Frequently Asked Questions

What to Do If You Have Been Arrested

If you were arrested or a family member or a friend was arrested - you need a lawyer fast! You need an experienced criminal defense lawyer to get to work on your case immediately. If you were arrested in or around Dallas/Fort Worth, you need an experienced Dallas criminal defense lawyer.

The first issue is to get the person sitting in jail a bond quickly. A bond (also sometimes called bail or a bail bond) is a device to get a person released from jail so they don't have to sit in jail awaiting their court date. Without a bond, a person can sit in jail days, weeks, months, even years before their case is finished. You can use a bonding company or a personal bondsman. To save money and hassle, we recommend that our clients use our personal bondsman. Our bondsman charges a fair rate and - because you'll be a client of ours - doesn't require weekly in-person or by-phone check-ins. 

After a person is bonded out of jail, it's important that your criminal defense lawyer immediately get to work on your case. Dallas criminal defense lawyer Mike Howard starts working on his clients' cases immediately in order to minimize what charges eventually get filed (if any) and to start to mount a strong defense on his clients' behalf.
  
  If You Are on Bond

If you're already on bond, you still need a lawyer fast! Don't wait until your first court date to think about hiring a lawyer. By that time your case has already been filed and indicted - the damage is already done! It's a lot easier to minimize damage before it's done than to try to fix damage already done. If you're case is already filed, then you really need to hire a lawyer. 

You need an experienced Dallas criminal defense lawyer like Mike Howard. Don't wait, schedule a consultation with Mr. Howard immediately so he can get to work for you.  

  If You Are in Jail

If you or your loved one is in jail facing criminal charges, the first thing you need to do is hire an experienced Dallas criminal defense lawyer! And that's before you bond out. Especially if money is tight, you need to focus that money on an experienced and aggressive criminal defense lawyer who will fight for you. If you spend your money on bond - you'll solve the problem of sitting in jail but you still won't have a good criminal lawyer defending you! And when you do hire your lawyer before bonding out, make sure to ask him getting your bond reduced or lowered. Often times bonds are set too high and an experienced criminal defense lawyer will recognize that and file a motion to get the bond lowered to a more reasonable amount.

  If You Are Not a US Citizen

If you are not a US citizen (a legal resident, on a student visa, a work visa, or an undocumented or "illegal alien") and you're arrested, the police may place an "immigration hold", "INS hold", or "ICE hold" on you. That means even after you resolve your criminal case, you still will be held in jail in order to take care of your immigration status.

If you're not a US citizen, then you really need an experienced criminal defense attorney who understands the immigration consequences of your criminal case. Depending on how you handle your criminal case, your immigration status could be hurt - you could get deported, have your re-entry into the United States denied, or have your naturalization denied. You don't want to risk your immigration status just because you didn't want to take the time to hire a lawyer with the proper knowledge - knowledge that could change your life.

As a non-citizen with an immigration/INS/ICE hold, you can bond out of jail. You will have to post a bond on any criminal charges holding you in jail and then post a bond with immigration (if ICE will set a bond amount for you).

Hiring a Lawyer

If you need to hire a criminal defense lawyer you need to do your homework. Are they experienced in criminal law or are they a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none? Do they focus the majority of their time practicing criminal law or do they only go to the criminal courts when someone like you hires them? Do they have a significant practice where your case is? Hiring a out-of-town lawyer to handle your case can be a disaster. Make sure your lawyer handles cases in your county regularly. Do they go to trial often or do they plead most of their cases out? How many clients do they have? A lawyer who has tons of clients may sound impressive but just how much time do you think they're going to devote to your case?

How Much Will a Lawyer Charge Me? 

Lawyers' fees range from low to high depending on experience, reputation, type of case, complexity of the case, and other similar factors. The bottom line is this: if you pay a bargain basement fee, you shouldn't expect much more than bargain basement service. You don't have to pay top dollar, but hiring a criminal defense attorney isn't a place to go cheap. Look for a lawyer who you feel is charging a fair fee. Ideally, talk to several lawyers and get a range of fees so you can compare. Once you determine who's charging a fair fee, then you can judge each lawyer on their experience, how they present themselves, and whether you think they'll care about you and your case.

  Will it Help if My Lawyer is a Former Judge, Prosecutor, Public Defender, et cetera?

So many lawyers advertise their former positions as judges, prosecutors, public defenders, et cetera. But you know there's good judges/prosecutors/public defenders and there's bad ones. Don't get too fooled by titles. Go more by feel here. Do they present themselves well? Do they appear like they'd present themselves well to the court, the prosecutor, a judge, or a jury? Do they appear to care about you and your case? 

  Am I Eligible for a Court Appointed Lawyer? Do I Want One?

If you can't afford a lawyer you can ask the court coordinator to appoint a lawyer to represent you. Every court handles this a little differently, but usually you will have to prove that you cannot afford an attorney. Sometimes that means filling out a form showing what your income and monthly expenses are. Sometimes the coordinator will want you to have called several lawyers and gotten price quotes that you cannot afford. 

All kinds of lawyers accept court appointments, some good, some bad. The fact that a lawyer accepts court appointments does not mean that lawyer is no good or won't work hard on your case. Many great lawyers accept court appointments. Many not-so-great lawyers do too. In the end the question comes down to whether you're comfortable with not being able to choose who you want to represent you. Often times the court will not let you change lawyers if you aren't satisfied with your court appointed lawyer, so it's not a decision to enter into lightly.

  I Have A Lawyer But I'm Not Happy with Him/Her.  What Can I Do?

If you're not happy with your current lawyer, you should first let him or her know and see if the relationship can be fixed. If it cannot (or you cannot get your current lawyer to respond), then it's time to look for another lawyer. Depending on the terms of the employment contract you entered into with your current lawyer, you may or may not be able to get some of the fee you paid him/her back. You are entitled to a copy of your file so you can give it to your new lawyer. Just ask your lawyer to provide you with a copy of your file or ask him/her to forward it to your new lawyer.

How Cases Are Filed and Processed

  Misdemeanors

When the police are called and they document some alleged crime, they make a police report. If that officer decides to file a report alleging some crime, that officer will file the report with his/her county District Attorney's office. At this point, if the alleged crime is a misdemeanor it is assigned to a misdemeanor court (called a County Criminal Court or a County Court at Law) and (either immediately or soon thereafter) assigned a 1st court date (often called a "First Setting"). At that first setting the defendant is expected to show up to the appropriate court on-time and, if they are not already represented by a lawyer, meet with the court coordinator or the judge to determine if they are in the process of hiring a lawyer or if they cannot afford a lawyer. If the person is still in the process of hiring a lawyer the court will often reset the case so the defendant can hire a lawyer. If the person cannot afford a lawyer they will be evaluated to determine if they are eligible for a court-appointed lawyer.

  Felonies

Obviously felonies begin the same way as misdemeanors, with the police submitting a report to the county District Attorney's office. At that point, however, a felony charge must go through an extra step in the process. A felony must be scheduled for a hearing before the grand jury. The grand jury is made up a the county's citizens and it's job is to determine if there is probable cause for the charge to move forward. If they decide there is probable cause, the will return a true-bill of indictment. From there the case is assigned to a district court (either a Criminal District Court or a Judicial District Court) and a prosecutor. If, on the other hand, the grand jury decides that probable cause does not exist, they will return a no-bill and the case is dismissed. 

What Happens When I Go to Court?

  First Setting

As the name implies, the first setting is generally the first time you go to court for your case. If you already have a lawyer, you and your lawyer can immediately get to work on your case. If you do not yet have a lawyer, you will usually have to meet with either the judge or the court coordinator to determine if you just need more time to hire a lawyer or if you cannot afford a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer you will be appointed a lawyer.

  Announcement Settings

In Dallas County the next setting after the first setting is generally an Announcement setting. Each court has a different policy, but most courts give each defendant 2 announcement settings before requiring the case to be set for some sort of disposition (trial, plea, open plea, a hearing on a motion, et cetera). Other counties in the area sometimes call their Announcement settings by different names, but the concept is the same.

  Plea Settings

If you choose to accept a plea bargain or plead guilty or no contest and go open to the judge or jury for punishment, you first must set a case for a plea setting. Often in misdemeanor cases you can just set the case for a plea and show up that day to enter your plea and begin serving probation, jail time, or whatever was agreed to in your plea bargain agreement. In most felonies, however, if you accept a plea bargain for probation, you must first meet with the probation department at a pre-sentence interview (or PSI) so a probation officer can recommend appropriate terms terms and conditions of probation and get your personal information.

How Does Plea Bargaining Work?  

Plea bargaining is essentially a negotiating process. To come to a plea bargain agreement, both sides have to agree. If you don't agree to accept the prosecutor's offer, you have the absolute right to go to trial. The prosecutor has the same right: if you don't accept his/her offer, he/she has the right to go to trial as well. In fact, a prosecutor doesn't have to make a plea bargain offer at all. 

Like with most negotiations, most prosecutors will start with a middle of the road offer and you begin negotiating from there. That means that often times you shouldn't take their first offer because something better is probably down the road. But this isn't an absolute rule: more and more prosecutors are not wasting time with a tedious back and forth negotiation process and are making a take-it-or-leave-it type offer from the beginning. It's important for you and your lawyer to know what a good deal for your particular charge is so you can evaluate if the prosecutor is likely to make a better offer. So it's also never smart to just assume that because it's their first offer it is bound to get better - they could take their deal off the table to force the case to trial... 

Plea bargaining is a complicated process that takes knowledge, experience, skill, and tact. 

  Types of Pleas: Agreed, Open, Slow Plea

Agreed Plea: the most obvious - and common - type of plea is an agreed plea. That is when the defendant and prosecutor agree to the terms of a plea bargain. The defendant then enters his/her plea expecting the court to follow the plea bargain. The court is not bound to follow the plea bargain, but the law allows the defendant to withdraw his/her plea if the judge chooses not to follow the plea bargain.

Open Plea: when the defendant and the prosecutor can not agree to the specific terms of the plea bargain, they can agree to an open plea. That is where the defendant enters a plea without a plea bargain (or in some cases the defendant will "go open" on one or more issues but will have a plea bargain in place as to the rest of the terms of the plea) and asks the judge to set his/her punishment. Obviously, before you go through with an open plea it is important to know (as best you can) as much as possible about your judge (whether he/she is "tough on crime," what they think of your particular charge, the likelihood they'll give probation for your particular crime, et cetera). 

Slow Plea: a slow plea is like an open plea but instead of asking the judge to set your punishment, you pick a jury and ask a jury to set your punishment. It's called a "slow plea" because of the extra time it takes to pick a jury and then acquaint them with the facts of the case before you get to the facts directly pertinent to sentencing.

  Good Deals

    Deferred vs. Regular Probation

Regular and deferred probation (also called deferred adjudication probation or unadjudicated probation) are the same in many respects: in both you'll be supervised by a probation officer for some period of time, you'll be subject to the terms and conditions of probation as set by the court, and if you violate probation you can be arrested and subjected to a hearing to determine whether the court will revoke your probation. There are two big differences though: 

1. In a regular probation you are found guilty of the offense. It is a conviction that will stay on your record forever (unless the Governor pardons you). In deferred adjudication you are NOT found guilty of the offense. The judge finds that there is enough evidence to find you guilty but holds off - or defers - on finding you guilty. Instead he/she puts you on a term of probation. If you successfully complete your probation the case is dismissed and you avoid having a conviction on your record. If you do not successfully complete the probation the judge can revoke your probation and find you guilty of the original offense. If that happens it would be just like the judge found you guilty from the beginning.

2. In a regular probation there is a cap on how much jail time you can receive if you violate the terms and conditions and are revoked off probation. Often times around the courthouse we talk about regular probation offers in terms of a fraction: 180 days / 2 years - this means that you are sentenced to 180 days in jail but that sentence is probated for 2 years. You don't serve any of that 180 day sentence unless you violate probation. You serve 2 years on probation instead. If you violate your probation, the jail time you can receive for the violation is capped at 180 days. 

On the other hand, in a deferred probation there is no cap. If you violate your probation and the judge revokes you, you are subjected to the full range of punishment for the offense with which you are charged. So this provides a significant carrot and stick - if you succeed you'll avoid a conviction, if you fail you could end up doing a lot of jail/prison time. 

*** It's important to note that if you successfully complete probation and your case is dismissed - that does NOT mean that the case is then off your record. If you complete a deferred adjudication probation the case is dismissed but if someone runs your criminal record they'll be able to see that you were charged with that case and completed a deferred adjudication probation. If you want it off your record you'll need to file a petition for nondisclosure.

    12.44(a) or 12.44(b)

Under section 12.44 of the Texas Penal Code, the prosecutor can either reduce the punishment for a state jail felony to that of a class A misdemeanor or he/she can reduce the charge itself to a class A misdemeanor.

12.44(a) - under section 12.44(a) the charge is still a state jail felony, so it results in a felony conviction. The sentence, however, is reduced to that of a class A misdemeanor. So it's still a state jail felony conviction; it's just punished as if it was a misdemeanor.

12.44(b) - under section 12.44(b) the charge itself is reduced to a class A misdemeanor. 12.44(b) is preferable to 12.44(a) because it is NOT a felony conviction.

    Misdemeanor Reduction

There are three ways for a case to be reduced to a misdemeanor. (1) If the charge is a state jail felony, it can be reduced via section 12.44(b) of the Texas Penal Code. (2) If the charge is a state jail felony, the prosecutor can amend the indictment to allege attempted -whatever the charge is. Adding "attempted" to any charge reduces it by one degree. So, for example, Burglary of a Building is a state jail felony; if the prosecutor agreed to charge it as "Attempted Burglary of a Building," it would then be a class A misdemeanor. (3) If the charge is not a state jail felony, 12.44(b) does not apply. For all charges, however, if a lesser included charge is available, the prosecutor can agree to reduce the charged offense to a lesser included charge that is a misdemeanor. For example assault (normally a class A misdemeanor) is a lesser included offense of Aggravated Assault (normally a 2nd degree felony).
    
Who Has the Power to Dismiss My Case?

The prosecutor. The complaining witness doesn't have the power to dismiss or drop the case. 

What If the Complaining Witness Doesn't Want to Prosecute?

The complaining witness can file an affidavit of nonprosecution to let the prosecutor know that they don't want to prosecute. In that affidavit they can tell the prosecutor that the alleged crime didn't happen, or didn't happen the way the police say, or can just say that they don't want to prosecute. The prosecutor, however, can still move forward with the prosecution. The complaining witness generally must fill out an affidavit of nonprosecution with the prosecutor or their victim advocate representative in order for the prosecutor to accept the affidavit.

Setting a Case For Trial

  If I Set My Case for Trial, Can I Change My Mind Later?

Yes. If you set your case for trial and later agree to a plea bargain with the prosecutor, in most circumstances the judge will let you take the case off the trial docket and plead it according to the newly-reached plea bargain. It is important to note, however, that the prosecutor doesn't have to keep his/her last offer open once you set the case for trial. If the prosecutor chooses they can make no offer and force the case to trial. Or they can raise or lower the new offer from their last offer. Practically most prosecutors understand the need to move cases and will not force a case to trial but there are some situations where this happens. It is important for your lawyer to know the court, the judge, and the prosecutor well in making this determination with you.

  Should I Set My Trial in front of the Jury or Judge?

This is your personal choice. You have the absolute right to a jury trial. No one can force you to waive that right and plead or have your trial before the judge. In some situations, however, it can be advisable to have your trial before a judge and not a jury. If, for example, your case hinges on a technical legal question that a jury is not likely to grasp, you should probably try your case to a judge. If your lawyer knows your particular judge's history, likes/dislikes, et cetera - sometimes it's better to try a case before the known commodity (the judge) rather than 12 unknown commodities (the jury). The bottom line is that this is a question to discuss thoroughly with your lawyer.

  How Long Does it Take For a Case to Go to Trial?

This depends on the court your case is in, the county your case is in, the prosecutor trying your case, et cetera. Generally misdemeanors go to trial quicker than felonies, but that's just a general rule. Many judges give priority to cases where the defendant is waiting in jail over cases where the defendant is on bond. Other courts give priority to the oldest case - no matter whether that defendant is in jail or on bond. When your case is set for trial the chances are it's on the trial docket with a number of other cases that are also set for trial. Only one of those cases can go to trial at once. The others will either plead out or get reset for new trial dates. This process can be long, but it's important to be ready for trial each and every time and not just assume that you're time hasn't come yet.