Repeat and Habitual Offenders
Repeat and Habitual Offenders face greater punishment, including the possibility of 25 to 99 years of prison!
Repeat and Habitual Offenders are enhancement paragraphs that the State may add to an indictment like a deadly weapon enhancement. Both enhancements deal with those who have one or more felony convictions on their records. A Repeat offender is, simply, a person who has one prior felony conviction. Conversely to how “attempt” lowers a charge by one degree, a “Repeat” raises punishment by a degree (in general). This means the following:
- A 3rd Degree Felony conviction becomes punishable as a 2nd Degree Felony
- A 2nd Degree Felony conviction becomes punishable as a 1st Degree Felony
- A 1st Degree Felony convictions becomes punishable as a pseudo-Capital Felony
- This means possibility of life, or 15 to 99 years in prison. This does not mean the State can seek a death penalty.
A Habitual Offender enhancement, on other hand, means that a person has two or more felony convictions on their record. The Habitual Offender enhancement makes the punishment range of a crime life, or between 25 to 99 years in prison regardless of the degree of the actual crime. The caveat, though, is that the two convictions must be completely separate. This means that the second conviction must come after the first has become final. As a rough illustration, this means there must be two separate prison sentences (or “pen trips”). In other words, multiple felony convictions from the same incident cannot be used for the Habitual Offender Enhancement.
It is also important to note that state jail felonies cannot be used for a Repeat or Habitual Offender enhancement. The exception is for an enhanced State Jail Felony (essentially a third degree felony) which occurs, as one example, when a deadly weapon is used or exhibited during the offense.
Having a Criminal Defense Lawyer that will fight for you is very important, even more so if you may be facing a Repeat or Habitual Offenders enhancement.
More about Mimi Coffey & The Coffey Firm
When people look for a Top DWI Attorney or Best DWI Attorney, they look for experience, certification, and respect in the legal community. Mimi Coffey is a nationally-renowned trial attorney, board-certified in DWI by the NCDD. She has been practicing for over 24 years and is an author of multiple DWI Defense textbooks. She is also a national and state-wide lecturer on the law.
The Coffey Firm handles a wide variety of cases, including Unlawful Carrying Weapon (UCW), Assault (including family violence), and Possession charges. We can also help you try to get a DWI off your record or avoid probation revocation.
Mimi is also listed on several “top criminal lawyer near me” directory listings such as Wise County DWI Lawyers, Tarrant County DWI Lawyer, Dallas County DWI attorney, Collin County DWI attorneys and Parker County DWI attorneys. Mimi is a caring DWI Lawyer in Dallas – Fort Worth. She also involves herself in the Texas Tech School of Law foundation and enjoys using her skills to give back to the community.