Robert L. Buford III

This statement is a small way to thank Robert Buford for his work on my case. In 2014, I was arrested for transporting 30 lbs. of marijuana from California to Texas. The person who was delivering the marijuana was apprehended in Arizona, and then cooperated with the police as an informant. He comp...leted a controlled delivery to me under police surveillance. The case against me was rock-solid. Not only was I was looking at 2-10 years in prison, but I was also looking at deportation since I am not a US citizen. Despite me having no criminal history, Pretrial Diversion was not an option due to the large quantity of marijuana. Because of my citizenship issue, all of the other available options (i.e deferred adjudication probation) were impossible for me to accept without being deported. Further, the judge would not approve probation for me because I wasn’t a citizen. After fighting it for over a year, I was beginning to lose hope. In the end, we were able to get it reduced to a Class A misdemeanor (that’s going from 30 lbs. to 4 oz.). I even got deferred adjudication probation (no conviction) and the judge allowed me to do the probation despite the citizenship issue. I now have a shot at preserving my right to stay in the US with my new family, I’m not a felon, and I didn’t do a single day in jail. I don’t even have a misdemeanor conviction. At no time Rob gave me false hopes although I craved for them, so I knew I could trust him.