A: If you have not been arrested or charged with a crime, but the police have told you that they would like to talk to you, what do you do? Do not say a thing; let them know you want to use your right to get a lawyer. And do it ASAP.
Whenever you have any dealings with the police, you should be represented by a lawyer. If they are looking for you, if they want to talk to you, if they want to arrest you, or if someone has contacted law enforcement and accused you of a crime, you need a lawyer.

A: Even if you plan on pleading guilty, it is critical that you hire a criminal
defense lawyer to protect your rights. Representing yourself is never a good
idea. Even if you plead guilty, you can expect that prosecutors will try to
take advantage of your inexperience by only agreeing to a plea deal that is
less favorable than they would with a lawyer. Plus, an attorney may be able
to spot problems with the government’s case that you would not recognize,
like evidence that should be suppressed. Problems like that might result in
dismissal of the charges altogether, but just being able to spot them can help
negotiate a better deal with a prosecutor. An attorney, especially a former
prosecutor like me, can help you protect your rights, evaluate your options,
and negotiate with the prosecutors for the most favorable outcome.

A: Depending on your case, based on the advice of your attorney, it may be in
your best interest to go to trial. When charges are filed against you, your
lawyer will evaluate the case to determine if there is a legal basis to get the
case dismissed. If there is not, and if either the government cannot prove the
charges beyond a reasonable doubt, or if a satisfactory plea bargain cannot
be worked out before trial, then your best option will, in all likelihood, be
going to trial. If the case cannot be dismissed, it is ultimately your decision
whether you want to take a plea bargain or go to trial. Your lawyer cannot
make that decision for you or force you to decide one way or the other.
Your lawyer will advise you on what is in your best interests, but no one can

take away your right to decide.

A: Any offer or plea bargain should be evaluated carefully with the assistance
of an experienced criminal defense lawyer to ensure that your rights have
been protected and that you understand the consequences of the plea. A
good criminal defense lawyer will evaluate and discuss with you your other
options, including trying to have the case dismissed, your chances if you go
to trial, and whether a better deal can be negotiated. This kind of analysis
requires experience and knowledge of the law.

A: In state court cases in Texas, a magistrate judge sets bail shortly after you
are arrested. They do this based on the crime and your criminal history.
You can hire a bail bond company to help you post bail. They usually
require you to give them 10% of the bond amount (which you get back at the
end of the case if you comply with all conditions of bond), plus a fee that
they keep. Depending on the amount of the bail and your financial
condition, they may also require putting up property to make sure they can
get their money back if you do not comply with your bail conditions.
If you know you are going to be arrested, I strongly recommend contacting a
bail bond company in advance. They can make sure that they are ready to
post the bond for you as soon as it is set by a magistrate judge. This helps
you get out as soon as possible. There are bail bond companies that I trust,
and if you hire me, I will help you through that process.
Federal court is very different. After your arrest, you have an initial
appearance in front of a federal magistrate judge. The prosecutor will tell
the magistrate judge whether the government is asking for you to be held in
custody during trial. If the government is asking for that, you have the right
to have a hearing in court in which the magistrate judge decides whether or
not you will be held in custody before trial. That hearing is usually a few
days after your initial appearance. Bail is not common in federal court. You
will usually be held in custody or released, but if you are released, there may
be conditions of your release like electronic monitoring or house arrest.

A: Absolutely. If you are a suspect or being investigated for potential criminal
activity, it is always in your best interest to have a lawyer present. This is
true regardless of where the questioning takes place. If the authorities want
to question you while you are in custody, you should ask to have a lawyer
present during any questioning and refuse to answer questions until your
lawyer is with you.

A: In criminal cases, we usually charge a flat rate for everything but trial and a
trial fee that is only owed if the case goes to trial. A flat fee means that, no
matter how much work the lawyer has to do, you know up front what the fee
is going to be. We base our fees on our estimate of the amount of time and
work that will be required to defend the case. We are not a factory type of
operation, so we generally do not have “grocery store” pricing, in which a
given crime costs a set amount regardless of the facts. Each case is
different, and we try to tailor our fees to your individual case. That means
that we want to find out about your case and that we try to set our fees based
on how much work we think your case will take and how complicated it will
be.
If you are under investigation, but you have not been charged, we may offer
to represent you during the investigation based on an hourly rate with a cost
deposit that we bill against. This can benefit you because it can be difficult
to predict how much work it will take to represent someone during an
investigation, and an hourly rate means that you will only pay for the work
done.