Five Ways to Stay Out of Trouble in 2018

Five ways to stay out of trouble in the New Year:

Happy New Year!! I hope you have a prosperous, peaceful one. It is no one’s goal to get arrested and charged with a criminal offense in ANY year, and to that effect I am going to give you five ways you can avoid an arrest this year:

1. Do not drive with marijuana in your car:

I do not suggest being a heavy user of marijuana. It is not the best path to prosperity and productivity. However, if you are going to use marijuana in any quantity, keep it at your home, locked away safely. Driving with it is a very bad idea because the scent of marijuana gives a police officer probable cause to search your car and/or prolong the detention long enough to call a K9 to do a sniff-search. If the marijuana is found, you will be charged with possession of marijuana. If you must drive with it, limit the times you do this and only do it when it cannot be avoided. When you drive with it, keep it an air tight container out of view, or even invest in a portable vacuum sealer to seal it up before driving. NEVER SMOKE MARIJUANA IN YOUR CAR.

2. Always have a safe ride home after drinking:

If you are going to drink alcohol away from your home, always, always arrange for a sober (completely sober – not just “not that drunk”) ride home. Take a cab, have a designated driver, take a ride share, or take a means of public transportation. Arrests for DWI are increasing nationwide, and even if you are not truly intoxicated and have only consumed a limited amount of alcohol, it is an arduous undertaking to beat a DWI. It is also expensive.

3. Do not gamble at shoplifting:

You may not get caught every single time if you are a habitual shoplifter. But you will get caught eventually. Shoplifting charges are embarrassing, a pain to dispose of, and will disqualify you from many, many jobs.

4. Do not drink to the point of oblivion in public:

Public intoxication arrests are common. If you get very intoxicated and start causing a scene around a police officer, or if you are intoxicated and cannot seem to find your way home, you will probably get arrested for public intox. APD uses these as a “end the situation” type of arrest – if they don’t know what else to do with you but they have to figure out something because you can’t stay out on the street due to your intoxication – they will take you to jail for Public Intoxication.

5. Do not stay in toxic relationships:

If you are in a toxic, dangerous relationship – GET OUT. Do it as soon as you can safely. Yelling, verbal abuse and emotional abuse will lead to physical abuse and this will lead to intervention by the system. Even if you call the police because you are the one being abused, it is not always the case that the police arrest the right person. Sometimes they mistake defensive injuries as the primary injuries and arrest the person that was the actual victim. If you need resources, call the Domestic Violence Hotline.

I hope that all my clients, my potential clients, and their friends and family can have a peaceful year this year and stay out of the system. It is so time and resource consuming to get arrested over and over again, so be smart and employ these strategies above so you can stay free this year.

Happy New Year from Stefanie Collins Attorney at Law.

Possession of Marijuana

Possession of Marijuana

I am posting/reposting this in light of SXSW and Spring Break.

Possession of marijuana can range from a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine not to exceed $2000, to a first degree felony, punishable by 5 years to ninety nine years in the penitentiary, depending on the amount discovered in your possession by the police. It is one of the most common criminal charges in Texas. A conviction for possession of marijuana can have serious ramifications on your life. You need a good attorney for a charge of possession of marijuana.

Possession of two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor and the most common marijuana charge. Many times, particuarly in Travis County, “time served” –the time you were in jail on the arrest, even if it is only one or two days– is offered for a possession of marijuana Class B offense. This is not without consequences however easy it might sound. It is important to remember that a conviction for POM, even at the Class B level, can have immigration consequences, affect your ability to gain employment and housing, and can disqualify you from receiving federal financial aid to go to school. Sometimes, a lawyer can work out a deal to keep the conviction off your record if you are willing to do something in exchange – usually this involves taking a class and doing some community service at a non profit. Although not as simple as pleading guilty and receiving time served, it can be very beneficial to preserve a clean record.

One of the ways a lawyer can be beneficial for even a POM in which a small amount of marijuana is involved is by analyzing the facts of the case and the tactics the police used to find the marijuana. Each person in the United States, even an immigrant without status, has a 4th Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. They need reasonable suspicion of an offense to detain you, and they need probable cause to search you and your belongings, including your car. If the police violated this 4th Amendment right a lawyer can argue this to the prosecution, and the judge if necessary in a hearing, and this could lead to the case being dismissed by the prosecution or the marijuana being “suppressed” by the judge – meaning it cannot be used as evidence against you. If the evidence against you is supressed by the judge, often the prosecution will dismiss the case if there is no other evidence of your guilt of POM.

A few words of caution for marijuana users:

It is a bad idea to drive around in your car smoking marijuana. If you do carry marijuana with you regularly, do not smoke it in your car and keep it in an airtight container. The smell of marijuana is enough probable cause to search the entire vehicle for the marijuana they smell. Do not let what could be a simple traffic stop in which you could receive a citation for a moving violation turn into a night in jail because of the odor of marijuana. You may not think the smell is that strong, but to a trained officer it may very well be.

Also: there is no such thing as a “Class C” possession of marijuana. There is a Class C possession of drug paraphernalia offense – which you can receive if the police find a used pipe—but not a Class C for actual marijuana. Even for a small amount you will receive a Class B. If you have received a “ticket” for marijuana, IT IS NOT A CLASS C. It is not something you can resolve by paying. It is a “cite and release” for Class B or A POM. Cite and release is an option under the Code of Criminal Procedure that allows police officers to write a cite to someone for misdemeanor POM instead of arresting that person and taking that person to jail. Austin Police Department and Travis County Sheriff’s Office both employ cite and release. I am not aware of any other agencies in texas that does. It is within the officer’s discretion to employ cite and release, and they can only do it for misdemeanor POM. If it amounts to a felony, you are not eligible for cite and release. DO NOT IGNORE THE CITE. Ignoring it will result in a warrant issued for your arrest and a subsequent charge for Class A misdemeanor bail jumping/failure to appear. On the cite, you will be given a court date in Justice of the Peace 5. You will need to go to JP 5 on that date. You will be processed, given a personal bond, and you will be “booked” into jail at the bonding desk at the courthouse, and then released automatically, instantaneously on the personal bond you are given. You will not be taken to the actual jail– unless you have other warrants out for your arrest that the officers at the bonding desk find. If you have other warrants out, you will indeed be taken into custody. Expect this process to take 2-3 hours. Bring your ID. You will be given a court date on your personal bond that you must be present at unless you hire an attorney first.

Lastly, as a lawyer I do not judge marijuana smokers. I think it is far less dangerous drug than alcohol. It can have its downsides, particularly legal ones, but it is not my business to tell my clients to stop smoking marijuana. I personally think it is should be legal and support all efforts by legislators in Texas to decriminalize possession. We are putting far too many people in jail for small time possession of marijuana and it is harming us socially and economically.

What is a cite and release?

What is a “cite and release”?

I have mentioned “cite and release” in prior articles. I will explain more about this option here.

Cite and release is an option under Texas law that allows police to write a citizen a citation when there is probable cause to arrest them for a Class B or Class A misdemeanor. The police write this citation instead of taking the person to jail.

If you receive a citation for a Class A or B misdemeanor, you still have to answer for this allegation. On the citation, there will be a court date. In Travis County, this court date will be in Justice of the Peace Precinct 5. You will report on that court date for magistration and release on personal bond. After reporting in Precinct 5, you will be sent to Pretrial Services to fill out the personal bond form and do an interview to gather some information for your release on personal bond. After that is finished, you will go back to Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 and be magistrated by the judge. You will be told your rights in the process and told what the charge is, and a bond will be set. Then the judge will sign your personal bond.

After your personal bond is signed, you will be sent to the bonding desk for a “walk-through”. At the bonding desk, you will be placed temporarily under arrest. Your booking photo will be taken and your fingerprints will be taken. Then you will be released on the personal bond signed by the judge with a court date to appear in the County Court at Law.

After that, the regular process for Class A and Class B misdemeanors will begin.

Common misconceptions about cite and release abound. The most common is that a cite and release is a Class C ticket. Any time you receive anything from an officer, you need to read it very carefully. You need to determine if it is truly a Class C ticket that can be paid, or a cite and release on which you need to do a walk through. If you have an encounter with the police in which they discover marijuana, and you receive a “ticket” – that is a cite and release. It is not a Class C; there are no Class C marjiuana offenses in Texas, no matter how small the amount was. Do not think you can blow off a cite and release like you can a Class C ticket—you will be charged with a Class A bail jumping and failure to appear. If/when you are arrested for the original offense for which you missed your walk through date, you will also probably have a charge for Class A bail jumping and will have to bond out for both.

Another common misconception is that officers HAVE to give you a cite and release for certain offenses. This is not true. Austin Police and Travis County Sheriff’s Office are two of the only agencies in the state who participate in the cite and release option. Other agencies in the Central Texas area and throughout the state likely do not participate in the program and you should not expect to get cite and release from any agency outside APD and Travis County. Even if you have an encounter with APD or Travis County, they are not required to write you a cite and release. You can still get taken to jail if if the officers deem it appropriate.

Cite and release is only available for Class A and B misdemeanors. It is not available for felonies.

If you get a cite and release or a Class C, or you received something from a police officer and do not know what it is, I am happy to evaluate your situation and determine what you are facing.

Happy New Year: Five Ways to Stay Safe and Free in 2017

Five ways to stay out of trouble in the New Year:

Happy New Year!! I hope you have a prosperous, peaceful one.  It is no one’s goal to get arrested and charged with a criminal offense in ANY year, and to that effect I am going to give you five ways you can avoid an arrest this year: 

1.        Do not drive with marijuana in your car:

I do not suggest being a heavy user of marijuana.  It is not the best path to prosperity and productivity.  However, if you are going to use marijuana in any quantity, keep it at your home, locked away safely.  Driving with it is a very bad idea because the scent of marijuana gives a police officer probable cause to search your car and/or prolong the detention long enough to call a K9 to do a sniff-search.  If the marijuana is found, you will be charged with possession of marijuana.  If you must drive with it, limit the times you do this and only do it when it cannot be avoided.  When you drive with it, keep it an air tight container out of view, or even invest in a portable vacuum sealer to seal it up before driving.  NEVER SMOKE MARIJUANA IN YOUR CAR.

2.       Always have a safe ride home after drinking:

If you are going to drink alcohol away from your home, always, always arrange for a sober (completely sober – not just “not that drunk”) ride home.  Take a cab, have a designated driver, take a ride share, or take a means of public transportation.  Arrests for DWI are increasing nationwide, and even if you are not truly intoxicated and have only consumed a limited amount of alcohol, it is an arduous undertaking to beat a DWI.  It is also expensive.

3.       Do not gamble at shoplifting:

You may not get caught every single time if you are a habitual shoplifter.  But you will get caught eventually.  Shoplifting charges are embarrassing, a pain to dispose of, and will disqualify you from many, many jobs.

4.       Do not drink to the point of oblivion in public:

Public intoxication arrests are common.  If you get very intoxicated and start causing a scene around a police officer, or if you are intoxicated and cannot seem to find your way home, you will probably get arrested for public intox.  APD uses these as a “end the situation” type of arrest – if they don’t know what else to do with you but they have to figure out something because you can’t stay out on the street due to your intoxication – they will take you to jail for Public Intoxication.

5.       Do not stay in toxic relationships:

If you are in a toxic, dangerous relationship – GET OUT.  Do it as soon as you can safely.  Yelling, verbal abuse and emotional abuse will lead to physical abuse and this will lead to intervention by the system.  Even if you call the police because you are the one being abused, it is not always the case that the police arrest the right person.  Sometimes they mistake defensive injuries as the primary injuries and arrest the person that was the actual victim.  If you need resources, call the Domestic Violence Hotline.

I hope that all my clients, my potential clients, and their friends and family can have a peaceful year this year and stay out of the system.  It is so time and resource consuming to get arrested over and over again, so be smart and employ these strategies above so you can stay free this year.

Happy New Year from Stefanie Collins Attorney at Law.