If I am convicted or plead guilty will I go back to jail?
Under Texas Law, if you are found guilty or plead guilty to a criminal offense, then the State could put you in jail. The length of jail time depends on the severity of the crime you are charged with committing. The rages of jail time for crimes in Texas are listed below:
Capital Felony: Life in prison or death
First Degree Felony: 5 years to 99 years
Second Degree Felony: 2 years to 20 years
Third Degree Felony: 2 years to 10 years
State Jail Felony: 180 days to 2 years
Class A Misdemeanor: up to 1 year
Class B Misdemeanor: up to 180 days
Class C Misdemeanor: none
Texas Punishment
However, for most clients, the only time they will spend in jail is the time they spend on the night of their arrest. Most people charged with crimes will ultimately avoid serving any additional jail time by accepting, or being placed on, probation. However, certain factors may prohibit a person from avoiding jail. Under certain circumstances, a person may be given a jail sentence by the State or a judge or jury. Typically, jail time may be a realistic possibility under the following circumstances, to name a few:
- You cause an accident while intoxicated;
- You have prior offenses;
- You had an extremely high level of intoxication;
- You endanger others by driving erratically or in an extremely dangerous manner;
- You were belligerent or extremely rude to the officers;
- You exhibited bizarre behavior during your arrest;
- etc.
Probation may NOT be the best option for YOU
Under some circumstances, YOU may want to go to jail should you be found guilty or plead guilty in your criminal offense. Probation is not for everyone. There are hidden fees, time commitments, travel restraints and a general uneasiness of being under the State's thumb for a period of time. In addition, any violation of your probation terms, no matter how minor, could cause you to go to jail for a long period of time without much ability to prevent it.
As such, some clients, especially young people and those who hold professional type jobs, may opt for a short jail term instead of probation. For example, the minimum jail term for a first offense DWI is 72 hours. A probation term for the same offense could be up to 2 years. Would you rather deal with this for 72 hours or for 2 years?