Defendants charged with misdemeanors sometimes choose to handle their cases on their own without the aid of an attorney. If you are charged with any misdemeanor, please know that facing misdemeanor charges on your own is risky and could result in serious consequences. Fortunately, an experienced Texas criminal defense attorney can reduce the risk of those consequences and help you through each stage of your misdemeanor case from start to finish.
One thing that your attorney will do is help you understand your rights, as well as the process that your misdemeanor case will go through from beginning to end. In addition to helping you understand your rights, your attorney can help you protect those rights and defend them if they have been violated.
Another way in which your attorney will help you is that they can explain the various options for resolving your case. You may be eligible probation or diversion, and those programs may sound appealing. It is important that you fully understand what each of those options entails before you decide which way to proceed with your case so that you can ensure that you are making the best choice for yourself. For example, in some cases, defendants who sign off on probation agreements without understanding what those agreements require of them are at a high risk for violating probation. In other cases, defendants who work with their attorneys to negotiate probation agreements that contain conditions that they feel reasonably confident that they can fulfill are likely to complete probation successfully.
Did you know that the punishments for some misdemeanors are rather severe? Defendants convicted of misdemeanors are subject to fines and/or jail time, and a misdemeanor conviction could also have consequences that can reach far into the future. For example, you could experience difficulties in finding a job, getting public assistance, or finding a place to live. A conviction could even affect your ability to have custody of your children.
In addition to the usual risks that come along with handling a misdemeanor case on one’s own, defendants in Harris County who represent themselves in misdemeanor cases could be unlawfully jailed. County statistics show that only eight and one-half percent of individuals arrested on misdemeanor charges and who are not released without bond before trial may be released on personal bonds. Personal bonds differ from other types of bail bonds because they do not require the use of a bail bondsman or the use of cash. Unfortunately, while those eight and one-half percent of misdemeanor defendants pay their personal bonds and get released and other defendants obtain release before trial without bond, hundreds of other misdemeanor defendants spend time in jail for charges of shoplifting or trespassing because they cannot afford to post bail.
Your Texas criminal defense attorney will help you understand both the short-term and long-term consequences of a conviction. Perhaps even more importantly, they are your best defense against being convicted. If you face misdemeanor charges, call Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Tyra today, to schedule a free consultation. Call us at (903) 753-7499, or visit us online to submit a convenient online contact form.