A Recent Case Win-DA Reduces 4oz Possession of Marijuana Charge to Class C Paraphernalia Charge by Bo Kalabus

By Bo Kalabus bo@kalabuslaw.com

Office: 972-562-7549

24 Hour Jail Release 214-402-4364

The client was arrested for walking away from a junked-out vehicle that the police found marijuana, bags, and seeds.  This sounds like serious trouble for my client right?  It sure is a perfect example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time right?  Well, things began to unravel for the State of Texas from this point forward.  First, the arresting agency initially thought the amount of marijuana seized was slightly over 4 ounces, which would have been a felony level offense.  However, upon a proper weighing of the drug, the amount actually obtained was 3.74 ounces, which qualified the offense as a Class A misdemeanor–the highest level of misdemeanor punishable up to 1 year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Next, on the eve of trial, in response to a pending motion to suppress the marijuana based on an illegal search, the prosecutor agreed to reduce the Class A charge to a Class C misdemeanor paraphernalia charge.  Finally, my client received deferred adjudication on this charge as part of the negotiation.  This essentially reduced the offense to the equivalent of a traffic ticket.  And following a 6 month non-reporting probation period (basically just keep your nose clean during the probation period), my client will be able to get the charge off his record–just like it never happened.
So what potentially was thought to be a felony drug charge, was filed as a high level   misdemeanor, and ended as something my client can expunge off his record as if it never happened.  As you can expect, my client was relieved and very pleased with the result.