The range of punishment for a Class B Misdemeanor is up to six months in jail and/or up to a fine of $2000.00. The range for a Class A Misdemeanor is up to a year in jail and/or a fine of $4000.00. For Driving While License Suspended, the range of punishment is at least three days in jail and up to six months in jail and a fine of at least $100 and up to $500. Many convictions for Driving While License Suspended cause your license to be suspended again. Convictions for possession of a drug or for alcohol-related offenses cause your drivers' license to be suspended. If you use a weapon in the offense, or the possession of the weapon is the offense, it will probably be confiscated.

Arraignment is set at 8:30 Thursday morning, the third Thursday after your Taylor County arrest. If you were arrested outside of Taylor County, you receive a letter from the Court Administrator setting you case for a particular Thursday.

If before arraignment you have hired an attorney and that attorney has notified the court for you, you are excused from attending arraignment. If you do not have a lawyer, you must attend.

At arraignment, the judge will probably ask if you have a lawyer and if not whether you intend to hire one. You may ask for more time to do that or ask about the procedure for a court-appointed attorney if you are indigent and unable to afford one.

Yes. You certainly have the right to represent yourself, but even lawyers who find themselves accused in the criminal justice system normally have another attorney represent them.

For the Judge to appoint a lawyer for you, having the tax-paying citizens of Taylor County pick up this expense for you, she has to find that you are indigent and unable to afford an attorney. Indigent means "Reduced to poverty; poverty-stricken." It doesn't mean it's not convenient to hire an attorney; it means you cannot under any circumstance do it. Many lawyers in Abilene are willing to take into consideration your financial ability, and it is rare for County Court at Law No. 2 to appoint a lawyer for a person who is out on bond. If you can pay a bondsman, in all probability you can pay an attorney.

If you still believe you qualify for a court appointed attorney, ask the judge at arraignment for instructions about the process of requesting this.

You will not go to jail because you come to arraignment without a lawyer. However, you might go to jail if you come to arraignment and you've promised repeatedly to get a lawyer and haven't bothered to follow through with that, if you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest, or if for some other reason an arrest is justified. But no, it doesn't happen just because you come to arraignment without a lawyer.
You are much more likely to be arrested because you didn't come to arraignment than because you did.

Yes, within reason. Usually for a relatively short sentence, this will be done. If you have a sentence of more than thirty (30) days, though, it's rare for the judge to agree to weekend jail time. If you go to the jail, serve a weekend, get released and go back the next weekend, repeating until your sentence is complete, the time is counted as day for day and you do not get credit for good time served.

Yes, they can. If you were not given Miranda warnings then in many circumstances what you said to the police officers cannot be quoted at your trial, but if they are not trying to use your words as evidence against you, the fact the warnings were not read is not relevant.

Yes. The court costs will be increased by $25.00 if a payment plan is approved, and each payment causes an additional $2.00 charge, but this can be done. However, if you agree to a payment plan and don't make the payments, you may and probably will do considerably more jail time that would be necessary to sit out the fine and costs in jail rather than paying them out.

Believe it or not, both questions have been asked. Absolutely not if it is dope or an illegal weapon. Probably not if it is a legal weapon.

Probation happens in two ways. You may be found guilty and sentenced to some term in jail probated over some other term. That would sound like "Ninety days in jail probated two years." Another possibility is deferred adjudication. In that event you give the judge everything necessary to find you guilty but instead ask to be put on probation for a term. If that is done, you can truthfully say you have not been convicted for the offense when you complete probation, but if you violate probation you could be sentenced to the full range of punishment in your case.

In either situation, you would be subject to the rules of the Taylor, Callahan, and Shackelford Counties Adult Community Supervision and Corrections Department during the term stated. You would be required to abide by these rules and any other the Judge might set in your case:

1. Commit no offense against the laws of this or any other state, or the United States, or any governmental entity;

2. Avoid injurious or vicious habits of any nature whatsoever, including but not limited to the use of alcohol, narcotics, controlled substances, or harmful drugs, the sniffing of glue or paint or any chemical compound which might cause intoxication;

3. Avoid persons of disreputable and harmful character. Do not associate with persons of questionable character, persons with criminal records, or past or present inmates of penal institutions.

4. Stay out of bars, lounges, dance halls, honky-tonks, beer joints, pool halls, taverns and liquor stores.

5. Report to the Adult Supervision Officer of Taylor County, Texas as directed by the Court or Supervision Officer at the Taylor, Callahan, Coleman Counties Community Corrections and Supervision Department, 2nd Floor, Old Taylor County Courthouse, Abilene, Texas, beginning this day and continuing as directed, being not less than once each month. Obey all rules and regulations of the Taylor, Callahan, Coleman Counties Community Corrections and Supervision Department.

6. Immediately notify the Supervision Officer of any change of address, employment, marital status or arrest not more than three (3) days from change.

7. Permit the Supervision Officer to visit him at home or elsewhere without restriction, reluctance or delay.

8. Work faithfully at suitable employment as far as possible and support his dependents;

9. Remain within a specified place, to-wit: TAYLOR, CALLAHAN, JONES, AND SHACKELFORD counties of the State of Texas. Do not leave the confines of said counties without written consent of the Supervision Officer and/or this Court.

10. ABSTAIN FROM THE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL in any form at any time.

11. Avoid possession, use, sale, or control of any narcotic drugs or controlled substances, unless taken under a physician's directive.

12. Pay his honest and just debts and not over-extend his credit to a point which may cause his undue hardship.

13. Be home each night not later than 12:00 Midnight and remain there unless his work requires him to be out later;

14. Pay all court costs in the amount of $#####, as follows: In three equal payments, due on or before the first day of next month and first day of the next two following months.

15. Pay his fine in the amount of $######, to be paid as follows: In TEN (10) equal payments due and payable on or before the first day of each month.

16. Pay a supervision fee of $35.00 per month to the Supervision Officer of this Court, on or before the first day of each month hereafter during the term of supervision.

17. If and when so directed, appear before this Court to show cause why your supervision should not be revoked.

18. Submit to testing for alcohol or controlled substances if so directed by the Supervision Officer.

19. Submit to educational testing as required by Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42.12&#sect;11(C), and if so directed immediately enroll in the Adult Education Program of the Taylor, Callahan, Coleman Counties Community Corrections and Supervision Department and attend classes on a weekly basis, during the term of supervision, until earning the GED. On proof of enrollment in another educational course this requirement may be waived in writing at the discretion of the Supervision Officer pending proof of continued satisfactory participation in such program.

20. If so directed, the Defendant will voluntarily attend and participate in Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous meetings at least two times weekly and submit proof of attendance to his Supervision Officer.

21. If so directed by your Supervision Officer, submit to testing, provide information, and in all ways comply with the requirements of &#sect;81.083 and Chapter 81, Subchapter G, of the Health and Safety Code.

22. The Defendant was under twenty one (21) years of age at the time of the offense. The Defendant's driver's license (and/or the right of the Defendant to drive in the State of Texas) is suspended for a period of one (1) year under the terms of Art. 6687b &#sect;24. The Defendant is required to pay a tuition fee as required for Safety Education School conducted either by the Abilene Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Inc. or the Abilene Pro-Driving School (APDS DWI Education Program) and attend all sessions of said school.

23. The Court finds that the Date of the Offense is on or after September 1, 1993, and that no good cause has been shown why Community Service restitution should not be ordered. The Defendant is hereby ordered to complete ## hours of Community Service under the direction of the Supervision Officer.

25. Pay restitution due to any victim in this case.

26. Pay a Crime Stopper's Fee of $10.00 in two equal payments on the first day of the next two calendar months.

As long as it takes.

This is serious, not some inconvenient interruption in your daily business. It may take a while. If you have a particular problem that needs to be brought to the Judge's attention, you may approach the Bailiff or the Court Administrator and ask for assistance.

If you are placed on probation, the intake process will take at least two hours after you finish with the court.

If the bond has not been forfeited because the defendant did not appear as directed, you or the person who put up the cash bond will be allowed to get the cash back less a 5% fee when final disposition of the case is entered. That means you have been sentenced to jail, ordered to pay a fine, and/or put on probation or the case has been dismissed. If the person whose name appears as the maker of the bond authorizes you to use the money for restitution, fine, or court costs, it can be applied to that at the time a plea is entered. Have your lawyer ask the judge about the bond when you enter the plea.

If the bond has not been forfeited because the defendant did not appear as directed, 95% of the cash bond is returned to the maker.

This stands for Court Supervised Release Program. It is a county agency housed with the Community Corrections and Supervision Department (Probation) and staffed with qualified probation officers. These people secure your release on a bond approved by the Court, and if you are released on this program you will have to report to them as directed before the case goes to trial and follow any and all terms and restrictions they place on you. A possible condition includes wearing a leg monitor, but this is seldom done in misdemeanor cases. You may contact the CSRP officers at 674-1303.

ABSOLUTELY! Just ask us.