Houston Criminal Defense Attorney | What NOT To Do In Court!

As a Criminal Defense Attorney in Houston I often get asked, “What can I do to screw myself up in court?”  There are multiple things that you can do to call negative attention to yourself in court.  In this blog I am going to talk about a few of the things you can do wrong.  And yes, these things do happen….frequently.

1.     Not Dressing Appropriately.  You would not believe how many times I have had clients show up in shorts.  Shorts are not appropriate for court.  Neither is wearing your pants below your butt.  If you walk into any court you will usually hear a bailiff giving a speech telling someone to pick up their pants and tuck in their shirt.  Its court, not the club.  Dress nice or you run the risk of being singled out.

2.       Being Late.  People are late every single day, in every single court.  It’s nothing new, and the judges get sick of it.  You will usually get one free pass, but the second time you run the risk of getting your bond revoked.  If that happens you could possibly be taken into custody and be forced to post another bond.  Your bond company will not be happy with you either.  And don’t say, “I had a flat tire”, or “my car broke down”….even if it’s true, just trust me.

3.       Your Phone Rings, You Fall Asleep, You Talk To Much, PDA!  These are pretty much self-explanatory.  If your phone rings everyone stares at you.  If you fall asleep the bailiff wakes you up, you get scared, and everyone laughs.  If you talk, they tell you to shut up or to sit in the jury box, if you are kissing on your significant other, they will call you out and kick your “sweetie” outside.  All of these things do the one thing you do not want…call attention to you.  Just lay low in court and be quite.  There will be plenty of time for all of that once you leave court.

4.      Do Drugs On Bond.  This usually comes into play for the people who break the rules above.  If you run into a judge in a bad mood, you run the risk of being sent for a drug test.  If that drug test is positive you could wind up locked up once again.  You shouldn’t be doing drugs in the first place, but you especially shouldn’t be using when there is a chance that you could be sent for a drug test by a criminal judge.

The reason I am writing this blog is because 3 of the 4 happened to me today.  It’s extremely frustrating for a lawyer to have to deal with this.  Instead of working on your case, your Houston Criminal Defense Attorney is going to end up begging the judge not to throw you in jail.  So if you find yourself in trouble and looking for a Criminal Lawyer in Houston, just remember these rules and make life a little easier for everyone!

Houston Criminal Defense Attorney | Jail Phone Calls Are Recorded!!

Just a tip to anyone who might ever be in jail, or have a family member or friend in jail…don’t say anything you on the phone that you would not want the prosecutor handing your case to hear.  Being a Houston Criminal Defense Attorney I have come across many individuals who did not know that all jail phone calls are recorded.  And that’s because there is an automated voice on the phone that tells you the call is being recorded.

A perfect example is a case I heard about where the defendant swore up and down to his attorney that he was innocent.  It got to the point where the attorney was convinced as well that he was telling the truth.  The case dragged on for over a year until the point where it was time to take a plea deal or set it for trial.  The prosecutor called the day before court and said there was some interesting jail phone calls, and that the defense attorney might want to listen to them.

Well surprise, surprise…on these phone calls, the defendant admitted guilt several times and was still running his “business” and giving directions to his people on the outside.  The defense attorney got a copy, let his client listen to the calls, and they took a plea deal the next day.

The first thing this defendant did wrong was lie to his attorney.  If your attorney does not know the truth, then it is extremely hard to defend the case.  The second thing he did wrong was talk about private business on the jail lines.  This was an extreme example, but it can come into play with even the smallest of criminal cases.  You could say something that is completely innocent about your case and your words may be used against you.  A lot of times words are taken out of context and things sound worse than they really are.  Nothing is worse than being innocent and arrested for something you didn’t do.  The last thing you want to do in this situation is say anything that might call your innocence into question.

So to sum it all up, DON’T TALK ABOUT YOUR CASE ON THE JAIL PHONES!  Your family can come visit you, so can your Houston Criminal Defense Attorney.  And it’s really none of your friends business!  There is a proper time to discuss your case, and over the phone is not one of them.  I would be willing to bet that almost every Criminal Lawyer in Houston has a story that is similar to the one above.  So if you are ever in the horrible spot of being in jail, or having a loved one in jail, limit your phone conversations to anything other than your criminal case.