August 7, 2025 • 30 mins
Being arrested can be a confusing and overwhelming experience, and the legal process that follows can feel incredibly slow. In this new episode of the "So You Got Arrested Podcast Show," we sit down with Judge Lefton to get an insider's perspective on what happens after you're taken into custody.
Why does it take so long? Judge Lefton explains the critical steps that require time and diligence from all parties involved, including the exchange of evidence (discovery), the need for thorough investigations, and the sheer volume of cases moving through the court system.
This episode is an essential guide for anyone who wants to understand the criminal defense process, whether you've been arrested, have a loved one in the system, or are simply curious about how justice is served. Get a raw, unfiltered look at the journey from arrest to resolution, and learn why every step, no matter how small, is a crucial part of the process.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The Texas justice system is messy, so let's break
it down.
You're listening to so you gotarrested the podcast that tells
you what really happens after anarrest hosted by brick criminal
defense attorneys.
We talk to the people who'velived it, worked in it and been
shaped by it, whether you'refacing charges or just want to
understand your rights, youroptions and the smart moves that
(00:23):
could change everything.
We've got your back.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good evening everybody.
This is Scott Simpson andStephen Barrera.
We're with Brick CriminalDefense.
Good to see you again this week.
And this week we have a guestwith us.
We have Lauren Lefton and sheis a part-time city magistrate
and so we're going to talk aboutwhen you get arrested, like
we've been talking about a lotof different weeks, and so so,
lauren, I picked up a DWI Okay,all right, and I'm scared, and
(00:48):
they put me in this big cellwith a bunch of different people
like and some are mean, one guypissed himself, oh no, and and
like what the hell is going on?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
It sounds like a night at the river went wrong.
And so where?
What are you doing?
What's gone wrong?
Obviously, you are accused ofdrinking and driving, and now
you're in the process.
So whether you are guilty ornot guilty is irrelevant at this
point.
You have to go through thisexperience and then hire a great
law firm, like maybe Rick, torepresent you in your DWI.
(01:19):
So you've been arrested.
The first thing, if you'rearrested by San Antonio police
department, you're going to goto the city detention center,
which is on South Frio.
If you're arrested by asheriff's department or another
small municipality, you're goingto go straight to the Barrett
County Jail on Comal Street.
So I work on Frio.
(01:40):
So if you see me as a judge,what will happen is you arrive
at the city detention center,they book you, they do your
standard search.
That's when, in Scott'sscenario, you then wake up.
You're in the cell with all theother misdemeanor offenders.
So not only the drunk tank withthe guy that pissed himself,
but you have the guy that maybehit his wife or girlfriend and
(02:02):
had a little marijuana on himalso.
So you're in the cell with abunch of guys sitting and
waiting and you wonder what istaking so long?
Why am I sitting here?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
well, and, and to be clear, you said a bunch of guys,
women get arrested too right,we promote equality here on this
podcast.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes plenty of women get arrested.
They hit their boyfriends.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
They drink and drive they.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
So women or men are all there and they do segregate
the cells.
So there are two cellsdedicated to women, there are
cells dedicated to men.
They separate felony men andmisdemeanor men.
They also for men, not forwomen, separate if they think
there's a different preferenceand maybe gender or preferences,
(02:46):
they keep those people separate.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
I wasn't aware of that Right.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
So typically I don't know the PC.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
People who might identify differently or have
different orientations.
They may get placed separately.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
So they separate them as well.
So they do try to create a safeenvironment so that you know
the angry guy doesn't attack theless angry guy.
So still scary, still veryscary, and you feel very
frustrated because you don't geta lot of answers.
So you're sitting in the cell.
The detention staff hashopefully given you a small
white piece of paper with a PINnumber on it, and that PIN
(03:21):
number is supposed to allow youto make phone calls.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
When does that happen ?
Because I know we get callsfrom family that say, hey, my
loved one was just arrested.
When am I going to hear fromthem?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Right, and that's a great question.
So it's supposed to happenright away.
When they're put in the cell,they're supposed to have a phone
with a pin.
However, if you come in intoday's world, we don't memorize
phone numbers anymore.
So that's the first obstacle is, if you don't have any phone
numbers memorized and your phonewas dead or you weren't
arrested with your phone, youhave no way of getting numbers
to call, which is a challengeand no one can help you with
(03:57):
that.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
The first thing we've got to learn is that we need to
remember somebody's phonenumber if we ever get arrested.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yes, I always say you need to have at least one
number memorized and that personneeds to know to answer,
collect calls.
Right that's.
It's a two-step process.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
My next tattoo yeah, put that on the back of all of
our cards.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
So.
But if you don't get the pieceof paper or you can't get
through the jail, the city jailis supposed to allow you a free
phone call, but it's afteryou've seen the judge, which can
be several hours later.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
So that's what I wanted to ask about.
From the time that somebody isplaced in a cuffs by SAPD, how
long is it before they get infront of you?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
So it varies.
What happens is the person isarrest, booked.
The officer then goes to thewhat they call the warrant
clerks at the city and he saysI've arrested so-and-so.
To what they call the warrantclerks at the city and he says
I've arrested so-and-so, runtheir criminal history.
This is what they were arrestedfor.
And then they go and they writethe report and there's no clock
on these officers for how longthey want to take to write the
report.
(04:56):
So DWIs, for example, are verycomplicated reports and involve
a lot of paperwork.
On top of that, if it's a blooddraw DWI, so when you're
arrested for a DWI you have theoption to give a breath specimen
.
If you refuse, typically theydo go and they get a warrant
from a judge and that so thateven probably adds at least an
hour more to your weight becausethey get there, there's the
(05:18):
refusal, so they go for thewarrant.
First the judge signs off onthe warrant.
If there's probable cause, thenthey execute the warrant,
meaning they have nurses at thejail, they pull you out of your
cell, take you back to thenurse's station and they do the
blood draw, and then so that'sprobably added at least 30
minutes to an hour, just beforethe officer even starts writing
(05:39):
his report.
Now, a little secret is a lotof these officers probably copy
and paste the narrative into thebody of their police report.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
So then sometimes there's an officer who doesn't
want to get back on patrol untilthe end of their shift Right.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So let's say they make the arrest at 1230.
If they knock out the report andall of that in two hours, they
have to keep working until 6 am,but if they happen to stay
there till like 4.30, sounfortunately there's just no
control of how long the officerchooses to take to turn in a
report.
And I have to say, when I work Itry to be proactive, because
(06:18):
it's not fair to sit in a jailcell with uncertainty, not being
able to contact family.
The city jail does not feed youat all.
There's no food there.
They do provide water, ofcourse, but it's not a
comfortable circumstance.
It's either cold or it'suncomfortable, it's stinky.
So I try to be very proactivewhen I'm working, in that if I
can check with the clerks, ifsomeone's been there six hours,
(06:40):
I start looking for the officerand say where's the report?
Or and I have a nicerelationship with the nurses, so
if someone's there for mentalhealth or has physical
disabilities, they may say to mehey, this guy's been here a
long time, like let's speakbecause they want him out.
Cause at the end of the day,when you arrest someone, that
person's body then is thepossession of either the city or
the county.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
You become responsible for them.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Right, a hundred percent, and so I do try to help
make sure, if I think someoneis kind of being lost or
forgotten in the process, tomove it forward.
But once the officer turns inthe report, well before they
turn it in, first of all there'sthe DA there and the DA does
review it and they make theirown determination.
(07:21):
Is there probable cause forarrest?
Speaker 4 (07:24):
A lot of our viewers aren't familiar.
I mean, we've mentioned termslike probable cause, but can you
just explain what that is?
If they say, hey, I'm trying tofind probable cause, or I want
to see probable cause, what isthat?
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I define it as more likely than not that something
happened.
So there has to be a basis, afoundation, a few indicators of
evidence.
It doesn't mean that you'reguilty.
It doesn't mean that you'reguilty.
It doesn't mean it's a lock,solid, done deal.
But for a DWI it could be theodor of alcohol, the fact that
they were driving a vehicle, anadmission of drinking, and
(07:55):
that's really enough forprobable cause, in my opinion.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
for a DWI arrest.
You're not saying somebody'sguilty, You're just saying hey,
is there enough here to justifythem being detained for this for
now?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Correct and maybe doing a further investigation
like the blood warrant.
Okay, okay.
So once the report is first,the DA reviews the report, they
determine that there's probablecause and they then approve it
for filing and then they pass iton.
The officer turns it into theclerks and then the clerks
prepare it and they pass it onto me.
(08:26):
Now, because it's a revolvingdoor, 24 hour system, the you
know, even if it's turned in at,let's say, 1 am, because they
have to get in the back of theline of the other people that
are waiting to see the judge,they may not see the judge till
2 am, sure, 3 am, because it isa system and every judge runs
(08:47):
their court, however, how theychoose, and we always talk about
, you know, people who areunlucky enough for you know to
get arrested on a Friday nightor a Saturday night.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I would imagine that line gets pretty long.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
It can, and so I choose again to be proactive.
So the detention staff to themunicipal courtroom can bring
five people at a time, and theydo.
So they do dockets of five, butI have decided that it is
faster to bring one people tomany than many people to one.
So I am unorthodox in that Iactually go back and I
(09:19):
magistrate people in the back.
I don't wait for the detentionstaff to come to me, because I
do want to help people get outfaster, because once they're
done with you, they have anotherstop.
Right, exactly, you know, andthey have.
So then basically I see peopleand I actually don't set any
bonds.
I make findings ordeterminations of probable cause
and I sign commitment ordersfor the city, so so, let me ask
(09:42):
you this You're You're lookingfor this probable cause.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
If an officer turns in his report maybe the DA has
reviewed it and you see it andyou say, hey, wait a minute, I
don't find that there's enoughhere for probable cause, what
happens?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I get to sign the all-powerful rejection form and
I can reject the case for noprobable cause.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
And then what happens to the person in custody?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
The person would get released then from the city.
Now it may take a few hoursagain because of the process,
but yeah, they would getreleased and I've done it plenty
of times when I don't feel thatthere's probable cause.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
And that's without them having to set bail or
anything like that.
It's just, hey, this case isnot good enough.
What you brought me does notpass the muster.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Now it's important to note that that doesn't mean the
police can't do furtherinvestigation and still file a
case with the DA's office atlarge.
You may not be arrested downthe line.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
And that's what I tell everyone.
I've chosen to reject the case.
There is a chance.
The DA has what's called thestatute of limitations to file
these charges against you.
You may or may not be arrestedin the future on this, but for
now you're leaving, and I thinkit's an important check on the
balance of powers.
Just because you're arrested,just because the officer thinks
there's probable cause, doesn'talways mean that there is.
You can't make mistakes.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
It sounds like there's no, you know, just hard
and fast timeline to these cases.
So we, you know and I know youdo defense work as well I'm sure
you get the same calls we dofrom families that are saying,
hey, my loved one just gotarrested.
How long until they're eligibleto get out?
I mean, there's so manyvariables at play that it takes
(11:09):
a while.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
And I tell everyone that I see as the judge plan on
spending at least 24 hours untilyou're released from jail.
From when you've seen me andwhen people respond very in
frustration, I just say I'drather overestimate than
underestimate, but it is a verylong process on both sides of
the process.
So after you're done seeing meand you get processed ready to
(11:32):
go over to county for where themagistrate judges there do set
bonds and that's where you'regoing to be released from.
What takes maybe maybe more,adds more time to the fact is
that the county only acceptspeople from san antonio on a
two-hour bus schedule and only10 people at a time.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
wow, so so this is a step before they can get
released on bail that they haveto go through right yeah not
even a bond set.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yet right, no bond set, you just need
transportation from the city tothe county.
Okay, so it has been agreedbetween the two entities that
there's going to be a schedulewhere they agree to 10 people
and it's a mix of men and women,but they don't put men and
women on the same bus.
So there's one transport formen, one for women, but they do
(12:21):
10 people on this set schedule.
During the day it's every fourhours, from like 10 PM to 11 AM,
it's every two hours.
And then you get over to theCounty and at that point the
County, uh, they stamp what isit void on all the city
paperwork and they redo it all.
And then the magistrate judgesover there are the ones that
(12:46):
basically conduct the samehearing find probable cause and
then at that point they set bondand conditions of bond.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
So it sounds like you know.
People go through this processwhere they're waiting in a line
so that they can get in front ofyou and then after that they
have to wait in another line tocatch that bus over to the
county detention center.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yes, and then wait in another line to be in front of
the county magistrate.
Yes, to set the bond.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
And then they wait in an even longer line to be
released, because I mean Afterthey've been processed.
After they've been processed.
So then I've had the jail tellme, working as a defense
attorney, that it takes 12 hoursto be released from when bond
is posted.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
So this is after the judge has already said hey,
we're going to set bail at thisamount.
Your family's come up with themoney.
They've posted that bond.
You've now posted this bond andthis promise to come back to
court, and you still get held,possibly another 12 hours.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I think 12 hours is being nice, okay, wow.
I don't know if y'all aregetting similar calls like that
but we do.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And then and then of course you occasionally have
those issues where they put inthat 48 hour family violence
hold and people get held, or GPS.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, so on the other side, I wanted to talk about
one that you do do emergencyprotective orders, I do and I
want to talk about the thingslike GPS and the family violence
holds and things like that.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And those factors can add even more time to this
process, right, of course.
And this is where you get theloved ones on the other end, who
are freaking out, wonderingwell, I haven't heard from them.
What's taking so long?
You know how soon can they getout?
And there's just all thesethings that need to be
considered.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Right, I know the website where I can look up to
see where you're at in the BexarCounty magistration process.
Is there a similar thing youcan look up to see where you're?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
at in the city there is, I believe, and the city is
very good about answering thephone, so someone can always
call the city and say is someonethere?
Because sometimes, even thoughbefore they're in the computer
system, they're already there,because they're not entered into
any system until the officerhas officially booked them or
requested their criminal history.
But they may have already beenthere an hour depending on the
(14:51):
timing of the officer.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Let's pick that up right after the break.
All right, and we'll go fromthere.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
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(15:18):
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Speaker 2 (15:26):
So we're back.
And then, of course, I did wantto put in a plug for Lauren.
She is the queen of tickets allover the state of Texas.
She does all kinds of traffictickets, anything involving
class Cs, everywhere.
She's the goddess.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Commercial truck drivers.
If you drive a truck, I'm hereto help you and I can attest to
that.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I was in my former life a municipal court
prosecutor and I dealt withLauren and she did a fantastic
job for her clients and saved alot of those Class C driver's
license or the commercialdriver's license.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
But we're talking about.
So you're still in the citymagistrate process and've got to
finish up there and catch a busbefore you go to the county.
And it's not until you get tothe county that the bond company
in theory the loved ones shouldbe contacting bond companies,
but there's not going to be anyability to make bond until
they're out of your system.
So can you talk about that?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
I can, and I think the general advice that bond
companies say to people thatstart calling like someone's
been nurses is they say we can'tdo anything, call us when there
are in the County system, butuntil they're in the system we
can't even start the process.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
So we're talking about an average of six to eight
hours in your system beforethey get to the County.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
That's my understanding is what they've
averaged to that.
Yeah, okay, I think that's good.
All right to that.
Yeah, I think that's good.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
It should be longer.
So let's talk about some otherthings you do at the city
besides finding probable cause.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Tell us about emergency protective orders.
So emergency protective orderscome about in some sort of
family violence dynamic orsituation and it's a tool for
victim protection.
And what an emergencyprotective order does is
basically prohibits the personthat's subject to it from being
within a certain number of feetfrom a specific location, like a
residence or a school, and thenalso says you can't have
(17:09):
contact with that person.
And what the kind of the teethof a protective order is is you
can get arrested on a newcriminal offense if you violate
it.
So now I've had officers ask mefor protective orders on Class
C assaults.
So a Class C assault is andthat can be family violence is
an offense of touching.
So my little push right here toScott could get me a Class C
(17:30):
assault and so, which mostpeople don't realize, it's that
easy to pick up an assault.
I personally don't feel that aprotective order is necessary
for that level of offense.
Some officers do, but the lawdoes require protective orders
on certain aggravated offenseslike aggravated assault with a
deadly weapon, sexual assault,things like that nature.
So in that case I have nodiscretion, I have to do it and
(17:52):
I have to do it for 90 days.
However, in lesser assaultiveoffenses like family violence or
second, you know which is athird degree felony, a
misdemeanor family violence,assault.
That is totally within mydiscretion if I think it's
appropriate or not.
And one thing that I havelearned that you can tweak a
protective order.
So a lot of people are sayingprotective orders mean no
(18:14):
contact.
But you do not have to checkthat box on a protective order.
You can actually do a noharmful contact protective order
and you can do the distancefrom the location as zero feet.
So guess what you get to be inthe house.
I haven't seen a lot of thosethough, probably because maybe
I'm the only one doing that, butactually just kind of an old
(18:35):
story.
I had a defense attorney callme one day like oh my God, my
guy was at the border with thesubject of an old story.
I had a defense attorney callme one day like oh my God, my
guy was at the border with thesubject of a protective order.
Consensually there was noconflict going on and they
arrested him coming back intothe US with his wife because he
was in contact.
But I said no, no, no, that'snot right, for whatever reason.
I happen to remember this case.
(18:56):
I said I did zero feet, theycan be around each other, and so
and they?
I guess the lawyer was able toget the officers to look at it
and the guy got released.
But people just assume aprotective order means no
contact.
But one thing I'm always awareof, and in general, it does, and
in general it does, and youshould always follow protective
orders.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
But because I've seen plenty of cases I'm sure y'all
have too where people aredriving in a car together they
have the condition of no contact.
They do have their protectiveorder and they get pulled over
for registration and then theofficer IDs both people finds
out they're not supposed to bein contact and then that person
gets arrested on a violation ofprotective order which could be
a felony or a misdemeanor.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
It's another class A, yeah, and the difficult thing
about protective orders is, Imean, the reason behind them
makes absolute sense.
If you have somebody who's avictim of family violence, you
want to give them, you know, anopportunity to maybe get away
from the person that's beingabusive to them.
But there are plenty ofinstances where you have a
husband and wife, maybe that goout and have a few drinks,
(19:55):
things get out of hand, thepolice get involved and now one
of the parties can't come homefor 60 days, and then maybe
they're raising kids together oryou know they can't afford to
go stay somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Right and that always is something in my mind is I'd
hate, I'd hate, I hate forsomeone, one, to add more stress
to the relationship that'sclearly already having stress,
and two, displacing someone.
So where I really struggle withprotective orders is you may
have, like, a special needs ormental health adult child living
with a parent and becausethey're having some sort of
(20:29):
breakdown or issues, they maypick up an ag assault for
threatening grandma with a knife, but it's really more of a
mental health issue and thisperson can't function on their
own.
They truly have to live withtheir family to survive.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
But you don't have a discretion on that.
Well, I can do the zero ohthere you go, and I think that's
what's key.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
That is the key thing is you can't have a blanket
rule.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Because this is already someone in distress that
probably needs better servicesthan they're already getting.
And then you have thisprotective order, where it
creates a cycle of constantarrests.
It's a little concerning.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Well, and it's good to know that there are
magistrates who take that viewand view the case as an
individual case with specificfacts and circumstances that are
unique to that case, as opposedto, like you said, just a
blanket rule where everything'sgoing to get this.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Right, that's my approach, because the
consequences are too great.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Absolutely so I got to ask this because we get a lot
of calls from those clients whohave the family violence case
and the emergency protectiveorder saying we want to get the
emergency protective orderremoved, which we always tell
them we don't do that Right, butso so what would they have to
do to try to do that, if it'seven possible?
Speaker 3 (21:37):
So my understanding has been a minute since I've
discussed this is because if acity judge issues that
protective order, there has tobe a hearing with that same city
judge about withdrawing orrecalling the protective order.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
So yeah, that's why you have to set it up in
municipal court.
By the time you get it set up,the time has expired.
It makes no sense.
Every once in a while I've seensomebody actually go and get it
taken off.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Yeah, and you definitely can.
The bigger issue is if the DA'soffice or the victim in the
case decides to follow throughwith the two-year protective
order.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
So the emergency protective order, yeah I mean
the only way you're going to getit removed is if the victim is
saying she wants it removed.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Right, there's no way .
Oh right, in the emergency yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
No, I would agree.
So, with regard to thistimeframe for the arrest that we
were talking about, you knowthese are circumstances where
somebody is maybe arrested by isit SAPD?
Speaker 3 (22:35):
SAPD.
Occasionally a trooper willcome, but every other agency
goes straight to Bexar County.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Straight to Bexar County Jail and they have their
same process that they do overthere at the Bexar County Jail.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
They do exactly have the same.
It is the exact same process.
There's a 24-hour DA therethat's reviewing cases.
The officers book people, theyturn in their reports.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's just that it's not the double barrel that they
have to go through, or the busride, correct.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
It's not that additional six to eight hours,
you're kind of already there soso is there any advice that you
would give to, maybe, a lovedone who has you know they're
saying, hey, my son was justarrested.
You know how long is this going?
To be very frustrated, I feelthat people that work within the
(23:30):
systems.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
maybe, if you call too much, things may get slower.
Yes, oh wow, okay.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
I mean, I'm just, being true, it's true, it's a
hundred percent true.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
If you make a pain in the ass out of yourself, it's
not going to go quicker.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
I had a client tell me that he at the county was
ready to be released and theofficer said I don't like how
you're looking at me.
You think this is funny?
Go sit down and kept him fortwo more hours, Wow, and had all
the paperwork ready to go there.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
So and some of this is why people get frustrated
with the criminal justice.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Of course it's very unfair and not not the right.
And the county also releasespeople in batches, so they don't
If you don't make one batch.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
You got to wait for the next.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
You got to wait for the next.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
And what is, and give me the timeframe on that.
Like, if you don't make onebatch, when is the next batch
coming?
That I actually don't know.
Is it at a certain number ofpeople or?
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I honestly don't know .
I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Yeah, but.
But what we're talking abouthere goes back to what we said
the very first episode Don't bea jerk if you want things to go
better for you, absolutely.
I understand that we're sayingit's not fair for people to do
that, but karma exists.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Well, and you're just in the system.
Sometimes you have to let go.
So if this is where you're at,it's frustrating, but you've
truly lost any control of thedecisions you're making.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
And it's a process, and they control of the
decisions you're making.
And it's a process and theyhave to.
Like you said at the beginninghey, whether you're guilty or
not guilty, there's this processthat's going to play out, that
you're going to have to takepart in.
And that's what we'rediscussing, yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
And that's so.
That's my best advice is justbe patient.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
You're going to get out, but it's going to take
longer than you feel, Becauselater on we can fight all these
issues in court, but at thispoint, where you're doing it and
the county magistrate doing it,there's nothing to make that go
away, besides a magistratelooking and saying there's no
probable cause.
There's no way an attorney cancome rattling down there and
saying I want this case to allgo away.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Right, exactly, I've had many arrested people say to
me no, if you look at my phone,you'll see the text message.
They want to share their sideof the story.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Right, they want to put on their case.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
And this is just not that opportunity.
I tell them my job is to readthe officer's report and if I
think the officer's report iscredible then I can find
probable cause.
Now I have had an instancewhere I read an officer's report
that I did not find credible.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
And so I rejected that case.
So it is possible in reviewingcases, but not because of
anything that the personarrested is going to say.
It's about the reports andstuff.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Sometimes they will say something where I maybe
start digging a little deeper,just like okay, well, this is an
interesting question, but theone that stands out the most in
my mind recently is a17-year-old girl with a black
eye was arrested for assaultingher older boyfriend and she was
pregnant.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
So girl with a black eye was arrested for assaulting
her older boyfriend and she waspregnant, and so where's, where
did the black eye come from then?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
right, apparently, and it was in the report.
Well, and she had made the callsaying he was assaulting her
and, based on theirinvestigation where he had a
scratch on the side of his body,they chose to arrest her.
Wow, just a bad call.
I'm right.
I'm sorry, that is not theright.
I felt the officer's report wasincredible, because how can you
say this was the aggressor andso that's like a case I rejected
(26:36):
.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
And then, by rejecting that case, that person
doesn't have to go through theadditional 12 to 24 hours going
over to the Bay County Jail.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Right, exactly.
Nor do they have to pose bond,nor do they have to show up to
court and somebody refiles itlater down the line.
Right.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Which hopefully in that circumstance they didn't,
or hopefully if somebody fromSAPD did file it with the intake
section as an at-large case.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
The intake prosecutor would look at this and say this
is bull.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, hopefully.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Or hopefully they had a supervisor like Scott Simpson
who said hey, what are youdoing?
Accepting this?
What are you doing with this?
So one thing I did want todiscuss is we talked about some
of these offenses like whatpeople would think of as tickets
, and we call those class Cmisdemeanors, and those are
offenses that you can only.
(27:24):
The only thing that can happento you is you would have to pay
a fine of up to $500.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Correct, but they're still able to hold you in jail
for a certain amount of time.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Right, so you could be arrested.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
You can be arrested.
Public intoxication I feel likeevery friend has a good story
of a night in the drunk tank.
That's your go-to.
Sounds like Scott has.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
No, I'm not a drinker , I'm just a jerk but alcohol
gets below a certain level.
So it really is the drunk take.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
It really is the drunk take.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
And they do have their own cell at the city jail
that they sit at, so it's kindof like the old Andy Griffith
show, where they would put Otisin the little jail and let him
sleep it off.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
And there are regulars, for sure, and the
nurses go every couple hours,have them breathalyzed, for sure
, and the nurses go every coupleof hours, have them
breathalyzed.
What's interesting is thechronic alcoholics.
They don't wait until they'reunder the 0.08 because of the
medical concerns.
So if it's a chronic alcoholicand they come in very high,
they're like, oh okay, they'relike a 0.1.
They're safe to go.
So it's interesting.
But your people are usuallythere for eight hours for your
(28:25):
PI assault.
Class Csfts under $100 areclass C.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
So somebody shoplifting at the Walmart, they
can be taken into custody, theycould yes, and the officer has
discretion, so what?
Speaker 2 (28:38):
do you think?
Obviously, you only see theones that are taken into custody
, but you get your share ofclass C thefts that do come
before you right.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Yes, and also if you have traffic warrants, you get
arrested and taken to the cityjail.
So I do manage that docket aswell and see all those people
and they also can be there foreight hours and are not happy
about it, I do have a burningquestion.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
So you've been back to look at these cells where
they're being held.
Yes, so do you have to?
Speaker 3 (29:07):
go to the bathroom in front of everybody else.
In that cell there's a privacywall, a little wall.
I mean it's not that private,okay, but it's private enough.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
As private as it's going to get.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Right the funny thing is.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
I think everybody wonders about that, whether they
say it or not.
Everybody wonders if I getarrested and go to jail, do I
have to use the bathroom infront?
Speaker 3 (29:23):
of everybody else.
You do and people are verycomfortable.
I'm sure the regulars are likehey, and just an interesting
issue for women versus men ismen don't always need toilet
paper.
Well, women do.
They don't give you toiletpaper in these cells because of
issues of clogging the toiletand maybe just not acting
materially.
So if you need toilet paper,you have to ask for it.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Wow, okay, so they will give it to you, if you ask
yes, yes.
Okay, I was panicking there.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yes, If you ask nicely, they will give you
toilet paper that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So like give me some effing toilet paper.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Is anybody going to get a response?
Probably not, okay.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Hanging on the window doesn't ever work.
That makes for an even longerstay.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
So, lauren, we appreciate you coming on.
So you Got Arrested.
I would remind our audience.
If you ever have questions, youcan reach out to us at
justarrestedpodcast at gmailcom.
Just email us.
Let us know what topics youwant discussed, if you have
questions that you want us toaddress on the show.
This is Scott Simpson, laurenLefton and Steve Barrera.
Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Thanks for listening to.
So you Got Arrested.
If you found this podcasthelpful, share it with someone
who needs to hear it.
For more legal insights andreal talk from the front lines
of the Texas justice system,follow us and subscribe.
And remember Brick CriminalDefense has your back.
For more information, visit usat brckdefensecom.
The Texas justice system is messy, so let's break
it down.
You're listening to so you gotarrested the podcast that tells
you what really happens after anarrest hosted by brick criminal
defense attorneys.
We talk to the people who'velived it, worked in it and been
shaped by it, whether you'refacing charges or just want to
understand your rights, youroptions and the smart moves that
(00:23):
could change everything.
We've got your back.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Good evening everybody.
This is Scott Simpson andStephen Barrera.
We're with Brick CriminalDefense.
Good to see you again this week.
And this week we have a guestwith us.
We have Lauren Lefton and sheis a part-time city magistrate
and so we're going to talk aboutwhen you get arrested, like
we've been talking about a lotof different weeks, and so so,
lauren, I picked up a DWI Okay,all right, and I'm scared, and
(00:48):
they put me in this big cellwith a bunch of different people
like and some are mean, one guypissed himself, oh no, and and
like what the hell is going on?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
It sounds like a night at the river went wrong.
And so where?
What are you doing?
What's gone wrong?
Obviously, you are accused ofdrinking and driving, and now
you're in the process.
So whether you are guilty ornot guilty is irrelevant at this
point.
You have to go through thisexperience and then hire a great
law firm, like maybe Rick, torepresent you in your DWI.
(01:19):
So you've been arrested.
The first thing, if you'rearrested by San Antonio police
department, you're going to goto the city detention center,
which is on South Frio.
If you're arrested by asheriff's department or another
small municipality, you're goingto go straight to the Barrett
County Jail on Comal Street.
So I work on Frio.
(01:40):
So if you see me as a judge,what will happen is you arrive
at the city detention center,they book you, they do your
standard search.
That's when, in Scott'sscenario, you then wake up.
You're in the cell with all theother misdemeanor offenders.
So not only the drunk tank withthe guy that pissed himself,
but you have the guy that maybehit his wife or girlfriend and
(02:02):
had a little marijuana on himalso.
So you're in the cell with abunch of guys sitting and
waiting and you wonder what istaking so long?
Why am I sitting here?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
well, and, and to be clear, you said a bunch of guys,
women get arrested too right,we promote equality here on this
podcast.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yes plenty of women get arrested.
They hit their boyfriends.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
They drink and drive they.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
So women or men are all there and they do segregate
the cells.
So there are two cellsdedicated to women, there are
cells dedicated to men.
They separate felony men andmisdemeanor men.
They also for men, not forwomen, separate if they think
there's a different preferenceand maybe gender or preferences,
(02:46):
they keep those people separate.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
I wasn't aware of that Right.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
So typically I don't know the PC.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
People who might identify differently or have
different orientations.
They may get placed separately.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
So they separate them as well.
So they do try to create a safeenvironment so that you know
the angry guy doesn't attack theless angry guy.
So still scary, still veryscary, and you feel very
frustrated because you don't geta lot of answers.
So you're sitting in the cell.
The detention staff hashopefully given you a small
white piece of paper with a PINnumber on it, and that PIN
(03:21):
number is supposed to allow youto make phone calls.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
When does that happen ?
Because I know we get callsfrom family that say, hey, my
loved one was just arrested.
When am I going to hear fromthem?
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Right, and that's a great question.
So it's supposed to happenright away.
When they're put in the cell,they're supposed to have a phone
with a pin.
However, if you come in intoday's world, we don't memorize
phone numbers anymore.
So that's the first obstacle is, if you don't have any phone
numbers memorized and your phonewas dead or you weren't
arrested with your phone, youhave no way of getting numbers
to call, which is a challengeand no one can help you with
(03:57):
that.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
The first thing we've got to learn is that we need to
remember somebody's phonenumber if we ever get arrested.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yes, I always say you need to have at least one
number memorized and that personneeds to know to answer,
collect calls.
Right that's.
It's a two-step process.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
My next tattoo yeah, put that on the back of all of
our cards.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
So.
But if you don't get the pieceof paper or you can't get
through the jail, the city jailis supposed to allow you a free
phone call, but it's afteryou've seen the judge, which can
be several hours later.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
So that's what I wanted to ask about.
From the time that somebody isplaced in a cuffs by SAPD, how
long is it before they get infront of you?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
So it varies.
What happens is the person isarrest, booked.
The officer then goes to thewhat they call the warrant
clerks at the city and he saysI've arrested so-and-so.
To what they call the warrantclerks at the city and he says
I've arrested so-and-so, runtheir criminal history.
This is what they were arrestedfor.
And then they go and they writethe report and there's no clock
on these officers for how longthey want to take to write the
report.
(04:56):
So DWIs, for example, are verycomplicated reports and involve
a lot of paperwork.
On top of that, if it's a blooddraw DWI, so when you're
arrested for a DWI you have theoption to give a breath specimen
.
If you refuse, typically theydo go and they get a warrant
from a judge and that so thateven probably adds at least an
hour more to your weight becausethey get there, there's the
(05:18):
refusal, so they go for thewarrant.
First the judge signs off onthe warrant.
If there's probable cause, thenthey execute the warrant,
meaning they have nurses at thejail, they pull you out of your
cell, take you back to thenurse's station and they do the
blood draw, and then so that'sprobably added at least 30
minutes to an hour, just beforethe officer even starts writing
(05:39):
his report.
Now, a little secret is a lotof these officers probably copy
and paste the narrative into thebody of their police report.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
So then sometimes there's an officer who doesn't
want to get back on patrol untilthe end of their shift Right.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
So let's say they make the arrest at 1230.
If they knock out the report andall of that in two hours, they
have to keep working until 6 am,but if they happen to stay
there till like 4.30, sounfortunately there's just no
control of how long the officerchooses to take to turn in a
report.
And I have to say, when I work Itry to be proactive, because
(06:18):
it's not fair to sit in a jailcell with uncertainty, not being
able to contact family.
The city jail does not feed youat all.
There's no food there.
They do provide water, ofcourse, but it's not a
comfortable circumstance.
It's either cold or it'suncomfortable, it's stinky.
So I try to be very proactivewhen I'm working, in that if I
can check with the clerks, ifsomeone's been there six hours,
(06:40):
I start looking for the officerand say where's the report?
Or and I have a nicerelationship with the nurses, so
if someone's there for mentalhealth or has physical
disabilities, they may say to mehey, this guy's been here a
long time, like let's speakbecause they want him out.
Cause at the end of the day,when you arrest someone, that
person's body then is thepossession of either the city or
the county.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
You become responsible for them.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Right, a hundred percent, and so I do try to help
make sure, if I think someoneis kind of being lost or
forgotten in the process, tomove it forward.
But once the officer turns inthe report, well before they
turn it in, first of all there'sthe DA there and the DA does
review it and they make theirown determination.
(07:21):
Is there probable cause forarrest?
Speaker 4 (07:24):
A lot of our viewers aren't familiar.
I mean, we've mentioned termslike probable cause, but can you
just explain what that is?
If they say, hey, I'm trying tofind probable cause, or I want
to see probable cause, what isthat?
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I define it as more likely than not that something
happened.
So there has to be a basis, afoundation, a few indicators of
evidence.
It doesn't mean that you'reguilty.
It doesn't mean that you'reguilty.
It doesn't mean it's a lock,solid, done deal.
But for a DWI it could be theodor of alcohol, the fact that
they were driving a vehicle, anadmission of drinking, and
(07:55):
that's really enough forprobable cause, in my opinion.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
for a DWI arrest.
You're not saying somebody'sguilty, You're just saying hey,
is there enough here to justifythem being detained for this for
now?
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Correct and maybe doing a further investigation
like the blood warrant.
Okay, okay.
So once the report is first,the DA reviews the report, they
determine that there's probablecause and they then approve it
for filing and then they pass iton.
The officer turns it into theclerks and then the clerks
prepare it and they pass it onto me.
(08:26):
Now, because it's a revolvingdoor, 24 hour system, the you
know, even if it's turned in at,let's say, 1 am, because they
have to get in the back of theline of the other people that
are waiting to see the judge,they may not see the judge till
2 am, sure, 3 am, because it isa system and every judge runs
(08:47):
their court, however, how theychoose, and we always talk about
, you know, people who areunlucky enough for you know to
get arrested on a Friday nightor a Saturday night.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I would imagine that line gets pretty long.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
It can, and so I choose again to be proactive.
So the detention staff to themunicipal courtroom can bring
five people at a time, and theydo.
So they do dockets of five, butI have decided that it is
faster to bring one people tomany than many people to one.
So I am unorthodox in that Iactually go back and I
(09:19):
magistrate people in the back.
I don't wait for the detentionstaff to come to me, because I
do want to help people get outfaster, because once they're
done with you, they have anotherstop.
Right, exactly, you know, andthey have.
So then basically I see peopleand I actually don't set any
bonds.
I make findings ordeterminations of probable cause
and I sign commitment ordersfor the city, so so, let me ask
(09:42):
you this You're You're lookingfor this probable cause.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
If an officer turns in his report maybe the DA has
reviewed it and you see it andyou say, hey, wait a minute, I
don't find that there's enoughhere for probable cause, what
happens?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I get to sign the all-powerful rejection form and
I can reject the case for noprobable cause.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
And then what happens to the person in custody?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
The person would get released then from the city.
Now it may take a few hoursagain because of the process,
but yeah, they would getreleased and I've done it plenty
of times when I don't feel thatthere's probable cause.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
And that's without them having to set bail or
anything like that.
It's just, hey, this case isnot good enough.
What you brought me does notpass the muster.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Now it's important to note that that doesn't mean the
police can't do furtherinvestigation and still file a
case with the DA's office atlarge.
You may not be arrested downthe line.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
And that's what I tell everyone.
I've chosen to reject the case.
There is a chance.
The DA has what's called thestatute of limitations to file
these charges against you.
You may or may not be arrestedin the future on this, but for
now you're leaving, and I thinkit's an important check on the
balance of powers.
Just because you're arrested,just because the officer thinks
there's probable cause, doesn'talways mean that there is.
You can't make mistakes.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
It sounds like there's no, you know, just hard
and fast timeline to these cases.
So we, you know and I know youdo defense work as well I'm sure
you get the same calls we dofrom families that are saying,
hey, my loved one just gotarrested.
How long until they're eligibleto get out?
I mean, there's so manyvariables at play that it takes
(11:09):
a while.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
And I tell everyone that I see as the judge plan on
spending at least 24 hours untilyou're released from jail.
From when you've seen me andwhen people respond very in
frustration, I just say I'drather overestimate than
underestimate, but it is a verylong process on both sides of
the process.
So after you're done seeing meand you get processed ready to
(11:32):
go over to county for where themagistrate judges there do set
bonds and that's where you'regoing to be released from.
What takes maybe maybe more,adds more time to the fact is
that the county only acceptspeople from san antonio on a
two-hour bus schedule and only10 people at a time.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
wow, so so this is a step before they can get
released on bail that they haveto go through right yeah not
even a bond set.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yet right, no bond set, you just need
transportation from the city tothe county.
Okay, so it has been agreedbetween the two entities that
there's going to be a schedulewhere they agree to 10 people
and it's a mix of men and women,but they don't put men and
women on the same bus.
So there's one transport formen, one for women, but they do
(12:21):
10 people on this set schedule.
During the day it's every fourhours, from like 10 PM to 11 AM,
it's every two hours.
And then you get over to theCounty and at that point the
County, uh, they stamp what isit void on all the city
paperwork and they redo it all.
And then the magistrate judgesover there are the ones that
(12:46):
basically conduct the samehearing find probable cause and
then at that point they set bondand conditions of bond.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
So it sounds like you know.
People go through this processwhere they're waiting in a line
so that they can get in front ofyou and then after that they
have to wait in another line tocatch that bus over to the
county detention center.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Yes, and then wait in another line to be in front of
the county magistrate.
Yes, to set the bond.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
And then they wait in an even longer line to be
released, because I mean Afterthey've been processed.
After they've been processed.
So then I've had the jail tellme, working as a defense
attorney, that it takes 12 hoursto be released from when bond
is posted.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
So this is after the judge has already said hey,
we're going to set bail at thisamount.
Your family's come up with themoney.
They've posted that bond.
You've now posted this bond andthis promise to come back to
court, and you still get held,possibly another 12 hours.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
I think 12 hours is being nice, okay, wow.
I don't know if y'all aregetting similar calls like that
but we do.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
And then and then of course you occasionally have
those issues where they put inthat 48 hour family violence
hold and people get held, or GPS.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, so on the other side, I wanted to talk about
one that you do do emergencyprotective orders, I do and I
want to talk about the thingslike GPS and the family violence
holds and things like that.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And those factors can add even more time to this
process, right, of course.
And this is where you get theloved ones on the other end, who
are freaking out, wonderingwell, I haven't heard from them.
What's taking so long?
You know how soon can they getout?
And there's just all thesethings that need to be
considered.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Right, I know the website where I can look up to
see where you're at in the BexarCounty magistration process.
Is there a similar thing youcan look up to see where you're?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
at in the city there is, I believe, and the city is
very good about answering thephone, so someone can always
call the city and say is someonethere?
Because sometimes, even thoughbefore they're in the computer
system, they're already there,because they're not entered into
any system until the officerhas officially booked them or
requested their criminal history.
But they may have already beenthere an hour depending on the
(14:51):
timing of the officer.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Let's pick that up right after the break.
All right, and we'll go fromthere.
Speaker 5 (14:57):
The attorneys of Brick Criminal Defense have
helped over 5,000 clients moveon with their lives.
When an arrest or accusationturns your life upside down, we
have the knowledge, experienceand integrity to get your life
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Traditional legal ethics,modern legal tactics the best
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system.
Search Brick Criminal Defenseto see our reviews and find out
(15:18):
why so many of our clients havetrusted us to fight for them.
Bric Criminal Defense helpingour clients move on with their
lives.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
So we're back.
And then, of course, I did wantto put in a plug for Lauren.
She is the queen of tickets allover the state of Texas.
She does all kinds of traffictickets, anything involving
class Cs, everywhere.
She's the goddess.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Commercial truck drivers.
If you drive a truck, I'm hereto help you and I can attest to
that.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
I was in my former life a municipal court
prosecutor and I dealt withLauren and she did a fantastic
job for her clients and saved alot of those Class C driver's
license or the commercialdriver's license.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
But we're talking about.
So you're still in the citymagistrate process and've got to
finish up there and catch a busbefore you go to the county.
And it's not until you get tothe county that the bond company
in theory the loved ones shouldbe contacting bond companies,
but there's not going to be anyability to make bond until
they're out of your system.
So can you talk about that?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
I can, and I think the general advice that bond
companies say to people thatstart calling like someone's
been nurses is they say we can'tdo anything, call us when there
are in the County system, butuntil they're in the system we
can't even start the process.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
So we're talking about an average of six to eight
hours in your system beforethey get to the County.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
That's my understanding is what they've
averaged to that.
Yeah, okay, I think that's good.
All right to that.
Yeah, I think that's good.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
It should be longer.
So let's talk about some otherthings you do at the city
besides finding probable cause.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Tell us about emergency protective orders.
So emergency protective orderscome about in some sort of
family violence dynamic orsituation and it's a tool for
victim protection.
And what an emergencyprotective order does is
basically prohibits the personthat's subject to it from being
within a certain number of feetfrom a specific location, like a
residence or a school, and thenalso says you can't have
(17:09):
contact with that person.
And what the kind of the teethof a protective order is is you
can get arrested on a newcriminal offense if you violate
it.
So now I've had officers ask mefor protective orders on Class
C assaults.
So a Class C assault is andthat can be family violence is
an offense of touching.
So my little push right here toScott could get me a Class C
(17:30):
assault and so, which mostpeople don't realize, it's that
easy to pick up an assault.
I personally don't feel that aprotective order is necessary
for that level of offense.
Some officers do, but the lawdoes require protective orders
on certain aggravated offenseslike aggravated assault with a
deadly weapon, sexual assault,things like that nature.
So in that case I have nodiscretion, I have to do it and
(17:52):
I have to do it for 90 days.
However, in lesser assaultiveoffenses like family violence or
second, you know which is athird degree felony, a
misdemeanor family violence,assault.
That is totally within mydiscretion if I think it's
appropriate or not.
And one thing that I havelearned that you can tweak a
protective order.
So a lot of people are sayingprotective orders mean no
(18:14):
contact.
But you do not have to checkthat box on a protective order.
You can actually do a noharmful contact protective order
and you can do the distancefrom the location as zero feet.
So guess what you get to be inthe house.
I haven't seen a lot of thosethough, probably because maybe
I'm the only one doing that, butactually just kind of an old
(18:35):
story.
I had a defense attorney callme one day like oh my God, my
guy was at the border with thesubject of an old story.
I had a defense attorney callme one day like oh my God, my
guy was at the border with thesubject of a protective order.
Consensually there was noconflict going on and they
arrested him coming back intothe US with his wife because he
was in contact.
But I said no, no, no, that'snot right, for whatever reason.
I happen to remember this case.
(18:56):
I said I did zero feet, theycan be around each other, and so
and they?
I guess the lawyer was able toget the officers to look at it
and the guy got released.
But people just assume aprotective order means no
contact.
But one thing I'm always awareof, and in general, it does, and
in general it does, and youshould always follow protective
orders.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
But because I've seen plenty of cases I'm sure y'all
have too where people aredriving in a car together they
have the condition of no contact.
They do have their protectiveorder and they get pulled over
for registration and then theofficer IDs both people finds
out they're not supposed to bein contact and then that person
gets arrested on a violation ofprotective order which could be
a felony or a misdemeanor.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
It's another class A, yeah, and the difficult thing
about protective orders is, Imean, the reason behind them
makes absolute sense.
If you have somebody who's avictim of family violence, you
want to give them, you know, anopportunity to maybe get away
from the person that's beingabusive to them.
But there are plenty ofinstances where you have a
husband and wife, maybe that goout and have a few drinks,
(19:55):
things get out of hand, thepolice get involved and now one
of the parties can't come homefor 60 days, and then maybe
they're raising kids together oryou know they can't afford to
go stay somewhere else.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Right and that always is something in my mind is I'd
hate, I'd hate, I hate forsomeone, one, to add more stress
to the relationship that'sclearly already having stress,
and two, displacing someone.
So where I really struggle withprotective orders is you may
have, like, a special needs ormental health adult child living
with a parent and becausethey're having some sort of
(20:29):
breakdown or issues, they maypick up an ag assault for
threatening grandma with a knife, but it's really more of a
mental health issue and thisperson can't function on their
own.
They truly have to live withtheir family to survive.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
But you don't have a discretion on that.
Well, I can do the zero ohthere you go, and I think that's
what's key.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
That is the key thing is you can't have a blanket
rule.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Because this is already someone in distress that
probably needs better servicesthan they're already getting.
And then you have thisprotective order, where it
creates a cycle of constantarrests.
It's a little concerning.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
Well, and it's good to know that there are
magistrates who take that viewand view the case as an
individual case with specificfacts and circumstances that are
unique to that case, as opposedto, like you said, just a
blanket rule where everything'sgoing to get this.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Right, that's my approach, because the
consequences are too great.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Absolutely so I got to ask this because we get a lot
of calls from those clients whohave the family violence case
and the emergency protectiveorder saying we want to get the
emergency protective orderremoved, which we always tell
them we don't do that Right, butso so what would they have to
do to try to do that, if it'seven possible?
Speaker 3 (21:37):
So my understanding has been a minute since I've
discussed this is because if acity judge issues that
protective order, there has tobe a hearing with that same city
judge about withdrawing orrecalling the protective order.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
So yeah, that's why you have to set it up in
municipal court.
By the time you get it set up,the time has expired.
It makes no sense.
Every once in a while I've seensomebody actually go and get it
taken off.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Yeah, and you definitely can.
The bigger issue is if the DA'soffice or the victim in the
case decides to follow throughwith the two-year protective
order.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
So the emergency protective order, yeah I mean
the only way you're going to getit removed is if the victim is
saying she wants it removed.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Right, there's no way .
Oh right, in the emergency yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
No, I would agree.
So, with regard to thistimeframe for the arrest that we
were talking about, you knowthese are circumstances where
somebody is maybe arrested by isit SAPD?
Speaker 3 (22:35):
SAPD.
Occasionally a trooper willcome, but every other agency
goes straight to Bexar County.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Straight to Bexar County Jail and they have their
same process that they do overthere at the Bexar County Jail.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
They do exactly have the same.
It is the exact same process.
There's a 24-hour DA therethat's reviewing cases.
The officers book people, theyturn in their reports.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
It's just that it's not the double barrel that they
have to go through, or the busride, correct.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
It's not that additional six to eight hours,
you're kind of already there soso is there any advice that you
would give to, maybe, a lovedone who has you know they're
saying, hey, my son was justarrested.
You know how long is this going?
To be very frustrated, I feelthat people that work within the
(23:30):
systems.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
maybe, if you call too much, things may get slower.
Yes, oh wow, okay.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
I mean, I'm just, being true, it's true, it's a
hundred percent true.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
If you make a pain in the ass out of yourself, it's
not going to go quicker.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
I had a client tell me that he at the county was
ready to be released and theofficer said I don't like how
you're looking at me.
You think this is funny?
Go sit down and kept him fortwo more hours, Wow, and had all
the paperwork ready to go there.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
So and some of this is why people get frustrated
with the criminal justice.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Of course it's very unfair and not not the right.
And the county also releasespeople in batches, so they don't
If you don't make one batch.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
You got to wait for the next.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
You got to wait for the next.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
And what is, and give me the timeframe on that.
Like, if you don't make onebatch, when is the next batch
coming?
That I actually don't know.
Is it at a certain number ofpeople or?
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I honestly don't know .
I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Yeah, but.
But what we're talking abouthere goes back to what we said
the very first episode Don't bea jerk if you want things to go
better for you, absolutely.
I understand that we're sayingit's not fair for people to do
that, but karma exists.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Well, and you're just in the system.
Sometimes you have to let go.
So if this is where you're at,it's frustrating, but you've
truly lost any control of thedecisions you're making.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
And it's a process, and they control of the
decisions you're making.
And it's a process and theyhave to.
Like you said at the beginninghey, whether you're guilty or
not guilty, there's this processthat's going to play out, that
you're going to have to takepart in.
And that's what we'rediscussing, yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
And that's so.
That's my best advice is justbe patient.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
You're going to get out, but it's going to take
longer than you feel, Becauselater on we can fight all these
issues in court, but at thispoint, where you're doing it and
the county magistrate doing it,there's nothing to make that go
away, besides a magistratelooking and saying there's no
probable cause.
There's no way an attorney cancome rattling down there and
saying I want this case to allgo away.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Right, exactly, I've had many arrested people say to
me no, if you look at my phone,you'll see the text message.
They want to share their sideof the story.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Right, they want to put on their case.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
And this is just not that opportunity.
I tell them my job is to readthe officer's report and if I
think the officer's report iscredible then I can find
probable cause.
Now I have had an instancewhere I read an officer's report
that I did not find credible.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
And so I rejected that case.
So it is possible in reviewingcases, but not because of
anything that the personarrested is going to say.
It's about the reports andstuff.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Sometimes they will say something where I maybe
start digging a little deeper,just like okay, well, this is an
interesting question, but theone that stands out the most in
my mind recently is a17-year-old girl with a black
eye was arrested for assaultingher older boyfriend and she was
pregnant.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
So girl with a black eye was arrested for assaulting
her older boyfriend and she waspregnant, and so where's, where
did the black eye come from then?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
right, apparently, and it was in the report.
Well, and she had made the callsaying he was assaulting her
and, based on theirinvestigation where he had a
scratch on the side of his body,they chose to arrest her.
Wow, just a bad call.
I'm right.
I'm sorry, that is not theright.
I felt the officer's report wasincredible, because how can you
say this was the aggressor andso that's like a case I rejected
(26:36):
.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
And then, by rejecting that case, that person
doesn't have to go through theadditional 12 to 24 hours going
over to the Bay County Jail.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Right, exactly.
Nor do they have to pose bond,nor do they have to show up to
court and somebody refiles itlater down the line.
Right.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Which hopefully in that circumstance they didn't,
or hopefully if somebody fromSAPD did file it with the intake
section as an at-large case.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
The intake prosecutor would look at this and say this
is bull.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Yeah, hopefully.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Or hopefully they had a supervisor like Scott Simpson
who said hey, what are youdoing?
Accepting this?
What are you doing with this?
So one thing I did want todiscuss is we talked about some
of these offenses like whatpeople would think of as tickets
, and we call those class Cmisdemeanors, and those are
offenses that you can only.
(27:24):
The only thing that can happento you is you would have to pay
a fine of up to $500.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Correct, but they're still able to hold you in jail
for a certain amount of time.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
Right, so you could be arrested.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
You can be arrested.
Public intoxication I feel likeevery friend has a good story
of a night in the drunk tank.
That's your go-to.
Sounds like Scott has.
Speaker 2 (27:40):
No, I'm not a drinker , I'm just a jerk but alcohol
gets below a certain level.
So it really is the drunk take.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
It really is the drunk take.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
And they do have their own cell at the city jail
that they sit at, so it's kindof like the old Andy Griffith
show, where they would put Otisin the little jail and let him
sleep it off.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
And there are regulars, for sure, and the
nurses go every couple hours,have them breathalyzed, for sure
, and the nurses go every coupleof hours, have them
breathalyzed.
What's interesting is thechronic alcoholics.
They don't wait until they'reunder the 0.08 because of the
medical concerns.
So if it's a chronic alcoholicand they come in very high,
they're like, oh okay, they'relike a 0.1.
They're safe to go.
So it's interesting.
But your people are usuallythere for eight hours for your
(28:25):
PI assault.
Class Csfts under $100 areclass C.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
So somebody shoplifting at the Walmart, they
can be taken into custody, theycould yes, and the officer has
discretion, so what?
Speaker 2 (28:38):
do you think?
Obviously, you only see theones that are taken into custody
, but you get your share ofclass C thefts that do come
before you right.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
Yes, and also if you have traffic warrants, you get
arrested and taken to the cityjail.
So I do manage that docket aswell and see all those people
and they also can be there foreight hours and are not happy
about it, I do have a burningquestion.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
So you've been back to look at these cells where
they're being held.
Yes, so do you have to?
Speaker 3 (29:07):
go to the bathroom in front of everybody else.
In that cell there's a privacywall, a little wall.
I mean it's not that private,okay, but it's private enough.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
As private as it's going to get.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Right the funny thing is.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
I think everybody wonders about that, whether they
say it or not.
Everybody wonders if I getarrested and go to jail, do I
have to use the bathroom infront?
Speaker 3 (29:23):
of everybody else.
You do and people are verycomfortable.
I'm sure the regulars are likehey, and just an interesting
issue for women versus men ismen don't always need toilet
paper.
Well, women do.
They don't give you toiletpaper in these cells because of
issues of clogging the toiletand maybe just not acting
materially.
So if you need toilet paper,you have to ask for it.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Wow, okay, so they will give it to you, if you ask
yes, yes.
Okay, I was panicking there.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yes, If you ask nicely, they will give you
toilet paper that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So like give me some effing toilet paper.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Is anybody going to get a response?
Probably not, okay.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Hanging on the window doesn't ever work.
That makes for an even longerstay.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
So, lauren, we appreciate you coming on.
So you Got Arrested.
I would remind our audience.
If you ever have questions, youcan reach out to us at
justarrestedpodcast at gmailcom.
Just email us.
Let us know what topics youwant discussed, if you have
questions that you want us toaddress on the show.
This is Scott Simpson, laurenLefton and Steve Barrera.
Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Thanks for listening to.
So you Got Arrested.
If you found this podcasthelpful, share it with someone
who needs to hear it.
For more legal insights andreal talk from the front lines
of the Texas justice system,follow us and subscribe.
And remember Brick CriminalDefense has your back.
For more information, visit usat brckdefensecom.
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