John Thomas Floyd III's Answers

What is a PSI?

Pleading to a PSI, as it is known in Texas, is simply pleading guilty to the Court and allowing the Judge to assess punishment after requesting and considering a Pre-Sentence Investigation report compiled by a probation officer. These reports include details of the offense, victim impact, criminal and personal history of the defendant etc...After considering the PSI report and any other evidence submitted at the punishment hearing, the Court can sentence the defendant to anything within the...

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Appeal federal sentence

Following a guilty verdict, a criminal defendant, the defendant is confronted with two remedial options that demand an immediate choice: defendant can file a notice of appeal pursuant to Rule 4(b) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure within a strict ten-day period, or one of several post-verdict motions. A defendant can file one of five post-verdict motions: Motion for a new trial under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. This motion may be granted (1) in “the...

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Grand jury

In Texas and in Federal Courts throughout the United States, before a prosecution for a felony offense to proceed there must be a grand jury indictment. ''The grand jury is an integral part of our constitutional heritage which was brought to this country with the common law. The Framers, most of them trained in the English law and traditions, accepted the grand jury as a basic guarantee of individual liberty; notwithstanding periodic criticism, much of which is superficial, overlooking...

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Appeal of Federal Sentence from Crack Cocaine Case

The United States Supreme Court on December 10, 2007 issued a ruling in a case that will effectively reduce some of the crack cocaine sentences for nearly twenty thousand federal inmates. See: Kimbrough v. United States, No. 06-6330 (2007). The following day the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to allow these inmates to immediately apply for sentence reductions. Slightly more than 2500 of them will be eligible for early release over the next year. I believe the 18 U.S.C. § 3522(c)(2) motion...

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Pornography

The Texas child pornography statute provides, in part, that a person commits the offense of possession of child pornography if that person “knowingly or intentionally possesses visual material that visually depicts a child … engaging in sexual conduct[.]” See: Tex.Pen. Code Ann. § 43.26(a)(1) (Vernon 2003). Child pornography is “contraband” under Texas law much like illegal narcotics. A person possesses contraband under the law when he exercises actual care, custody, control, or management...

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Sex

In Texas, a “child” is defined as anyone under the age of 17. It is Sexual Assault to have any sexual intercourse with a “child,” even if the child consents. In Texas a “child” is considered incapable of giving consent to have sex. While there is a defense for consensual sex between individuals not more than three years apart in age, the child must have been over 14 when the contact occurred. However, the real issue typically is whether there are any allegations that the sex was not...

Shoplifting

Get the best lawyer you can find and push hard to keep this off your record. A conviction or any criminal record for theft will follow you around forever and hurt your chances for future employment.

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Class E felony

Texas does not have a Class E Felony either and I have never heard of such. I would ask from which jurisdiction does this case come from?

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Smoke bombs

While Texas laws do not specifically restrict the possession of home made smoke bombs, if these devices are intended for use in a criminal enterprise, they could be illegal under several theories in state and federal courts.

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Fee for criminal lawyer

In Texas "A lawyer SHALL not enter into an arrangement for, charge or collect a contingency fee for representing a defendant in a criminal case." 1.04(e) Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

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