Many people in the Beaumont area need to have licenses to work in their trades or professions. To give just a few examples, commercial drivers, attorneys, accountants, doctors and nurses and teachers all need to have a license to do their work legally.
Losing their license can cause a serious economic hardship both for professionals and their families.
This is why licensed professionals need to take any criminal charges seriously.
In most cases, a Texan can face disciplinary action, including the loss of their licenses, because of a criminal conviction.
This is true even if the criminal conviction had nothing to do with the person’s job. Those who have no prior history and are only facing a misdemeanor can still face penalties against their licenses.
For example, with respect to attorneys, even a conviction for a single shoplifting incident could in theory leave an attorney without a license to practice law or facing some other harsh sanction.
To give another example, commercial drivers will lose their authority to operate a commercial vehicle for 1 year if they get convicted even of 1 drunk driving offense, even in their personal vehicle.
Professionals should understand their legal options when facing a crime
Whether it is a white collar offense related to their jobs or some other crime, even a misdemeanor, licensed professionals should make sure they understand all of their legal options.
In some cases, the best option may be to admit one’s mistakes and work out a deal that protects the person’s livelihood as much as possible.
In other cases, a person may have a defense to the charges against them. The prosecutors might have a weak case or a case that is based on evidence that the police obtained unlawfully.
When the stakes are high, a professional should not be too quick to try to get their case over with by signing away their important legal rights.