Q: My wife was arrested and charged with Intoxication Assault w Serious Bodily Injury (a 3rd degree felony).
Her lawyer advised it would be better to plea to Agg Assault w/ Deadly Weapon (a 2nd degree felony). Is there any sense to pleading to a higher degree felony? Probation is offered in both cases by the prosecutor.
A:
As a general rule, a second-degree felony is more serious than a third degree. However, nobody on this forum is in any position to second guess your wife's attorney. There are reasons why this could make sense, so your wife should simply ask her attorney for an explanation.
For example, some of the factors that might impact this type of decision include the defendant's eligibility for deferred adjudication, the minimum period of confinement in jail as a condition of probation in some intoxication-related offenses, any required educational requirements for probation, the potential enhancements of any possible future offenses (especially if she still drinks alcohol), and eligibility for early termination of supervision... just to name a few.
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