What is a Felony Indictment in Texas?
In Texas, every criminal case/arrest can be a life altering event for those accused of crimes. However, the severity and range of punishment for a particular crime generally determines its severity and classification as a misdemeanor or felony case. Felony cases are widely considered the most severe cases an individual can be charged with in Texas, and the process that cases go through from commission of the alleged offense to formal charging of said crime by a district attorney’s office is often a mystifying process for citizens. At the Law Office of Alton James III we guide our clients through the indictment process and advise them of potential strategies for beating an indictment. As always, every case and jurisdiction is different, but let’s talk about felony criminal case indictments.
What is a felony offense?
There are MANY felony offenses, enhancements, and lesser included crimes in Texas, but broadly, a felony offense is a crime that can potentially carry the most severe punishment ranges in Texas. Felony punishment ranges are divided by the level of the felony case, and are divided as follows:
Capital felonies: Punishable by life in death or life in prison. These are cases such as murder of a police officer, or murder for hire.
1st Degree Felonies: Punishable by f5 - 99 years in prison or life imprisonment. These are cases such as aggravated robbery, or aggravated sexual assault.
2nd Degree Felonies: Punishable by 2-20 years in prison. These are cases such as manslaughter or aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury.
3rd Degree Felonies: Punishable by 2-10 years in prison. These are cases such as certain drug cases or thefts over a certain amount.
State Jail Felonies: Punishable by 180 days - 2 years in a state jail facility. These are cases such as certain drug cases, or terroristic threats against police officers.
What is an Indictment
An indictment is the formal charging instrument that results from the grand jury process. The grand jury process is the process a felony case goes through to be formally charged by a jurisdiction/district attorney’s office. In Texas, a prosecutor representing the jurisdiction that an alleged crime occurred in will present the alleged criminal case, including its facts/evidence, to a grand jury for review before a case is formally filed/indicted. A grand jury is essentially a group of 12 citizens who are emplaned by a specific jurisdiction, for a specific period of time, to review that jurisdictions alleged felony cases as they are presented by a prosecutor. If enough members of a grand jury (nine of them) determine that there is enough probable cause to determine that a specific crime was committed by an individual, then the grand jury will issue a “true bill” to formally indict/charge an individual for the criminal case. If less than nine grand jury members determines that there is not enough probable cause that the individual committed the alleged offence, then the grand jury will “no bill” the proposed indictment. A “No bill” also means that an accused person can no longer be charged for a specific charge, out of a specific event, out of a specific jurisdiction.
How many times can I be indicted?
You can only be indicted once for every alleged crime you are accused to have committed in Texas. That said, you can also face multiple indictments that spur from a single event, and multiple times for committing the same act against multiple people. It is not uncommon to face multiple indictments that stem from a single act.
Example No.1 : Joe points a gun at 5 police officers and says he will kill them. Joe could get indicted for the act of pointing a gun at five different officers and could face five criminal indictments.
Example No.2: Joe shoots at a group of five people and ended up actually shooting one of the five people, Paul. Joe then flees from the police in a vehicle. Joe could get indicted for the act shooting Paul, face different indictments for shooting at the other four individuals, and another indictment for fleeing the police.
Who chooses which cases a grand jury reviews for indictment?
The prosecutor’s office of the specific jurisdiction determines which cases, if any, are presented to a grand jury within the specific statute of limitations. It is not uncommon for a prosecutor to work with a specific panel of grand jury members for several weeks/months at a time on hundreds of cases before that specific grand jury panel’s cycle is complete. As you can imagine, this can create an implicit grand jury bias towards the prosecution. An old saying is that a prosecutor can get a ham sandwich indicted if they want to. In fact, in Texas, well over 90% of all cases presented to a grand jury by the State will be indicted.
Can my defense attorney be present during the grand jury process?
In Texas, no person may address the grand jury about a matter before the grand jury other than the attorney representing the state, a witness, the accused or suspected person, or the attorney for the accused or suspected person if approved by the attorney representing the state. That said, the accused person is allowed to give testimony to the grand jury, but this is a very risky proposition that should be discussed with an attorney beforehand because it may do more harm than good. Defense attorneys are also allowed to submit grand jury packets to grand juries to review as they consider indicting or not. A grand jury packet is essentially an assortment of documents, statements, and evidence that is compiled to present a certain version of events to a grand jury to dissuade them from indicting a case. For example, John is accused of robbing Walmart on a certain day. A grand jury is impaneled and is reviewing the facts of the case to consider indicting John for robbery. John submits a grand jury packet to the grand jury through his attorney that provides photographic evidence, video evidence, receipts, and affidavits that show that John was at Disneyworld at the time of the robbery. A grand jury now will have the prosecutor’s evidence and John’s grand jury packet to review as they consider indicting or not. Submitting and preparing a grand jury packet is a complicated process but can often be crucial in stopping the further prosecution of a criminal case before it truly gets started.
What do I do if I'm indicted for a felony in Texas?
If you have been charged with a felony case in Texas, you should immediately retain legal counsel. As you can see, the grand jury process heavily skews towards the prosecution, and felonies come with some of the most serious legal implications that an individual can face in Texas, including a lengthy incarnation, loss of income, a criminal record, and more. A Texas criminal defense trial attorney understands the serious and complex ramifications of felony charges and can fight for you. Retaining a good criminal defense trial attorney is your best and first opportunity to build a robust defense and offers your best chance of avoiding a felony conviction and staying out of prison.
TEXAS CRIMINAL DEFENSE TRIAL LAWYER
If you've been charged with a felony in Dallas, Texas or its surrounding counties, the Law Office of Alton James III is prepared to fight for you. Our office has over a decade of criminal defense and prosecutorial experience and has dedicated our law practice to defending Texans of all stripes. To set up a consultation, contact the Law Office of Alton James III today at 469.638.5571.
