I defend people accused of ALL FELONIES:

Felonies are considered the most serious types of crimes. In Texas they are punishable by time in State Jail or TDC (penitentiary). These cases are handled in District Court There are 4 classes of felonies:
CAPITAL FELONY
• death or life imprisonment; not eligible for probation

FIRST DEGREE FELONY

• confinement for life or a term from 5 to 99 years in prison; and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000
-Up to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation From 5-10 years of straight probation Minimum 5 years probation for certain sex offenses

SECOND DEGREE FELONY

 • confinement for a term from 2 to 20 years in prison; and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000
-Up to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation, From 2-10 years of straight probation, Minimum 5 years probation for certain sex offenses

THIRD DEGREE FELONY

• confinement for a term from 2 to 10 years in prison; and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000
-Up to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation, From 2-10 years of straight probation, Minimum 5 years probation for certain sex offenses

STATE JAIL FELONY

• confinement for a term from 180 days to 2 years in a state jail; and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000, or
• Class A misdemeanor punishment under TEX. PEN. CODE §12.44(a) (felony conviction) or §12.44(b) (misdemeanor conviction), but only if prosecutor agrees
-Mandatory probation if:
• drug possession (not delivery); Note: Upon violation of deferred adjudication
• <5 abuse units if LSD; for offense committed after 8/31/07, a judge no
• <1 Ib. if marihuana; longer must place defendant on probation
• no prior felony conviction, other than Judge may impose jail time sentence or probation
under §12.44(a) (for offense after 8/31/07)
-Up to 10 years of deferred adjudication probation, from 2-5 years of straight probation

            I defend people accused of ALL MISDEMENORS:

Misdemeanors are punishable by time in the county jail and are handled in county courts. There are 3 classes.

CLASS A MISDEMEANOR
• confinement for term not to exceed 1 year in county jail; and/or maximum $4,000 fine
-Up to 2 years of deferred adjudication probation or straight probation

CLASS B MISDEMEANOR

• confinement for term not to exceed 180 days in county jail; and/or maximum $2,000 fine
-Up to 2 years of deferred adjudication probation or straight probation

CLASS C MISDEMEANOR

 no confinement
• a fine not to exceed $500 (up to 180 days of deferred disposition

                                      email-stornellolaw@gmail.com   

SEALING RECORDS 
If you successfully completed a DEFERRED AJUDICATION PROBATION then you are eligible to seal the record. I do this by filing a petition of non-disclosure with the court that gave you the Deferred. Sealing the record prevents the public from seeing that your were once placed on Deferred. If you are the parent of a college student, we can help protect your child's future after being released from Deferred adjudication probation while on campus. Record sealing will prevent many private agencies from discovering a prior deferred that could result in losing a job opportunity. Most misdemeanor offenses can be sealed immediately after completing Deferred adjudication probation. Felonies require a 5 year waiting period that stats the day you complete the deferred adjudication probation.

EXPUNCTIONS

An expunction is a lawsuit asking a District Court to enter an order that all law enforcement agencies with any records of a person's arrest, (or criminal charges) erase, delete or destroy those records. It is intended to remove all records in the hands of law enforcement agencies concerning criminal charges. (Note: an expunction cannot reach records in the hands of private businesses, only government records.) Law enforcement agencies maintain records and databases containing these records. These records are created upon an arrest or when charges are formally filed against a person. The agencies that usually keep these records include the police agency, the sheriff's department, the court and court clerk's office, the prosecuting agency, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Many of these records are available to the general public, and with computers and the Internet, have become easily accessible.

PROBATION AND PAROLE REVOCATIONS

Some judges consider probation a sort of “contract” between themselves and the person on probation, and view any breach of that contract as an affront to the court. However, there are always two sides to a story, and you can be sure that the probation officer and prosecutor will only reveal the bad information to the judge. Many times when the Judge is made aware of extenuating circumstances, she may agree not to revoke. We have observed that many judges work very hard to find alternatives to sending violating probationers back to jail.

***Almost all probation cases are eligible to motion the Court to Terminate Early. Call Attorney Rosario Stornello to ask how we can get you off probation early

We represent people on parole who have are being accused of violating parole. It is very important to have a lawyer at the parole hearing to stand up for your rights.

                       Have You Been Arrested?     

             You need a lawyer that will stand up for your rights !

             Call Attorney Rosario Stornello @ (832)-298-4791 !

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