Daily Archives: September 27, 2011
Hiring an Out of County Attorney
Some people say you should never hire a Criminal Lawyer in Houston to handle a case in another county. The people who argue this usually say that it is better to hire someone who is well connected in the other counties court house. I think that is a complete myth, and that defendants should be more concerned about hiring someone that cares about them and about their case.Some people say you should never hire a Criminal Lawyer in Houston to handle a case in another county. The people who argue this usually say that it is better to hire someone who is well connected in the other counties court house. I think that is a complete myth, and that defendants should be more concerned about hiring someone that cares about them and about their case.
I have heard clients express concern over hiring out of town attorneys a ton of times. As a matter of fact I heard it today in my office. A lady (who lives in Houston) came in with a case in Galveston County and mentioned that she had met with a couple of Galveston attorneys. She mentioned that those Galveston attorneys both warned her not to hire a Houston Criminal Defense Attorneybecause they didn’t know the prosecutors and judges like they do.
I personally think that personal connections mean very little when it comes down to defending a criminal case. The attitude of the Galveston attorneys probably stems more from the fact that they are concerned that a lot of “their” cases are going to out of town attorneys. I have worked in more counties than I can remember and I honestly think the results of the cases have been fairly consistent with what I thought would happen on each case.
Each case is very fact specific, so it’s hard to give dismissal percentages, etc. But almost everyCriminal Lawyer in Houston will probably tell you that they have a gut feeling whether or not a case is getting dismissed or going to trial from the first time they hear the story. And I can honestly say that I do not think I have ever had a prosecutor treat a case unfairly because it was an “out of town” lawyer.
Bottom line, if you are charged with a crime it is your life, your record on the line. You need to go with the person who you feel the most comfortable with; the person who you think will fight to get you the best possible outcome. Not the person who you think is most likely to play golf with the judge.
The Importance of Requesting an ALR Hearing
As a Houston DWI Attorney, the biggest (and one of the most costly) mistakes I see is individuals waiting too long to hire an attorney. The problem is, when you are charged with DWI in the state of Texas you have 15 days to request an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing. If you do not do this within the first 15 days, then your license is automatically suspended for a set number of days depending on certain factors.As a Houston DWI Attorney, the biggest (and one of the most costly) mistakes I see is individuals waiting too long to hire an attorney. The problem is, when you are charged with DWI in the state of Texas you have 15 days to request an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing. If you do not do this within the first 15 days, then your license is automatically suspended for a set number of days depending on certain factors.
A Houston DWI Attorney can fax the Texas Department of Public Safety and request a live hearing for you. It is almost always better to have a live hearing as your attorney can subpoena the arresting officer to be there. Many times the officer does not show up and you win your license case automatically. A “win” in an ALR hearing simply means that DPS will not suspend your license.
If you procrastinate in hiring an attorney you MUST call DPS and request the hearing yourself. Once you hire an attorney, the attorney can call DPS and take the case over. The number to call to request the hearing is very simple to find. When you were arrested you should have received a paper called a “Temporary Driving Permit”, on the bottom of this page in the fine print will be the instructions and the number you must call.
If you lose your hearing, or never request it, you will have your license suspended and you will have to get an occupational license. You will also have to pay a reinstatement fee in order to get your license back at the end of the suspension period. Not acting quickly when you are charged with DWI ends up costing you more in the long run! So if you or someone you know are in the unfortunate position of being accused of DWI, contact a DWI Lawyer in Houston as soon as possible. Your license and your checkbook will thank you later.