In Texas, the typical traffic case or other Class "C" misdemeanor starts with the issuance of the citation or notice to appear to the defendant. Your signing the citation is not an admission of guilt, but only a promise to appear and answer the charge. Signing the citation alleviates the need for the officer to take you before a magistrate.
If you think you may want to hire an attorney to represent you in the matter, it is best to do so before the due date on the citation. I sometimes do not take cases once they have been reset or the person has already been to court without me.
When you are charged with a traffic violation, or any other Class "C" misdemeanor in the Justice of the Peace or Municipal Court, there are basically three possible outcomes.
Traffic violations and other Class "C" misdemeanors are disposed of in one of three ways. Like most criminal cases, they are either dismissed, plea bargained or tried. The key is to dispose of the case in a way that best serves your goals. Of course we all prefer dismissals, but this is not always a realistic outcome. Ask yourself the following. In the handling of this matter, what am I trying to accomplish? What interest am I trying to protect? Do I want to keep this off of my record? Do I want my day in court? How strong is my case? What exactly is at stake? These considerations should be discussed with your lawyer.
If I hire an attorney, will my case be dismissed?
For a case to be dismissed, there have to be grounds for dismissal. Another words, the prosecutor must decide that there is some procedural, legal or factual reason that they cannot prove their case and therefore move to dismiss it. If your attorney is on the ball, he or she will pick up on potential flaws in the state's case prior to considering either a plea bargain or going to trial. In the representation of my clients, when I find flaws in the state's case, I either point them out to the prosecutor or file motions and let the judge decide. This is where the experience and familiarity of an attorney with the prosecutor and court pays off. Some prosecutors I deal with are willing to move for dismissal once I point out a problem with a case, while others would prefer the judge to decide, even if they know the defect is fatal to thier case.
Be aware that even if a traffic violation or other Class "C" misdemeanor is dismissed, the state may refile the case as long as it does so within the statute of limitations.
If there are no grounds to dismiss your case, or if your case was dismissed and timely refiled without any flaws, then it is time to weigh the other options available to dispose of your case through plea bargaining or trial.
What is a plea bargain?
A plea bargain is a compromise. Simply put, you want something, and the state wants something. You enter into an agreement with the state to do or refrain from doing certain things over a set period of time. Upon your successful completion of your side of the bargain, the state honors its obligations under the agreement to dismiss the case or otherwise dispose of it in the manner agreed to. If you fail to successfully fulfill your obligations under the plea agreement, you may subject yourself to a conviction, additional fines, a summons to appear at a show cause hearing, and warrants for your arrest.
What is the advantage of having an attorney if I just want a plea bargain?
An attorney can look at your case with a trained eye not only to determine whether there are grounds for dismissal, but to expose weaknesses to the prosecutor. While these weaknesses may not be cause for dismissal, they may still be significant enough to present problems for the prosecutor in the presentation of the case at trial. If you are not represented, the prosecutor will be more confident that they can more favorably present their side of the case, in spite of the weaknesses, than they would be able to with an experienced adversary opposing them at trial and exploiting the weaknesses of the case.
Generally, when people are represented, even if they have loser case, the prosecutor knows that the trial will not be a five minute slam dunk. It has been my experience therefore that you have more leverage to plea bargain when you are represented by an attorney. I represented several clients where the prosecutor would not even consider a plea bargain but for the fact that the defendant was represented by an attorney.
Should I take a plea bargain? What are the risks?
If the plea agreement delivers the outcome you desire, for example, a dismissal, and you can comply with the conditions of the plea agreement, it may be a viable option for you. There is always a risk that you may not successfully comply with the agreement. Your attorney should make you aware of your obligations under the agreement as well as the consequences for your compliance and non-compliance as well. The amount of risk involved in taking a plea agreement really depends on your ability to comply. In a plea agreement you have a good degree of control in the outcome or disposition of your case. A trial on the other hand is a roll of the dice. If your contemplating going to trial, your attorney should give you the best and worst scenarios. If you decide to go to trial, make sure you would be able to live with the consequences should the worst scenario come to pass.
Do I have to accept a plea bargain?
No. You have an absolute right to a trial.
My case is not going to be dismissed. The state will not offer a plea agreement or I do not want to accept a plea bargain. What now?
You have two choices at this point. You can either pay the fine which will result in a conviction, or go to trial. Your only hope to avoid conviction is a trial. Why pay the fine? Usually, at this point, my position is that we either have a good case that should be tried, or we have a bad case but we will make the state work for the conviction rather than hand it to them. Besides, even if it is a bad case to try, there is always the chance you could be found not guilty. We have all seen cases where the verdict has turned out to be oppoisite of what we would have expected, given the facts of the case. Once a case is in the hands of a jury, anything can happen.
Charles French was licensed to practice law in Texas in 1991. The majority of his practice includes the Justice of the Peace and Municipal Courts in Houston, Harris County and surrounding counties. You may visit his website by going to:
