CRIMINAL LAW

Drug crimes may be State or federal involving the possession, sale, distribution, manufacture, cultivation or trafficking of controlled substances and narcotics. These include marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth, and other illegal drugs. Also included are the unauthorized use or distribution of prescription medicines.

Federal crimes are often more serious than crimes charged in State Court. The Federal Government generally has more resources, including better trained and paid investigators from agencies like the FBI, DEA, AT&F and Homeland Security.

If you are being investigated by a federal agency or are charged with a federal crime you cannot afford to be represented by an attorney who is not experienced in federal criminal procedure.

If you are on community supervision – either probation or deferred adjudication – that means that you are generally subject to terms and conditions of release imposed by the court. When the terms are violated, you are required to appear before the Court to determine disposition of the case. Depending on the nature of the violation, your probation may be extended or your community supervision may be revoked and you placed in jail.

There are a few advantages a Deferred Adjudication type of probation can provide. Since it is not considered a conviction, it can prevent some consequences that normally come with a conviction. For example, drug convictions in Texas come with a suspension of the defendant’s drivers license. Pleading to a deferred will keep that from happening. Another major advantage is the fact that a defendant can file what is called a petition for non-disclosure after successful completion of a deferred probation. This essentially seals the criminal record of the offense from private entities. This keeps potential employers, apartment complexes, and many others, from knowing about the offense. But there are some exceptions.

Sex crimes are among the most serious of criminal offenses. These types of crimes carry a social stigma, and may lead to required sex offender status and registration upon a conviction.

These crimes include any offense where there is a use of force or threat of force. These include assault, domestic violence, kidnapping, arson, manslaughter and murder.

These crimes include burglary, forgery, identity theft and theft. These are crimes involving moral turpitude. A conviction will have severe consequences to your ability to get a job or a place to life.