Violent Offenses

These types of offenses are discussed separately because of the serious consequences of a conviction. A person convicted of a violent offense, for example, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, cannot get straight probation from a judge. If he went to trial and selected the option of letting the judge assess the punishment, the judge would have to send him to prison if he were convicted. Prior to going to trial, a defense attorney may be able to work a deal where the defendant could be given a special type of probation that the judge could legally agree to. A detrimental aspect of being sent to prison for a violent offense that must be kept in mind is that a person must do at least half the prison sentence before he will be eligible for probation. These crimes for the most part are termed 3g offenses by attorneys. The 3g pertains to section in a Texas statute that describes the type of crimes that are considered violent or heinous crimes that he cannot put a defendant on probation for. The bottom line, if charged with a violent crime, consult with an attorney as soon as possible and discuss your options and make sure that you understand them.

For the Texas Penal Code which describes all non-drug cases, link to:

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/?link=PE

For the Texas Statute that covers drug offenses, link to:

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/HS/htm/HS.481.htm

and look especially at chapters 481 through 485 of the Health and Safety Code.