Criminal Attempt
Houston Criminal Lawyers James Sullivan and Associates defend Houstonians and folks from all over southeast Texas in criminal court from governmental prosecution.
An offense under Criminal Attempt is one category lower than the offense attempted. Sometimes the use of Criminal Attempt can be a reasonable resolution of a case that would otherwise be tried to a jury. For example, in 2014, Sullivan defended a client in Brazoria County that was accused of Assault involving Family Violence by Impeding Breathing, a third degree felony. Sullivan was convinced that he could win the felony at trial, but there was a probability that the jury would find his client guilty of the lesser class A misdemeanor Assault involving Family Violence. At the last setting before trial, Sullivan persuaded the government to agree to an Attempted Assault, a class B misdemeanor, with no jail time and a $500 fine. This was a 3 category drop–from a third degree, past a state jail felony, past a class A misdemeanor to a class B misdemeanor.
Since 1994, Attorney James Sullivan has fought the government in trial on behalf of grateful clients. If you need a Harris County criminal trial lawyer, contact James Sullivan (281) 546-6428 for a confidential consultation. Sullivan gets proven results in misdemeanor and felony criminal and juvenile cases in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. Sullivan attended Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College.
Texas Penal Code, Section 15.01 – Criminal Attempt
CHAPTER 15. PREPARATORY OFFENSES
§ 15.01. CRIMINAL ATTEMPT.
(a) A person commits an offense if, with specific intent to commit an offense, he does an act amounting to more than mere preparation that tends but fails to effect the commission of the offense intended.
(b) If a person attempts an offense that may be aggravated, his conduct constitutes an attempt to commit the aggravated offense if an element that aggravates the offense accompanies the attempt.
(c) It is no defense to prosecution for criminal attempt that the offense attempted was actually committed.
(d) An offense under this section is one category lower than the offense attempted, and if the offense attempted is a state jail felony, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
