first time possesion of marijuana NEED ADVICE PLEASE HELP

[tokar854]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? texas


I was stopped for my plate lights being out, and the police officer smelled marijuana, he asked if i had any, and i told him i did ( which was around 2 grams). he also found a bong in my car. he then arrested me, I went to jail, saw the judge the next day, got a P.R Bond and they set my court date for a month later. I was only charged with possesion of marijuana under 28 grams. ( class B misdeamenor) This is my first run in with the law ever. I have been a heavy smoker for a few years and it will take a month or so to get out of my system.
i was told by a friend that they will drug test me at the court and if i fail i will go right to jail.( this really scares me because im almost certain that the left overs from years of smoking will still be in my system) SInce the arrest i have cleaned up my life , i have a new steady job ( it says un-employed on my bond or court paper), i dont smoke at all, and i work out daily.

What should i do when i go to my arriagnment? plead guilty or not guilty? Do I have other options????
Basically im trying to find out what i should do to not go back to jail, and get on probation or drug classes with comm serv.

 

[HappyHusband]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? texas

i was told by a friend that they will drug test me at the court and if i fail i will go right to jail.

Your friend is an idiot.

What should i do when i go to my arriagnment? plead guilty or not guilty? Do I have other options????
Basically im trying to find out what i should do to not go back to jail, and get on probation or drug classes with comm serv.

Depends on the County, but...
Dress nice.
Say "yes sir", "no sir" or "yes, judge", "no, judge".
Plead not guilty. (Because pleading guilty when you don't know what your punishment will be is just stupid.)
Get an appointed attorney if you can. If the judge decides not to appoint one to you, ask to talk to the DA after the docket call.
If you truly have no priors, the DA will likely offer deferred adjudication or even more likely, probation, fines and community service.
If you like the offer, accept it and plead guilty.
If you don't like the offer, ask for a reset date and get a lawyer.

 

[tokar854]

thank you for the reply,

if convicted of ANY drug crime in texas you drivers liscense will be suspended.

it seems to me the only way that i will not be convicted is if i am offered differed adjucation.

i am hiring a cheap local attorney, i know you get what you pay for but this seems better then getting a court appointed one, is this right?

any ideas on how to get into deffered adjucation program? can we make a plea with the prosecutor before my arraignment or does it have to be in court?

 

[tokar854]

Your friend is an idiot.



If you truly have no priors, the DA will likely offer deferred adjudication or even more likely, probation, fines and community service.
If you like the offer, accept it and plead guilty.
If you don't like the offer, ask for a reset date and get a lawyer.

can differed adjucation be arranged before the arraignment though a lawyer?
so i only have to go to court once to accept the differed adjucation or probation?

i dont want to accept probation if my liscense will be suspended, when i could get on differed adjucation and keep it. i have a job that is 30 mins away and losing my liscense will be devastating.

is it mandatory for the state to revoke my lisence is covicted of any drug charge????

once again thank you for you reply!

 

[CavemanLawyer]

If you are under 21 then your license will be suspended even if you plead to deferred probation. If you are 21 years or older then deferred will not suspend it. Yes it may be possible to negotiate a plea deal in advance and only appear once in court to plea, just talk to your attoney.

If you license is suspended you could also apply for an occupational license that would let you drive for specific limited purposes (ex: to and from work.)

 

[snprvnm]

A cop told me once..

"everyone smokes pot at some point, only dumb-asses get caught"

good luck, that advice sounds valid from my experience