If Your Loved One Has Been Arrested
You found this page because someone you love is in jail and you don’t know what to do. Read it, then act.
Don’t talk about the case
Every call from a Texas jail is recorded. Every video visit is recorded. The prosecutor will get those recordings.
Two rules apply, starting now.
First, you don’t talk with him about what happened. Not on the jail phone. Not on a video visit. Not in writing. Talk about the family, the weather, the Astros. The case is not a topic for discussion.
Second, he doesn’t talk to anyone else about it either. Not to other inmates. Not to police. Not to detectives. Not to “explain his side.” Not to “clear things up.” Not to be polite. The right answer to every question is, “I want a lawyer,” and then silence.
If a statement was already given to police, that cannot be undone. Everything from this point forward can be, and silence is what undoes it.
The two things that should happen
Two things should happen in the next day or two: hire a lawyer, and post bail. Do both if you can. If you can’t, hire the lawyer first.
The reason is straightforward. A competent criminal-defense lawyer can request a bond-reduction hearing within days of being retained, and reductions are common: a $100,000 bond becoming a $25,000 bond, or a $10,000 bond becoming a personal recognizance release. A bail bondsman cannot reduce a bond. A lawyer can. Money spent on bail before counsel is hired often means there is nothing left for the lawyer who will actually decide the outcome of the case.
What hiring a lawyer costs
If your loved one cannot afford a lawyer at all, the court will appoint one. Appointed counsel ranges from very good to very bad, and you do not get to choose.
If you can pay, you do choose.
A competent retained criminal-defense lawyer in Houston charges at least $5,000 for a misdemeanor that carries potential jail time. Felonies start higher. A serious felony—aggravated assault, drug trafficking, a sex offense—runs into the tens of thousands. A death-penalty defense might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Anyone quoting a fraction of these numbers either does not understand what the case requires or does not intend to do the work.
If a lawyer’s fee seems lower than what other competent lawyers are quoting, there is a reason. You don’t always get what you pay for, but you almost never get more. Fees reflect how lawyers value their own services. If a lawyer does not value his services, there is a reason for that too.
Two warnings about the lawyers who will find you
In the days after an arrest, the family will start getting solicitations from defense lawyers.
Letters are legal. Within a week of the arrest, several will arrive in the mail, addressed to your loved one. There’s no magic here. Public arrest records make this trivial. Those are not the lawyers you want.
Solicitation phone calls are illegal. Rule 7.03(b) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct prohibits a lawyer from soliciting professional employment from a non-client through in-person contact or through “regulated telephone, social media, or other electronic contact,” meaning any live or interactive call, video, or chat initiated by the lawyer or by someone acting on the lawyer’s behalf. If a lawyer, or someone working for a lawyer, contacts your loved one in jail or calls your house cold to talk about the case, that is a rule violation, not a recommendation. Do not hire that lawyer.
Text messages exist in a grey area. Some lawyers send text messages to arrested people, in an attempt to get hired before the defendant has time to look at his options. That’s pressure that you don’t need.
Bail
Once a lawyer is retained or appointed, post bail. We recommend Burns Bail Bonds. They take good care of our clients and they will work with you on terms. http://burns-bail-bonds.com
If the money won’t stretch to both bail and a lawyer, the lawyer comes first. See above.
Talk to us
If you are ready to hire us, call. 713-224-1747.