If you are arrested in Tarrant County for having any amount of marijuana in your possession, chances are very good that the state will seek to prosecute your case for a more serious criminal offense. Law enforcement will make every effort to convict you of a more serious marijuana offense than marijuana possession, such as marijuana delivery, marijuana distribution, or possession of marijuana with the intent to sell.
A conviction for delivery of marijuana (referred to in the Texas Penal Code as marihuana) in Fort Worth can result in severe penalties, including jail or prison sentences, steep fines, loss of a driver’s license, a criminal record, and/or an inability to pursue certain jobs, professions or educational opportunities. All of these can be steep costs for a person who in actuality may have only been possessing marijuana for personal use.
If you have been charged with the delivery of marijuana in Fort Worth or any of the surrounding areas in Texas, contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy. We aggressively defend individuals accused of these crimes.
Attorney Richard C. McConathy is knowledgeable in all areas of Texas’ drug laws and will make every effort to help you avoid the most serious penalties and repercussions of your alleged offense. Call the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy for a consultation at (817) 422-5350 about your marijuana delivery charges.
Under Texas Health and Safety Code § 481.120, a person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally delivers marihuana. An offense is classified as:
Texas law provides for certain affirmative defenses to the delivery of marijuana to child offenses. These defenses are:
If an individual has been charged with the delivery of marijuana in Tarrant County, they must have a certain mental state in order to be convicted of the offense. Definitions of culpable mental states are established under Texas Penal Code § 6.03.
The prosecutor must prove the alleged offender either knowingly or intentionally committed the marijuana delivery beyond a reasonable doubt. If the prosecution is unable to prove the alleged offender had the required mental state for their marijuana offense, their charges may be reduced or even dismissed.
According to section 6.03 of the Texas Penal Code, the mental states to marijuana delivery are defined as:
These definitions differ from recklessness and criminal negligence. A person acts recklessly, or is reckless, with respect to circumstances surrounding their conduct or the result of their conduct when they are aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the alleged offender’s standpoint.
A person acts with criminal negligence, or is criminally negligent, with respect to circumstances surrounding their conduct or the result of their conduct when they ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the alleged offender’s standpoint.
The penalties for delivery of marijuana conviction in Tarrant County can depend on a number of factors, including the amount of the substance, whether the alleged offender has a criminal history, whether the alleged offender received payment for the delivery and whether the alleged offender delivered the substance to a child.
State v. Gonzalez, 855 S.W.2d 692 (1993) — Rolando Gonzalez, without the benefit of a plea bargain agreement, pled guilty to and was convicted of three separate felony offenses of delivery of marihuana. The trial judge assessed punishment at three years confinement for two of the offenses and five years probation for the third. Gonzalez filed a “Motion for New Trial and Request for Re-sentencing” in each case. The trial judge granted each motion. The State appealed and the Court of Appeals affirmed. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, En Banc affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
Mikel v. State, 167 S.W.3d 556 (2005) — A jury convicted Nakeithia Mikel of possession of a controlled substance. After the trial court found two enhancement paragraphs true, it assessed punishment at 26 years’ imprisonment. In three issues, Mikel contended the trial court erred in denying her motion to suppress, and the evidence is insufficient to prove the enhancement paragraphs were true. In Sanders v. State, 785 S.W.2d 445, 448, the indictment contained an enhancement paragraph alleging that the defendant had a final conviction for the felony offense of delivery of marijuana before the commission of the primary offense. The defendant pled “true” to the enhancement allegations, and the trial court considered the previous conviction in assessing punishment for the primary offense. On appeal, the court observed that the record affirmatively demonstrated the conviction for delivery of marijuana was not final before the commission of the primary offense and, thus, could not be used to enhance punishment. Under those circumstances, the court considered the error and reversed for a new punishment hearing, in the interest of justice. Thus, under Sanders, when a defendant pleads true to an enhancement paragraph, but the record affirmatively reflects that the prior conviction was not final for enhancement purposes, the “interest of justice” requires the reviewing court to consider the error. The Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston, Fourteenth District affirmed Mikel’s conviction but remanded for a new punishment hearing.
Contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy today for a consultation about your marijuana delivery charges throughout Tarrant County in Texas. Richard McConathy is an experienced Fort Worth criminal defense lawyer who will make every effort to find defenses or mitigating factors to have your charges reduced or even dismissed.
Contact the Law Offices of Richard C. McConathy at (817) 422-5350 for a consultation about your alleged marijuana offense throughout Tarrant County in Texas and the surrounding counties of Denton County, Collin County, and Dallas County.