Prisonlandia part 3

 Time in the County Jail

 

The first place you’ll visit unless you’re locked up in a municipal jail, is the county. One thing to keep in mind is the fact that you'll be taking a picture that will follow you around forever: your mugshot. So, with that in mind, make sure to make it memorable and as good as possible. Too many people, including myself, get caught up in the emotion of the moment and end up looking like crazy serial killers.

 
 









Now, I’ve heard stories of some county jails not being that bad, all things considered. However, Harris County Jail is not on the list of best places to be locked up. Imagine that the county jail is like a travel agency contracted out to schedule your flight to Prisonlandia. The District Attorney is your assigned travel agent, and he/she wants to send you on a trip in the name of justice. Perhaps you’ll only spend a few months in the county jail, perhaps you’ll walk out with probation or charges dismissed or perhaps you’ll get an all-expense paid trip to Prisonlandia. Obviously, all cases are different but be prepared to either fight for your innocence by going to trial or accept a plea agreement to hopefully lessen the severity of the punishment (more on plea deals later). Just remember, the DA usually holds all the cards – maybe some you didn’t know they have. Be wise and retain an attorney as quickly as you can if you have the resources, if not, the courts will appoint you a public defender. I love the name “public defender” as though they are some sort of super-hero, the truth is, that the “defender” probably works in the DA’s office and is a friend or familiar acquaintance with the prosecutors. Appointed defenders are typically accepting cases as extra income to their regular job and they usually have several cases going at once. Bottom line is that many of the people who work in the courts, especially the attorneys, work together quite often and may even have drinks after work and so these people work together to ease their burden, not maximize it. The quicker they can get a deal done the better because they do not want to go to trial due to the excessive amount of work involved. In addition, be very aware of when your local elections take place and where your court dates may fall in relation to the election. Just a word of advice if you decide to have a trial by judge – do not have your case heard right before an election, wait until after, especially if the judge is conservative. Conservative judges want nothing more than to appear to be “tough on crime” so they can appeal to their base and get re-elected. Unless your case has garnered a lot of attention and/or press coverage, I would suggest waiting until after the election if you can.

When you sign a plea agreement remember:

-You are confessing guilt essentially

-You will not be able to appeal the decision at a later time, even if new evidence is found.

-Your post-conviction remedies will be limited to:

1)ineffective assistance of counsel (if this argument succeeds, the whole process will start over with a new attorney, and you could potentially be facing a harsher punishment the second time around.

2)the law or statute that you were convicted under is later found to be unconstitutional. This is rare but it happens. Anyone can challenge the constitutionality of a law but, THEY MUST DO IT FIRST IN THE TRIAL COURT PRIOR TO CONVICTION. This is called “preserving” a challenge. If you challenge the constitutionality of a law in your trial court and it fails, you can always appeal it later to a higher court because you have preserved it.

3)Commutation or Pardon of Sentence – In Texas, good luck.

So basically, you waive all of your rights as provided by the U.S. Constitution in exchange for leniency. Exercise your rights, make them work harder, and they’ll try and hit you harder. Messed up.

During this process you will either be in jail or out on bond. The benefit of being locked up during this time is that you are accumulating time towards any possible sentence. The bad part – well, you’re locked up. If you’re able to be out during this time, it’s a great opportunity to have more of a clear picture of what needs to be done legally, and if indeed you are anticipating Prisonlandia time, it allows you to prepare and take care of personal matters.  Regardless of your specific situation, let’s take a look at some of the highlights that await you at the county and ultimately, in Prisonlandia.

The earliest documented plea bargain in American courts involved Albert McKenzie in Alameda County, California, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor embezzlement charge in February 1881. He originally faced a felony charge but agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge instead of going to trial. This was a notable example of a practice that was becoming increasingly common, according to History.com.

(https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-7/plea-bargaining-gains-favor-in-american-courts)


I would love to hear your positive and informative comments about your experiences or anything I may have forgot.

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