Our Frisco office●Est. 2011
The L and L Law Group team·Frisco, Texas
A comprehensive Texas Penal Code reference — every major charge, classification, penalty range, defense strategy, and procedural right. Reviewed by Reggie London and Njeri London, Co-Founding Partners of L and L Law Group, PLLC.
Nearly every offense maps to a ladder set out in Penal Code ch. 12: Class C, B, and A misdemeanors, then state jail felony, third-, second-, and first-degree felonies, and capital felonies. Each entry in the encyclopedia above lists the offense’s classification and the statute that sets it, because the level — not the label — drives the punishment range, the court it lands in, and the collateral consequences.
Misdemeanors carry county-jail exposure (up to one year for a Class A) and fines up to $4,000; felonies carry state-jail or prison exposure from 180 days to life, fines up to $10,000, and heavier collateral consequences — firearm rights, licensing, immigration. The line matters most at the margins, where charge-level negotiation can move a case from one side to the other.
Every entry above names its controlling section — for example, theft under Penal Code § 31.03 — and links to the official text at statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Reading the statute alongside the charge page shows exactly what the State must prove, which is the starting point of every defense review.
Yes — enhancement statutes such as Penal Code §§ 12.42 and 12.425 raise the applicable level for repeat and habitual offenders, and specific findings (deadly weapon, family violence, drug-free zones) change punishment or parole consequences. The charge pages flag the enhancements that commonly attach to each offense.
They start the same way — arrest, magistration under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 15.17, and bail — then diverge: misdemeanors are filed by information in the county courts at law, while felonies require a grand-jury indictment and are tried in district court. The procedure entries in the Criminal Procedure cluster above walk through each stage.
L&L Law Group represents clients across North Texas counties for DWI, assault, drug crimes, juvenile defense, outstanding warrants, bond reduction, and expunction matters.