Question:
Should I just plead guilty if I committed a crime?
Answer:
If you plan on pleading guilty in Texas, you really need to hire a lawyer.
Get a lawyer before you go into court, or at least talk to a lawyer before you go to court. The reason is that pleading guilty can result in that offense being on your record for the rest of your life. Very often, there are defenses to the case and ways to get a case thrown out that you’re not aware of, and it really takes a lawyer with experience to determine if there’s a way to get this case thrown out or avoid a conviction. Even if there is no way to get the case thrown out, it may be possible to plead no contest, which will reduce the risk of getting sued as a result of your conduct.
There are different types of plea bargains. There’s pretrial diversion that’s available in some cases that allows you to avoid a conviction and will allow the case to be expunged. There’s deferred, which is a type of probation that you avoid a conviction. There’s still a record out there, but you are not convicted and you can state that you’ve never been convicted.
The real problem with representing yourself in a plea of guilty is any conversations you have with the prosecutor or the judge can be used against you in that proceeding or in other proceedings. If you start a discussion with a prosecutor, the prosecutor really doesn’t have any obligation to tell you that you really shouldn’t plead guilty because you do have defenses and a way to get out of this. It really takes a lawyer with experience to look at a file to determine what’s in your best interest.
Were you or a loved one accused of a crime and have questions about pleading guilty? Contact a San Antonio criminal 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.