in addition to all the other things they can do for you.  This is an example of where this was done.

If you need the assistance of a Houston Criminal Defense Attorney with your criminal case in Houston, Harris County, Texas please contact our law firm at (713) 225-1038 or visit our website at www.mmalaw.com.

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Here is a question that Houston Criminal lawyers get asked routinely: "There is a warrant out for my arrest...I do not want to go to jail."  "What should I do?"  This is a situation everyone would like to avoid. There are several proactive steps one can take when this occurs. The first thing I would do is contact a bonding company so that I could do what is called a "non arrest bond." If you contact a bonding company and they do not know what that is move on because they probably can not help you. I would hate to pay anyone to be their first case.

A "non arrest bond" is straight forward. This type of bond allows you to avoid any jail time while waiting for someone to bond you out if you get arrested. If you talk to anyone that has spent as little as a few hours in jail they will tell you do not want to be waiting in jail for someone to bond you out. Thus, the non arrest bond allows you to skip the booking process. The bonding company will take your information and  give you a court date to appear with your attorney. If you do this you will be one of the lucky people that will not be hassled by the police and potentially giving them information that you would later regret.

If you need assistance with your criminal case in Houston, Harris County, Texas please contact our law firm at (713) 225-1038 or visit our website at www.mmalaw.com.

The Harris County Courts have their own schedule that they follow.  This is their posted schedule.

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