READY TO NEGOTIATE A PLEA DEAL? HERE’S HOW TO DO IT

If your drunk driving defense lawyer is skilled and competent, the first thing he or she will help you do is to evaluate the likelihood of conviction in your case.

If the evidence against you is weak — and there’s an excellent chance of maintaining your innocence — your defense attorney will recommend that you defend your innocence at trial. If the evidence against you is strong — and there’s a likelihood of conviction — your defense attorney will recommend that you try to seek a plea bargain agreement.

What does a plea bargain involve?

A plea bargain is like a settlement. In the agreement, you will agree to plead guilty in exchange for some kind of promised benefit. For example, you might agree to plead guilty to a less serious offense that comes with a less severe punishment in exchange for getting more serious charges dropped.

Imagine you’re facing aggravated drunk driving charges. Aggravated DWI charges are more severe than regular DWI charges, and they come with graver punishments. In this situation, maybe your lawyer can talk with the prosecuting attorneys and reach an agreement where you plead guilty to normal DWI charges. In exchange, the prosecution might agree to drop your aggravated DWI charges. You would benefit from a dramatically less severe punishment in this deal. If an aggravated DWI conviction was likely, negotiating this kind of plea deal would be an advantage for any defendant.

Defendants can improve their situations but they can’t achieve miracles

The facts are the facts. Sometimes, the facts are stacked in the defendant’s favor, and he or she can employ criminal defense strategies to achieve a verdict of not guilty with some level of certainty. Other times, the facts are stacked against the defendant and there’s literally nothing that he or she can do to convince a jury of his or her innocence.

What does the factual circumstance look like in your Texas DWI case? Is it time for you to negotiate a plea deal, or can you formulate a compelling defense by utilizing the facts and evidence at hand?

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