When facing criminal charges, one of the most significant decisions someone can make is whether to try and settle a case by making a plea bargain with the prosecution or try to avoid a conviction by going to a trial. Like with any important decision, there are important factors to consider, as this decision will likely have a major impact on your reputation, freedom, and future. To help you evaluate your options as you navigate the Texas criminal justice system, contact an attorney to discuss how best to move forward. 

What Are the Advantages of Taking a Plea Bargain?

Here are some examples of the advantages of taking a plea deal, including:

• Increased certainty – By choosing a plea deal, you gain more control over the outcome of your case. Negotiating a plea deal allows you to have a say in the terms of your sentencing, potentially leading to a more favorable resolution. 

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Sometimes my clients get sick while serving their Texas felony prison sentences. Sometimes they are already sick and their condition worsens. Obviously, if we are fighting to get a client released to parole, his health can be an important factor for the Board to consider. Below I try to set out common issues that arise when advocating for a sick or physically compromised client.

TDCJ Medically Recommended Intensive Supervision

If a client is terminally ill, he may be eligible for special review and release to parole under TDCJ’s “MRIS” program (Medically Recommended Intensive Supervision). The requirements are strict. As a threshold issue, you have to be terminally ill, over the age of 65, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, require long term intensive medical care, have an organic brain syndrome, or be in a persistent vegetative state. Additionally, only inmates convicted of non-violent and non-sexually assaultive offenses can normally qualify (except that if an inmate is in a vegetative state he may be released under MRIS even if he was convicted of a sexual assault offense).

I’ve represented clients in parole review all over Texas. As the vote date approaches, my clients and their family often have questions, mostly about what the Parole Board is up to and when they will vote. I’ve put together some general answers to the most common questions raised by my clients and their families. As always, this isn’t legal advice. Find a good parole lawyer to get specific advice for your loved one’s case.

1. What does it mean to be in parole review?

In Texas, inmates go into parole review 6 months before their first parole review date or 4 months before any subsequent parole review date. Theoretically, a Texas Parole Board can vote to release or deny release to an inmate any time during that 6 or 4-month review period. But that almost never happens. Most Boards will vote on an inmate within a few weeks of the parole review date. So what is the point of having an inmate in parole review status for so long? I think the most helpful way to understand the parole review period is from an administrative perspective. Having an inmate in “parole review” means that TDCJ is on the clock for getting the file prepared for the Board to vote and getting the inmate interview completed. It also provides specific timelines for parole attorneys to prepare and submit parole packets and support materials to the board.

If you’re looking to hire a lawyer to file an 11.07 writ of habeas corpus for an incarcerated person in Texas, there’s a few things you need to understand about writ investigations.

First, keep in mind that the whole point of an 11.07 writ is to find things that did not make into the record during the trial or plea proceedings. If your loved one had a jury trial, the events recorded in the trial transcript cannot be a basis for relief by themselves. This is because “record based” claims must be raised on direct appeal (ineffective assistance of counsel claims can be raised in a writ. Technically these aren’t “record based” claims because to succeed you need new evidence from the trial attorneys themselves in the form of an explanation of their trial strategy).

Attorneys attempting to develop evidence outside the record have 3 main sources of information:

Criminal defendants quickly discover that the criminal justice process in Texas is nothing like the movies. They realize that when they step into court they’re just another face in a crowd of other defendants. They feel like the prosecutor sees them as an offense report, not a person, and that the judge’s primary interest seems to be just getting the case finished.

This feeling isn’t entirely accurate, but that doesn’t make the experience any less disconcerting.

One of the consequences of the experience of a chaotic, impersonal, and crowded court room is that a guilty plea can feel rushed — what if you realize it was a mistake and that you’d rather fight the charges?