Most cases in Austin End in a plea offer.
This is because most people plea guilty and get a conviction. This is what people talk about when they say someone has a criminal record. If you plead guilty, you will be stigmatized with a criminal record for the rest of your life.
Almost everyone regrets not at least trying to avoid a conviction later on, when they apply for that job that they’re been working towards their whole lives, or that license that they’ve been going to school for all this time.
Regardless of the outcome of your case, you’ve learned your lesson: not to put yourself at wrong places at the wrong time. Even if you didn’t do anything wrong, a cop might think you did. And his word, and his word alone, is enough to ruin your life for at least the next year or if you take a conviction, for the rest of your life.
I understand. Most people feel ashamed after they get arrested. In order to avoid talking about what happened with friends and family, you decide to go on this journey alone, and you just want to get it over with as quickly as possible. So you decide to plead guilty and move on with your life. This is the most common mistake people make.
Pleading guilty will guarantee you will have a criminal record follow you for the rest of your life.
What is the only way not to end up with a conviction?
Plead not guilty.
This will force the state to decide whether
- To take your case to trial or
- To dismiss your case before trial
Let’s talk about taking your case to trial
This is your ultimate defense. Force the state to prove your offense against you. Don’t worry, there has never been an open and shut case for the state before. Let me repeat that again, there is no case that is ever open and shut.
Letting 6 people from your community that are on your side vote for you. That is what your day in court is about. Getting a group of people to like you and your lawyer.
What do most people care about? Fairness. Most people think with their emotions. And they will vote with their emotions. And surprisingly, the more you have to lose by a conviction, the more people will want to give you a second chance. That is human nature.
They will find a way to give you freedom.
And all we need to raise is reasonable doubt that the state can’t prove some part of their case with 100% certainty. This is very powerful because people vote with emotion, then justify with logic. So they will come up with anything plausible to justify voting to give you your freedom back. People like giving other people they like second chances.
Why would the state dismiss your case?
Because each prosecutor is assigned 1,000 cases a year. They only have 25 weeks to do trials. That means they can only have 25 trials a year. They have to pick and choose what cases they think are slam dunk cases for them.
And if yours isn’t, they have to dismiss the case. The reality is, they will offer you a really good reduction for you to go away. In a DWI case, a really good reduction is a reduction to a speeding ticket. A DWI dismissed down to a speeding ticket. Who would’ve thought this was possible?
Ask yourself — do you deserve a second chance? The choice is yours.