jail time for possession of a controled substance in tx

[shelleyils]

I was under the impression that you could not make a plea agreement with a state jail felony. Not sure if she's even spoken to a public defender yet.

 

[ERAUPIKE]

I was under the impression that you could not make a plea agreement with a state jail felony. Not sure if she's even spoken to a public defender yet.

No, there may be a reduction of charges. The restrictions on the judge's discretion are for sentencing only. The more reputable posters in this forum generally prefer to deal with the letter of the law, not what may happen, maybe if she is lucky.In my experience Texas judges are usually pretty tough on drugs and fraud, but she could get lucky.

 

[shelleyils]

From what I've read, nothing pisses a judge off more than someone not showing up for a court date. She cannot sit there and cry and say she was scared. I'm sure that won't fly. She's had good jobs in the past, but lost all of them due to drugs! I'm guessing her court date won't be for at least 90 days since she got there.

 

[dave33]

I was under the impression that you could not make a plea agreement with a state jail felony. Not sure if she's even spoken to a public defender yet.

You can make a plea deal. If people are just convicted and sentenced with whatever they got charged with than there would be no need for the court process.

 

[dave33]

From what I've read, nothing pisses a judge off more than someone not showing up for a court date. She cannot sit there and cry and say she was scared. I'm sure that won't fly. She's had good jobs in the past, but lost all of them due to drugs! I'm guessing her court date won't be for at least 90 days since she got there.

I highly doubt she will say anything at all, that's what the lawyer is for. I do not think the judge will be that upset, after all they are supposed to be impartial.
Keep in mind she is in the felony court. This is the court that also handles murder, rape any some heinous crimes. As for not showing up for a fraud charge...Not a super big deal.
90 days? Unlikely. Usually within a couple of weeks.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

There is alot of misinformation in this topic. A state jail felony carries a POSSIBLE punishment from anywhere between 180 days to two years in State jail and also a possible fine up to $10,000. As with any other possible punishment, of course probation is an option. The only offenses for which probation isn't possible are murder (anymore) , continuous sexual abuse of a child, and super aggravated sexual assault of a child. Probation for the offenses we are talking about can always be granted by a jury as long as the person has never been convicted of a felony, and a judge can always still grant deferred probation even if the person had been convicted of a felony. Whether this person will be offered probation through a plea bargain is impossible to speculate, but it is absolutely a possibility.

State jail offenses also have an alternative punishment under section 12.44A or B of the penal code. It allows the person to have misdemeanor punishment even though charged with a state jail felony. This means that the person could get anywhere up to 1 year in county jail or a $4,000 fine. For minor state jail felonies in my jurisdiction (drug possession) it is not at all uncommon for a first offender to be offered a few years deferred probation or to just take the conviction and serve 30-60 days in County jail. (2 for 1 means you serve half of your sentence.) In large counties you can see ridiculous sentences like 3 days county jail 12.44A. The person basically spends one night in jail and leaves with a felony conviction and they are done.

Finally state jail offenders serve day for day but just recently a new law was passed that allows for diligent participation credits. You earn them by working in the kitchen or the medical ward, etc... It usually does not add up to a significant amount of credit but it is possible to shave up to maybe a few months off your sentence.

 

[shelleyils]

Thanks caveman. I think I'm getting a better understanding. She's been in the lubbock county jail since second week of apr. and had not been sentenced yet. She is still on the active jail roster.

 

[shelleyils]

I checked the active lubbock jail roster and she is still there. When could they give her a court date? She's been there since 4/18. Also, on another booking sheet I read someone was caught with PCS too but had the initals ARPB next to the charge. Does anyone know what that means?

 

[CavemanLawyer]

Docketing and scheduling varies from court to court, not to mention county to county. There is no way to know when a court date might be except to talk to a local attorney (preferably her attorney) and get an idea on the general timeline. When a court date is set you can usually obtain it from the court coordinator for whatever court the charge is filed in, or from the county's website if they host that kind of information.

ARPB should stand for Adjudication or Revocation of Probation.