Facing Texas Criminal Charges? How Previous Convictions Might Impact a Current Case
In Texas, a person’s previous criminal convictions may come back to haunt the present. If you are facing a criminal charge in Texas, you must carefully consider the number and type of any previous criminal convictions. In some situations, a previous conviction or convictions may be used to “enhance” or raise the punishment level in the charge you are now facing.
Your previous convictions may have no impact, a minor impact or in some cases a major impact with lengthy mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment. So, how does the law work?
1st degree felony charges: If you face a first degree felony, one prior non state jail felony conviction raises your statutory range from 5-99 or life to 15-99 years or life. Two prior sequential non state jail felony conviction raise the minimum punishment to an eye popping 25 years.