Alex Joseph Scharff's Answers

What does it mean for the case?

It depends on the crime and it depends on what the accuser told the police at the time of reporting the crime. For example, if the accuser is a woman who calls the police and reports that she was assaulted, thereby causing the arrest of the Defendant---But then the woman goes to the Defendant's attorney and signs a statement that he is innocent. I have had prosecutor's accept the new statement and dismiss the charges; not accept them and go forward on the charges; either charge the accuser...

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How do you file a motion to test in Texas?

The clerk generally will not acknowledge a motion filed by an inmate when he already has an attorney. The government will have already had the controlled substance tested by either the DEA lab or the Bexar County Medical examiner's office--depending on which law enforcement agency made the arrest. Generally it is a waste of time and money to re-test the drugs. In federal court the range of punishment is 5-40 years in prison for possession over 500 grams of powder cocaine. A kilo is 1000 grams....

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Have Differed Disposition on one ticket, does another ticket in another county count against that?

You should be fine as long as the Lubbock ticket probation occurs after the expiration of the Garden Ridge probation. You have no duty to report the ticket to Garden Ridge but I would reset the Lubbock ticket until after the Grden Ridge ticket probation is over.

Will a 2nd probation violation with no new charges send my husband to prison in Dallas County Texas?

Inability to pay is an affirmative defense to a probation revocation proceeding but he must show that he did not have the money to pay, could not borrow the money from anyone, and there is no proof of him paying for needless things, then he cannot be revoked solely for his failure to pay. It must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. Judges get very upset at failing to pay restitution, if ordered, but not usually for failure to pay technical fees. Your husband will need to have his...

What is the minimum amount of time that you can get for less than a gram of marijuana?

the range is up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine not to exceed $2000 for possession of marijuana 0-2 ounces. Different DA's and different Judges handles these cases differently. Absolutely your friend needs an attorney. There are many different ways to resolve these cases--jail, reduction to a class C misdemeanor, regular probation, deferred adjudication, pre-trial diversion, etc.

I was charged with 2nd degree misdemeanor in florida in 1999 and moved what do I do?

A Florida lawyer would be in a better position to answer your question. As a TX lawyer, I cannot give you advice about the law in a state where I am not licensed.

My boyfriend got his 2nd DWI and is waiting for a court date. How long will he be in jail if he is trying to get time served?

If he is charged with a misdemeanor DWI 2d, the range of punishment is 30 days to one year in jail and/or a fine up to $4000. I am not familiar with the particular policies of the jail he is in but the Sheriff could award good time credits to inmates with good behavior or make them a "trustee"--for example, giving an inmate with a 12 month sentence 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 credit would mean 6 months or 4 months, respectively. His ultimate sentence depends on the facts of the case, how near to his...

Can I get shock probation early terminated?

Generally you can if you pay everything off and complete all conditions within either 1/3 of the probation term or 2 years, whichever is earlier. Now, just because you qualify for early termination doesn't mean you have the right to it. Different judges have different policies. It just depends on the Judge as well as your performance on supervision.

Does anyone know of any good criminal defense attorneys in the dfw area. Specializing in domestic violence/assault.

Not to slight any of the attorneys on this website but Rick Hagen out of Denton is an excellent lawyer.

Can i serve jail time in a different county as offense? misdemeanors

Generally not. If you are sentenced out of Jefferson county, you have to serve the sentence in that county. If you have multiple offenses out of different counties, it is possible to obtain jail time credit on all of those cases, but the ways and means is too complicated to answer in this setting. I recently had a client from Houston who had a misdemeanor case in Austin and had to do mandatory jail time in Austin.