Category Archives: Drug Crimes

A grand jury is a group of people called together by the prosecutor to gather information about suspected criminal activity by listening to testimony from witnesses and examining documents and other evidence. At the end of the proceeding, the grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence to put the defendant on trial for the drug charges. Grand juries are more likely to be convened in connection with more serious and complicated drug crimes, like conducting a drug-related criminal enterprise.

Every felony charge in Texas must be presented to a Grand Jury. While I can present written or testimonial evidence, your attorney does not have a right to be present. These are sealed proceedings. The sole job of the Grand Jury is to investigate and to decide whether there was “Probable Cause” to make an arrest.

If the Grand Jury indicts you, the case will be assigned to the district court and plea negotiations and discovery processes will begin.

The first thing the prosecutor looks for is a legally sound case, or one without any obvious defects that will get it thrown out of court, such as violations of the defendant’s constitutional rights or destruction of evidence crucial to the defense. The prosecutor next decides if there is enough evidence, with regard to both the quantity and the quality thereof, to make conviction probable. Finally, the prosecutor decides if prosecuting the case fits in with the office’s policy objectives, or whether a more informal disposition, like drug counseling or treatment, may be in order.

In reality, if you are charged with a drug case, you will likely be indicted and the case will proceed. If there was an unlawful stop or search, I will prepare and argue a Motion to Suppress Evidence to attempt to get the evidence thrown out.

Even a teeny tiny amount of dope (imagine 1/10 of a Sweet-N-Low packet) will result in a felony charge.

Plea bargaining, which involves negotiating with the prosecutor to get the charges reduced and the punishment minimized, is allowed in drug-offense cases. For example, a person charged with three separate drug charges-possession, possession for sale, and transportation of drugs-may be able to negotiate the charge down to simple possession in exchange for an agreement to plead guilty to that charge. The prosecutor agrees to plea bargains in appropriate cases because the government simply does not have adequate resources to try every case, so both sides benefit from the bargain.

A plea bargain may involve probation or pen time. While avoiding prison is the goal of all criminal defense when the charges are very serious, I may be able to negotiate a plea bargain for the minimum jail sentence. For some clients, jail is preferable than up to 10 years on probation.

Drug treatment may be a condition of probation. Be prepared to consider residential treatment if you are accused of multiple dope cases.