Contact our Houston law firm to schedule a consultation with a defense lawyer or call 888-285-0844. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer calls.

We put our clients first in every way:

• We handle all types of cases, from the large and complex felonies to misdemeanors.
• We give your case the attention, dedication, and commitment that it deserves.
• We have extensive experience with high-profile cases, from sexual assault to murder, and know how to handle the media.
• And we have the resources to handle document-intensive cases, such as white collar crimes.

Felonies and Misdemeanors including:

DEFENDANT'S RIGHTS

THE HURD LAW FIRM

1. Right to an Attorney- Defendants have the right to an attorney throughout legal proceedings. The court will appoint an attorney for the defendant at no charge if he/she cannot afford to hire one. Yet, at the end of the case, they may be asked to pay all or part of the cost for that attorney, if he/she can afford to.
2. Right to a Jury Trial- Defendants have the right to a speedy, public jury trial. At the trial, the defendant is presumed innocent, and cannot be convicted unless 12 impartial jurors have been convinced of the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
3. Right to Confront Witnesses- Defendants have the right to confront and cross-examine all witnesses testifying against them.
4. Right Against Self-Incrimination- The defendant has the right to remain silent, to prevent self-incrimination, and the right to testify on their own behalf.
5. Right to Produce Evidence - The defendant has the right to present evidence and to have the court issue a subpoena to bring into court all witnesses and evidence favorable to them, at no cost to them.

The statement above is not legal advice! This statement is not intended to be a correct statement of law in your jurisdiction. This statement is intended to give you a very general understanding of what is involved in this type of crime. Please consult an attorney to find out what law applies in your jurisdiction.

Posting Bail

When you are arrested for a crime in the Houston area, the arresting officer (with the help of the District Attorney's office) will decide the charges that will be brought against you. The bail associated with your charges is fixed by the jail staff. They look at what is called a bond schedule for each of the offenses for which you are charged, add them up, and then assign the appropriate amount of bail that you will need to come up with in order to be released from jail. The arresting officer may ask the judge in charge of your case to set the bail beyond what is listed in the schedule, or if there are extenuating circumstances, he may ask for "no-bond."

State law required that you appear before a judge within 48 hours of your arrest for a felony and 24 hours for a misdemeanor, excluding weekends and holidays. That means that if you are arrested on Friday evening, you will probably appear before a Houston criminal judge sometime on Tuesday. In the meantime, an intake deputy with the district attorney's office will review the police report and decide what criminal charges, if any, will be brought against you. In some cases, the criminal charges against you are dismissed and you are free to go home. In other instances, the D.A.'s office will charge you with a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

When the police arrest someone, they usually charge you with the most severe crime that the offense warrants. This is known as "curbside justice", when a person is charged with a felony when the facts really warrant a misdemeanor charge. The police know that if a person is charged with a felony is makes it more difficult to get them out of jail, through a higher bond amount and longer processing times. It is also possible that the D.A.'s office will do the reverse and charge you with a more serious charge than you were originally arrested for. This is a result of prior convictions being found on your rap sheet. The criminal charges that are ultimately placed against you will be the primary determinant on how high your bail amount will be set. 

POSTING BOND THROUGH A BAIL BONDSMAN

If you are assigned a bail amount and are required to post bail, there are three ways of doing it. The first and most popular way is to use the services of a bail bondsman. These bail agencies will usually charge you 10% of the total bail amount in order to post the bail amount with the county authorities. This ten percent amount is not set in stone, so it may be wise to try and negotiate a lesser amount. Some bondsmen charge six percent, while others require half the amount up front and then will allow you to make payments on the rest, while others give you more liberal terms. It is a good idea to ask around and negotiate, or ask your Houston criminal lawyer to recommend a trusted bail bondsman. 

DEPOSITING BAIL TO THE COURT

The second way to get out of jail is by depositing the total amount of bail directly to the court. In Harris County, this can be done through the Harris County Clerk's Office Bonding Window located at 49 San Jacinto in Downtown Houston. The advantage of posting bail in this manner is that, once the trial is finished and the accused has appeared in court as required, the entire amount of the bond will be returned to the person who deposited it, usually within 6-10 weeks. The disadvantage of using cash for bail is that most persons do not readily have the large sums of money needed to do this.

If the case is going to go on for a long period of time, the use of a cash bond may cost a significant amount in lost interest, and it may bring undesired attention from law enforcement authorities. The police and federal government pay special attention to people who post large cash bonds with them, and you may incur the wrath of the Franchise Tax Board or the Internal Revenue Service, even if the police do not find something suspicious in your financial records. It is best to consider all of your options before using cash for bail. 

USING PROPERTY FOR BAIL

The third and least-popular way of posting bail is by posting a property bond with the court. The owner of the real estate property temporarily transfers the deed of the property to the court while the person is out on bail. The property must be in the State of Texas, but can be located in any county in the state, and can be owned by anyone, not just the accused or a member of the immediate family. However, the value of the property must equal twice the amount required to make bail. For example, of your bond is set at $100,000, than the property you use to post bond must be valued at $200,000 or higher. The value on the property is calculated after the subtraction of outstanding mortgages, liens against your property, and/or any outstanding taxes that may be levied against you. Using property for bail is a very complex procedure that may cost quite a bit in order to get the property appraised correctly, and my also take a few weeks to get all of the paperwork in order.