Houston criminal trials this week
This is type of week I enjoy as a criminal defense attorney in Houston. I have two trials this week. I will be surprised if one of them is not dismissed since I have a lot of favorable evidence that my client provided me. This is what becomes difficult when talking with an assistant district attorney because you want them aware of your defense, but at the same time you do not want to give them too much evidence that they are able to prepare for it at trial. A criminal defense lawyer must trust the assistant before devulging too much. The other trial is later in the week and is essentially a jury trial on punishment. In this case, my client and I had a plea bargain with the state, but the judge will not agree to the punishment. Luckily, my client was able to take back his guilty plea and have a full blown trial. In Texas, we have a bifurcated trial system. What this means is that he is entitled to a trial to determine if he is guilty or not of the offense. If he is found guilty then we proceed to the second phase of trial to determine what the appropriate punishment should be in the case. In this instance, we are probably going to plea guilty to thejury and allow the same jury to determine what the proper punishment will be since we did not like the judge's decision on punishment. I am well prepared for trial, but one never knows what a jury will do.