My husband is a user, he has never denied that fact. However, he works for a family member who is also a user, but is also a dealer. The family member got busted, and my husband being on site of the bust, got searched. They found less than 4grams of stuff on him and he went to jail. His bond was set at 75,000.00 where this family memeber, being charged with the EXACT same thing (for the second time) was only bonded at 35,000.00. My husband has NEVER been in trouble before. I want to know why his bond was set so high. Any answers ya'll?

sounds like there is more to it than he is letting you know. usually when a bond is higher it means they are more of a flight risk. i would look into the case yourself and try and find out all you can on what really happened. get a lawyer to help you if you afford it. the state appointed ones wont do a thing for you at all. remember they work for the state not for you. if you cant afford a lawyer go to legal aid they may be able to help. start asking some questions. hope this helped.

Nope I know for a fact they did not seize anything remotely used in the manufacturing of anything nor has he ever been a dope cook. I spend a lot of my time out there fishing. so I know this FOR A FACT! The only component they found that could have been used iun making dope was paint thinner but it was in the barn with enamel paint. My husband also paints cars. He is an experienced paint n body man. As for bgeing a flight risk, WHAT A JOKE! Me and my kids are the only immediate family he has. To even make his bond I had to put up titles to my vehicles and beg and borrow money from his aunt. We live right down the street from a cop. So I figured if they really thought he was some kind of big time dealer or cook they know where we live. Wouldnt they have beeen to my house?

They even gave him back the money he had on him at the time of his arrest. Not normal if they thought he was a cook or dealer. This man only makes 350.00 a week. He had 342.00 on him at the time of his arrest.

The lawyer they appointed him is telling us he cant even see his file until his FIRST docket call. I dont see how that is fair.

can you hire another lawyer? it sounds like to me that you guys are getting the run around. i would definately get a second opinion. dont let a appointed lawyer get him the max. they dont care about us just the people they work for. fight this tooth and nail do what ever it takes.

Thats the whole point! We CANT afford a lawyer. GOD................. he is the only one working in our family, and we have 4 kids at home. If it werent for his Aunt and his cousin plus the title to our vehicle, I couldnt have even made bond! He is so scared. And frankly....... so am I!

Did you ever think that the family member is working with the police or feds to set up his seller? Since you said he was a dealer? That will always get a lower bond and if your husband didn't cooperate then he would have a higher bond? Just a though?
Holly

That does make sense actually, I was wondering something along those lines myself.

I am going to jump in here on the issue of the lawyer. As a court-appointed lawyer myself who takes my responsibilities to me clients VERY seriously, I do not think you should assume that because you are not paying the attorney, you are not going to get good representation. The decision with respect to the bond could be tied to many things--it is impossible to speculate. However, the women who suggested cooperation could be right. One thing I would suggest before you start the case off assuming that you don't have a good lawyer, is that you call him or her and request a meeting. If you explain that you are new to all of this and that this is the first time that your husband has been involved in the system, I am sure the attorney will be happy to sit down with you so you can get a comfort level. Having said that, you must remember that they have MANY cases on their dockets, and that although this case is the most important thing in your life right now (as it should be), that is true of every single client that the attorney has. To work the way it should, it really does flexibility on both sides.

I do understand all this and my husband told them everything he knew. He even told them who drove a truck they found to be stolen to the property. NatureJunkee, I never said he wasnt a good attorney, on the contrary, I heard he was really good. My point was I dont understand him not being able to even see the file until first dockett appearance. Can you enlighten me on that one?As for the cousin workin for the police, I dont even think so. We kinda figured it had something to do with them wanting to scare my husband into talking. He told them all he knew as far as what they wanted. He also admitted to them that he was a user, but that he never had manufactured the stuff. Which is what he was charged with

One thing I was curious about though, since this is the first time my husband has ever been in trouble. Will he maybe get probation? The bail-bondsman seems to think so. And the judge that set his bail even said that.

thats just how the system works on drug cases. My house got busted in they got the dope and my husband claimed it. They stiil charged me with the dope and gave me a 30,000.00 bond and denied his 4 times. its the system its crazy if u ask me

You know I finally spoke to the court apoointed lawyer, this man had no idea what my husband's name was,when he is up for dockett,or anything else. THEN......... he told me he couldnt even see the file until first dockett appearance. I asked him how that was possible since the 78th Legislature under "
CODE OF PROCEDURE" SAYS that once a return is made on a search warrant it then becomes public record, as well as affidavits taken. This "lawyer" tells me " Laws have changed since 1978" I said "NOOOOO I am talking about the 78th Legisalture of the state of Texas" The man then tells me " Oh I wouldnt know anything about that: NOW I AM SCARED!

Attorneys usually do not speak bad of each other it goes against the code of ethics. But I had a criminal lawyer that I have known for 15 years tell me that whether we hired him or not NOT to use the court appointed one. The man is "wishy-washy" and as far as he knows has NEVER represented a criminal case. How do we fire the court appointed one and get another?

What a tough situation to be in....I do not know what 2 say on behalf of your last question~>the lawyer thingy. But I do hope you find what you are looking for. :grouphug: Although I do know how it feels to have your man treated unfairly bye the system, due to certain $$$$$$ reasons.

Thank you so much for your support. It amazes me that the system is so crooked. I thought (according to the 78th Legislature) that they couldnt set bail beyond a person's means. Or did I read it wrong? I had to give the title to my husband's Harley to get him out of jail along with 4500.00 cash. We still owe them 2700. Now they are asking for the bike. We are paying as we can but he just started his job and has yet to get his first paycheck. According to a lawyer friend of mine, the bondman isnt out any money since my husband showed for his arraignment. ( he was still in jail) I just dont get it. We both know he will NEVER have the chance to own another bike and besides the fact he got this one from his best friend who passed away. The only other thing I had for collateral was my home. They wouldnt take the deed to that.

You know, I don't want to sound mean because I know just what you're going through because I've been there- many times!!! Since you're trying so hard to scrape up the non-refundable 10%, we're talking $7500 you're never going to see again. I understand your husband has the only income, but considering how long it would take him to bring home that much at 350 a week, you're going to come out in the hole. Let him stay in custody. He won't like it and neither will you, but the fact is, he landed his butt in there and he's more expensive to have at home than he is in jail (where, I might add, he's no doubt drying out and probably doing his system a world of good.) He has the right to demand a speedy trial and it sounds like they have no evidence of manufacturing so he'll probably get probation, public defender or not , although I can only speak from EXTENSIVE experience in Nevada, I don't know about Texas. If you must hawk the motorcycle, use it to pay a lawyer if that makes you feel better, but doing a little time won't kill him. I speak from experience- the first time I decided to let mine cool his heels instead of bailing him out I was wracked with guilt, but I had bills and our daughter to think about first. He actually agreed when he thought about it. I sympathize with the panic andf anxiety you feel, and how desperately you want to help, but when I look back I wish I had someone with the insight of experience to tell me it's not worth it when you can't afford it and you have kids. Speaking of which, can you guys get some public assistance for now? Hope so. Here's wishing you the best and my biggest hope of all is that your husband turns out to be that rarest of birds who gets caught ONCE and wises up! Good Luck!!

I got him out and he got a new job. He is clean and has been since the day he got busted. He is now making 9.00 an hour ( not the best) but better than what he had. He now gets overtime. We still know nothing about when his dockett is or anything and have yet to meet his attorney. I dont know what to do about that. It seems to me that the man would at least want to see who he is defending. I am happy to say my husband went from a size 30 waist jeans in two months to a 34. It looks good on him and he is happier than I have seen him in a LOOOOOONG time.

That's great news- nothing would make me happier than to be wrong about this!:) (And if mine got a $9 an hour job, I'd think I died and went to heaven! Good luck, girl!!

Well he was put to the test. And I am so proud to say HE PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS. We went to a cousin's house over the weekend and they decided while we were there to "smoke a little dope" My husband looked at them and the pipe and politely got up and said y'all have fun, but I am goin out" And he WALKS OUT! WOOHOOOO! Y'all I am so proud I am ecstatic!!!! Needless to say we split. Dont need to be there with that crap goin on. Still nothing from this attorney they appointed him. Someone was telling us there is a time limit and it's 90 days. Well if thats so then 90 have passed. I just wish We knew SOMETHING. I called the DA's office this past friday and asked them what was going on since the lawyer told us they had my husband's file sealed. They told me that they are waiting on the grand jury and then it still may be 3 to 6 months before he gets a trial [if indicted] We found out something though and I have no idea where to go look. The search warrant issued when my husband got popped was out of a different county than the one it was executed in. Is that legal??? And my husband's name wasnt on it anywhere! and where he was at the time of the warrant wasnt on it either. I am not trying to excuse what he did or why he got popped in the first place but I just think they violated his Fourth Amendment rights.Anybody know anything about this stuff please HELP!!!

Man that sounds like a load of bull. Tell that rent-a-lawyer to file for a "motion of discovery" It'll tell you everything who told what, what they got on him, & everything else.

We had 3 search warrants served at our house. The first one originated from a different County also. Law enforcement work together and it is all legal. As far as your husbands name not being on the warrant....mine wasn't either. Since they found evidence on your husband it was cause to have him arrested. The warrant had my husbands name on it and he wasn't even home. It stated an informant had been at our residence in the past 72 hours and witnessed drugs there. My husband had been gone for three days..I had no one here except my two small children. I also challenged the alleged informer in Court and the misinformation....it was ruled legal.

I have heard of Law Enforcement calling a Judge at home asking for a warrant to be signed. Technically it was signed the day after it was served...again it was challenged and again it was deemed legal.

I am so sorry that this is happening to you and your family. I would definately see about getting another lawyer. The fact that this is his first time in trouble, could be good for him and he might get probation. I was at a friends house and they got busted and of course they found dope and I got arrested too and charged with possesion. I had a crazy bond but, I only got probation and I actually had it on me in the jacket pocket. Usually if it's a first offense it's going to be easier to get probation, but they don't "play" with drug charges. I wish you and your family the very best!!

I just wanted to update y'all on my husband's case. Well as of August 3rd he was indicted. ( Which we knew was coming) We still have not heard one thing from his lawyer. We only knew about the indictment because my best friend read it in the paper. I called the lawyer and his secretary tells me "well he's been really busy but I promise he will call as soon as he can" That was over a week ago. My husband has been and is STILL CLEAN! WOOHOO Y'ALL! He went to his boss and requested drug tests cuz we heard if he can show has has been stayin clean it would go better in court. His boss of course flipped out and said that wasnt normal for an employee to ask to be tested. I am so proud of him I could just burst. Y'all say a prayer for us. I will keep you posted. It has been really a rough month for us. August 14th my oldest daughter's boyfriend got killed in a car accident. He had just told my youngest daughter 2 days before that he was going to ask my oldest daughter to marry him. So she has been reeling from that news as well as the rest of us.

hey TxsHrt! I am sorry to hear about the boyfriend,i will keep your daughter in my prayer's.......now about the lawyer not talking to you.You need to find out from the judge that appointed you this lawyer how you can get another one.This guy should set down and discuss this case with you no matter how many other cases he has on the docket!!My husband had a court appt. lawyer as well.she freely discussed his case with us.Like you were told earlier,, they don't play around with drug charges.It took them almost 3 yr's to indict my husband.when he was arrested they placed him under a $25,000 bond.When they indicted him, they changed it to a $100,000.He refused to plead guilty so they come back three yr's later and arrest me because I had gotten into the truck with him.They placed me under a 1 million dollar bond(he got jelous because i was worth more than him..lol.)They also told him because it was his first offense he would get probation. It didn;t happen that way!!! And just because you think his relative wouldn't roll on him to lessen his sentence doesn't mean he want!!It happens all the time.The ones you think you can trust are the ones you have to watch the most.NEVER take anything for granted where freinds and relitves are concerned.I know this is hard on you and your husband. Just stay on top of the lawyer thing and don't let them throw you any surprises.You need to know what your lawyer is thinking and what he doing on this case.Request another lawyer!!!!!

God bless you and your family!

I forgot to tell you.My husband had changed for the best also.It made no difference to the DA.Just tell your husband to keep up the good work for himself and his family.The drug testing thing is also a good idea!!!:thumbsup:

Thank You rjgulled! I am so sorry to hear about what happened to you. Oh we have no doubts about the cousin, they totally dropped his second bust in exchange for his guilty plea. But since he got busted with over 52 grams of meth in the first one I know he had to do some talking for them to drop the charge from trafficking to simple posession AND drop the second charge. He is doing 7 years. I called the judge yesterday because I got MAD! I called the lawyer three times yesterday and kept getting told " he is on the other line he will have to call you back" On the third call I got mad and asked that lady if the man was on the phone ALL the time. I also told her that it had been almost 7 months since my husband's arrest and over a month since his idictment. I also told her that we had to read the idictment in the new paper and I thought that was a load of crap. She said " well he is really busy" I said "NOBODY IS THAT BUSY!" the bailbondsman told me that they had had in the last 2 months over 24 bond forfeitures simply because the court appointed lawyers were telling their clients they didnt have to show up for dockett. He told me that if my husband's attorney told him not to show up, TO GO ANYWAY! I told him not to worry we would definitely be there.