Experience
Facing Criminal Charges
Whether you have never been in trouble before or you have a long criminal history the criminal justice system can be treacherous. A good Dallas criminal attorney will fight just as hard for his client who is trying to avoid his first misdemeanor conviction as he would for the career criminal trying to avoid going to prison for good. Either case requires a skilled, knowledgeable attorney dedicated to protecting your rights.
The sad reality is that you never can escape your past. They will not admit it, but some prosecutors will recommend stiff punishment on a case based solely on the criminal history of the defendant. They may not even look to see if they can even prove the case. This is true even if you are long off parole and have established yourself as a productive citizen. Plus, a bad criminal record means that the state can ask for a high bond so that it will be difficult, if not impossible, for you to be released. Meanwhile, your job, your home, and your family are left twisting in the wind.
The newly initiated would like to believe that the system is always fair and will treat them fairly. This is not true. The system left on auto-pilot wants to feed itself with your freedom and finances. Why would the government automatically put you into a pre-trial diversion or a first offender program if they could milk fines, court costs, probation fees and surcharges off of your case? A prosecutor has a duty to turn over evidence that would help your case (and most prosecutors observe this ethical requirement) but they have no ethical duty to stop you from pleading to a charge that they may have extreme difficulty proving in the first place.
Fortunately, Dallas has many skilled litigators who can help their clients through this difficult process.