Part 4: Bond Conditions, Initial Client Meeting and First Steps by Defense Counsel Now that you know how to find and hire the best criminal defense attorney for your case, we will discuss what you can expect throughout the criminal trial process. This and the following eight installments in this series will examine the criminal case from start to finish and provide commentary and insight to how you can expect your defense attorney to handle your case, as well as things you should do as an active participant throughout the case. Although all cases won’t necessarily proceed through the entire trial process (e.g., your case might get dismissed or you might make a plea agreement with the State), it will
Read more →Part 3: Time and Resources Are Essential When Hiring a Criminal Lawyer Fort Worth Criminal Defense Attorney Guide Under certain circumstances you may qualify to have a court appointed attorney (also known as a public defender) represent you in your criminal case, and we will also cover this option in this section. Continue reading to learn why adequate time and resources are so important to the success of your criminal case. Attorney Caseload Can Directly Impact Your Case Any criminal defense attorney you work with, whether appointed or hired, is obligated to dedicate “necessary” time and resources to representing you in your case. In theory, this means in-person meetings outside of court to discuss your case, walk through the facts,
Read more →Texas Criminal Legislative Update: March 16, 2015 The 84th Texas Legislative Session is in full-swing in Austin, and you may want to know what new laws our legislators are considering and which old laws might get a facelift. Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) has already passed an important bill out of Committee. SB 135 is designed to replace Texas’ antiquated “pick-a-pal” Grand Jury system (the last remaining in the country) with a jury pool system designed to reflect the community’s diversity. Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) filed SB 174, which would deny community supervision sentences for “illegal alien” offenders. University of Houston Professor Geoffrey Hoffman quickly repudiated the bill’s intent and outlined its unconstitutionality in a Houston Chronicle article titled “Houston Senator’s
Read more →African Americans make up about 12 percent of the Texas general population. However, if you look at the percentage of male inmates from ages 20 to 24, you see that African Americans make up 42 percent of that prison population. Something is terribly wrong. Of course, I don’t believe its just one cause, but as a criminal defense lawyer I have to ask, “Is our criminal court system failing this group of our citizens?” I expect when this group is charged with a crime, most often they are represented by court appointed counsel. Some court appointed attorneys are fantastic and fight for their clients; however, some attorneys work simply as cogs in the machinery that conveys these people down to
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