We handle felonies and misdemeanors in the state courts of Dallas County and traffic tickets and class c misdemeanors in selected municipal and JP courts in Dallas County. We do not handle cases in the federal courts and we do not do any post-judgment work such as criminal appeals, motions for new trial, writs of habeas corpus, or parole matters. We do, however, handle probation violations, petitions for non-disclosure and expunctions. Also related to criminal practice we petition for occupational drivers licenses.

  
Mr. Pettit has handled thousands of criminal misdemeanors. These include but are not limited to DWI's, thefts, driving with suspended licenses, indecent exposure, public lewdness, assault, resisting arrest, evading arrest, prostitution, possession of marijuana, hot checks, unlawfully carrying a weapon, etc.

For misdemeanor cases where the defendant is on bond we charge a retainer fee of $350 down. The balance of the legal fees may be paid in payments. The total fee in most cases is $650 if we conclude the case with a dismissal or a plea bargain. If we have a trial the average fee is $1,500 for a trial by judge and $3,000 for a trial by jury. There are exceptions but these are the usual fees. The $350 retainer counts toward any of the above totals. We do not charge any additional fees for resets.  The minimum fees for assault cases are $1,000 down and a minimum total of $1,500.

If you are arrested in Dallas County you were given a date to go to the courthouse and check the bulletin board for your case. In most cases we can make this first court appearance for you and possibly one or two more after that before you must come to court. The usual plea bargain case takes about three to four months to conclude although we can speed up that process at your request. A case that is set for trial may conclude in about four months or may be postponed considerably longer.