Often offenders being considered for parole have a criminal history including some cases that were dismissed. Read here to see if the Texas Parole Board considers those dismissals.
Unless an arrest has been expunged information related to the offense is available to the public, including the parole board. This question is usually asked by an offender who is nearing parole eligibility or their family who want to know if the parole board will consider dismissed cases when deciding whether or not to grant an offender parole. Unfortunately, as with many aspects of the parole process there is not a clear black and white answer that will cover every case. It will depend on the circumstances of the dismissal.
Often this question arises when an offender pled guilty and part of the plea bargain was an agreed sentence on one case in exchange for one or more dismissals of other cases. In these situations the parole board will often take those other cases into consideration.
We believe that when representing an offender before the parole board it is important to have a thorough understanding of the offender’s criminal history. This includes information about dismissed cases and information about why cases were dismissed. Part of our presentation to the parole board deals with an offender’s criminal history including cases that may have been dismissed. After researching the cases and discussing them with the offender a determination is made on how to address those cases. Based on our experience it is generally a mistake to minimize or ignore aspects of someone’s criminal history even if a case was dismissed. If you have questions about how we can help you through this process please call our toll free number 888-661-5030 and download our free information packet. Please fill out an online contact form and an experienced Texas Parole Lawyer will contact shortly. Our offices are in Houston and our parole practice takes us across the State including Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth and numerous other cities.