Felony charges and jail time go hand in hand in the State of Texas meaning that if you’re arrested for a serious criminal act you’ll most certainly want a highly qualified Houston criminal defense attorney on your side.
How would you like to be in court facing off against judge, jury, and prosecution with no experience, no “How To Beat A Criminal Case On My Own” cheat-sheet, and no earthly idea on how to challenge evidence, file motions, or choose a co-chair (if needed)?
Talk With A Houston Criminal Defense Attorney
Don’t Put Your Life in The Hands of a Harris County Public Defender
Putting your life in the hands of a court appointed Houston criminal defense attorney, or a public defender, is not a good idea to start with. No offense is intended to any of the hard working criminal defenders out there doing their part to ensure that justice is provided to the criminally accused and the indigent. Unfortunately, public defenders simply don’t have the time or the resources to put up a competent defense on behalf of their clients.
Most public defenders are said to have caseloads on the topside of 300 criminal cases to defend each year.
Do you understand the ramifications of numbers like that?
To illustrate why you are likely doomed when being represented by a public defender on a criminal case of any kind, consider the fact that we only have 365 days per year with most of them being workable and some of them being holidays.
Quickly we’re down to about 210 workable days per year, excluding vacations.
Next, the simple math of dividing 350 cases by (8 hours X 210) and we can see that you public defender, has about 4.8 hours to dedicate to each of their 350 cases.
That’s 4.8 hours to work on fighting for your freedom.
With numbers like that working in your detriment, the chances of you enjoying a competent defense are slim, and your chances of receiving a favorable verdict from the judge or jury and close to none.
Talk With a Houston Criminal Defense Attorney
You have a right to lawyer if you are arrested for a criminal offense in Texas, but not necessarily a good Houston criminal defense attorney. Although the law in Texas, and the United States, dictates that a public defender should be assigned to a defendant who cannot afford one, the resources needed to hire experts, the time to select juries, the time to go over and challenge evidence, and the money to conduct research and investigations, are not accounted for.
The Sad Reality of Court Appointed Defense Attorneys
In essence, public defenders tend to serve the purpose of helping to process alleged offenders through the criminal justice system with no regard for the Draconian sentences handed down to poor & indigent suspects who are on financial hard times.
Can You Afford A Houston Criminal Defense Attorney?
Whether or not you can afford one a top Houston criminal defense attorney depends on the following;
- How much they charge for their legal services,
- The details of your case(s),
- The amount of work hours a case like yours will require,
- Whether or not the criminal defense law firm offers payment plans to their clients,
- Whether or not you intend to plead out, or take the case to trial,
- and a number of other details depending on the details of the situation at hand.
Attorneys understand that most people don’t have thousands of dollars in legal funding at their disposal so what will normally happen is they will offer a payment plan, seek rights to property, turn down the case, refer it to a younger lawyer and assist them (co-chair) with the case, advise you to plead out (depending on the evidence), or represent you pro bono or at a reduced fee.
Regardless of the situation you or a loved one may find themselves in, if you need help with legal defense on a criminal case being heard in the Harris County Criminal Courts at Law, you shouldn’t have problem finding a Houston criminal defense attorney to represent you on the case so long as you keep an open mind and put forth some effort.