Houston, Texas Courts- Non Arrest Bonding (“what should I do if there is a warrant for my arrest?”)
July 24, 2008
What should I do if there is a warrant for my arrest? That is a question that anyone would hate to ask. There are several proactive steps one can take when this occurs. The first thing I would do is contact a bonding company so that I could do what is called a non arrest bond. If you contact a bonding company and they do not know what that is move on because they probably can not help you. I would hate to pay anyone to be their first case. A non arrest bond is straight forward. This type of bond allows you to avoid any jail time while waiting for someone to bond you out if you get arrested. If you talk to anyone that has spent as little as a few hours in jail you do not want to be waiting in jail for someone to bond you out. Thus, the non arrest bond allows you to skip the booking process. The bonding company will take your information and afterwards give you a court date to appear with your attorney. If you do this you will be one of the lucky people that will not be hassled by the police and potentially giving them information that you would later regret.
In a lot of instances a court will initially set a very high amount in a theft case. For example, if the value of the alleged property that was stolen is one hundred thousand ($100,000) the court will routinely double that amount and set the bond at two hundred thousand ($200,000). However, if you hire a lawyer before raising the money to bond the person out of jail the lawyer should be able to go to the court and have the bond reduced to a more reasonable amount. In the above scenerio a lawyer would be able to save you thousands of dollars when making a bond. Typically, a bonding company will charge you a 10% fee for bonding someone out of jail. The two hundred thousand dollar bond will cost you twenty thousand dollars and the one hundred thousand dollar bond will cost you ten thousand dollars. Thus, hiring an experienced criminal attorney will pay for themselves by getting the bond reduced in addition to all the other things they can do for you.
Here is a recent example of what I mean….http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5900226.html
Best Criminal Law Advice
July 18, 2008
Mr. Y came into our office because the police has been trying to get in touch with him. He had an idea what it is concerning, but was not sure if he should explain to the police what happened. The short answer is Do NOT SPEAK TO THE POLICE WITHOUT TALKING TO AN ATTORNEY FIRST. For some reason, people think that they can explain their way out of situation with the police and end up getting charged for a crime that the police did not have enough evidence for until they started talking. Keep in mind that in the United States you have the right not to incriminate yourself. Use that right before talking to the police and you will make your life much easier. After speaking to us Mr. Y took our advice and was never charged with a crime.
Almost daily I get some form of the following question… I got probation a while ago and I want to know how I can get it off my record. First, it must be determined what type of probation you received. There are two types of probation in Texas. “Regular Probation” is a conviction and can not be “cleared” from your record. Second, some deferred adjudications may be “cleared” from your record. The instrument used to “clear” a deferred adjudication from your record is called a Motion for Non Disclosure. Some deferred adjudications may be “cleared” immediately after sucessful completion. Others may take as long as five years and some are never eligible for a Motion for Non Disclosure. Please keep in mind that most government agencies will still be able to see that deferred.
There a lot of attorneys that tell their clients that a deferred adjudication is not a conviction. This is correct, but anyone with access to public records will find your deferred adjudication until you have your Motion for Non Disclosure granted by a court. Therefore, if possible get your Motion for Non Disclosure filed as soon as possible, if you are eligible.
This is an example where even a major news agency, the Associated Press, does not get the right terminology.
A former small-town South Texas mayor has reached a plea deal in a case of a purloined pooch.
Grace Saenz-Lopez pleaded no contest Tuesday to filing a false police report, a Class B misdemeanor. Under terms of the deal, she’ll pay a $300 fine and serve 48 hours of community service and two years’ probation.
The charge was a byproduct of a custody dispute with Saenz-Lopez’s neighbors over custody of the neighbors’ dog.
Saenz-Lopez had claimed that Puddles died last summer while she was pet-sitting for the neighbors. Three months later, however, a relative of the neighbors saw the dog, renamed Panchito, at a grooming business where the mayor had stashed him.
Saenz-Lopez insisted that Rudy Gutierrez and Shelly Cavazos had neglected the animal, but state District Judge Richard Terrell in McAllen ordered her in April to return the dog.
Saenz-Lopez had faced two felony counts of tampering with evidence and concealing evidence for hiding the dog with her sister and reporting it as missing.
Her sister, Gracy Garcia, was indicted on a count of concealing evidence. Those charges were dropped under the plea deal
Robert Hood was able to get arrested four times in two weeks. Is that possible in Houston, Harris County Texas? http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5890021.html
In Harris county he would still be considered a first offender. Luckily, Mr. Hood has not been convicted in any of his cases. Nevertheless, most judges in Harris county would have made it difficult for Mr. Hood. For instance, anyone who picks a DWI/DUI charge while on bond in this county would have a guardian interlock device installed in their car. A guardian interlock device is an in-car alcohol breath screening device that prevents a vehicle from starting if it detects a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over a pre-set limit of .02 (i.e., 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood). The device is located inside the vehicle, near the driver’s seat, and is connected to the engine’s ignition system. Therefore, the likelihood that this would happen in Harris County, Texas is unlikely.
