Have you been charged with a crime and are seeking legal assistance? Check out these 3 criminal defense tips, then call our San Antonio lawyers today.
Forgery
When you’re charged with forgery in Texas, this is a very complicated offense. The statute is a couple pages long describing all the different ways that you can be charged with forgery. It usually requires a pretty in-depth investigation. You kind of need to see exactly what the state is saying as far committing a forgery.
A lot of people think forgery is just signing someone else’s name. Forgery can also involve presenting a document to somebody that you know is false. There are a lot of different ways to commit the offense, all of which you need to fight vigorously because in most cases, forgery is going to be considered a crime of moral turpitude, and it’s going to affect you down the road if you’re convicted.
Credit Card Fraud
If you’re caught with a stolen credit card in Texas, there are a lot of different ways you can be charged. If you try to use the credit card, it can be one charge. If you’re just caught possessing it, it could be another charge.
In a lot of cases, it’s a theft charge. All these cases involve potential crimes of moral turpitude that can affect you down the road, so you really need to get a lawyer involved to see if there’s a method or something that can be done to avoid the conviction.
Shoplifting
Shoplifting in Texas is a kind of shorthand version for theft. The difference is on a shoplifting case, very often it’s a store and they have a loss prevention person, and they may have watched through video cameras and saw the theft occur. It’s the dollar amount that determines what the range of punishment is. If it’s under $100, it’s a Class C misdemeanor. If it’s over $100, but less than $750, generally you’re looking at a Class B. Above that amount, it is a Class A misdemeanor. In most cases, you want to avoid a conviction for a theft case because a theft case is a crime of moral turpitude and it can have ramifications.
What I usually do, if I represent somebody on a theft case or a shoplifting case, is try to see if there’s a way to get the person off. Can we win the case? Can we get the case thrown out through a motion to suppress? If we can’t win the case, if we can’t get it thrown out, then what you want to do is avoid a conviction through some alternative method. Maybe we can get the state to offer a pretrial diversion, which gets you out of the criminal justice system; or maybe we can get a deferred adjudication, where you avoid the conviction and down the road, you can seal it.
A theft conviction can affect you down the road in job applications. It can even be used against you in a suit. Let’s say you’re going through a divorce and the fact is if you’re convicted for a theft, they’re going to use it against you to show you’re not trustworthy. It’s important to avoid even a minor theft case conviction.
Were you or a loved one accused of a crime and have questions about these 3 criminal defense tips? Contact a San Antonio criminal defense attorney at Rush & Gransee today for a consultation on your case and all of your potential defenses. Let our experience work for you.
Attorney Kurt W. Gransee has achieved the highest rating of superb on Avvo.
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