McKinney Criminal Defense Lawyers
Direct-to-attorney criminal defense for McKinney arrests and Collin County criminal-court matters. Co-founders Reggie and Njeri London handle every retained case personally — from arraignment through trial or appeal — from our Frisco office, 11 miles from McKinney.
L and L Law Group represents clients arrested in McKinney, Texas and clients facing charges in the Collin County Courthouse on the full Texas Penal Code and Health & Safety Code spectrum. Founding partners Reggie London (Texas Bar No. 24043514, former Dallas County Assistant District Attorney) and Njeri London (Texas Bar No. 24043266, admitted TXND, TXED, 5th Circuit) personally handle every McKinney matter. Our office is in Frisco, 11 miles from McKinney (15 minutes). Free 24/7 consultation: (972) 370-5060.
Common McKinney criminal charges we defend
McKinney is the county seat of Collin County, and for a criminal defendant that is a genuine practical advantage. The Collin County Courthouse opened in the fall of 2007 in McKinney and houses the district courts, the district attorney’s office, the law library and the district clerk. The county courts at law moved into the same building in September 2012. The county’s administrative offices, justice center and jail are in McKinney too. Your felony court, misdemeanor court, magistration, prosecutor and jail all sit inside the same city.
The Census Bureau’s 2020 place-code file also lists McKinney city as lying wholly within Collin County, unlike neighboring Plano and Richardson, which each span two counties. Every McKinney case files into the Collin County system, so nobody has to work out which prosecutor got the file or which sheriff is holding a relative.
How a McKinney case moves
- Arrest and magistration. Collin County runs a dedicated Magistrate Court at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building, 2100 Bloomdale Rd., presided over by Judge Lisa Bronchetti, main line (972) 547-5485. It advises defendants of their rights, determines probable cause, sets bond and issues warrants, and it issues and enforces bond conditions. It does not determine guilt or innocence.
- Custody. Felony and Class A or B misdemeanor arrestees are held at the Collin County Sheriff’s Office detention facility at 4300 Community Ave., detention line (972) 547-5200, under Sheriff Jim Skinner. Same city as the arrest.
- Filing. The Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office is at 2100 Bloomdale Road, Suite 100, phone (972) 548-4323, in the courthouse complex.
- Court assignment. Felonies go to one of fifteen district courts. Class A and Class B misdemeanors go to one of seven county courts at law, whose jurisdiction also covers Class C appeals, civil matters, mental health cases and probate. Courthouse main line (972) 548-4100.
The twenty working day clock on a citation
The McKinney Municipal Court handles Class C misdemeanor violations of local, state and federal laws punishable by fine only, covering traffic, state law, city ordinance, parking and certain civil violations. It conducts preliminary and pretrial hearings and trials, collects fines and court costs, issues warrants of arrest and search, operates its own Marshal’s Office, and publishes open docket calendars and attorney appearance information.
The number to write down is twenty. A person who receives a citation has 20 working days from the date it was issued to enter a plea, pay the fine and costs, or set a court date. Working days, not calendar days, and the clock starts the day the citation issued rather than the day you noticed it. Doing nothing inside that window is how a fine-only allegation acquires a warrant. If a Class C does go against you, the appeal goes up to one of the Collin County courts at law, whose published jurisdiction expressly includes Class C appeals.
The charges we see most in Collin County courts
Driving while intoxicated. Texas Penal Code Section 49.04 covers operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. The charge that catches families hardest is Section 49.045, driving while intoxicated with a child passenger younger than 15, which is a state jail felony on a first offense. A parent with no criminal history can end up in a district court instead of a county court at law.
Drug possession. Penalty Group 1 possession is charged under Health and Safety Code Section 481.115, with the range set by weight including adulterants and dilutants. Section 481.134 then adds drug-free zone enhancements for offenses committed within a defined distance of places like school premises and playgrounds. The geography of a stop can raise the punishment range without changing anything about the alleged conduct.
Assault involving a family or household member. Penal Code Section 22.01 makes assault causing bodily injury a Class A misdemeanor, but Section 22.01(b)(2)(A) makes it a third-degree felony where the defendant has a previous conviction for an offense against a family member, household member or dating partner. An old misdemeanor resolved quickly years ago can turn a new accusation into felony exposure, which is why an affirmative finding of family violence is worth fighting on a first case.
Theft. Penal Code Section 31.03 normally grades theft by value, but theft of a firearm is a state jail felony regardless of what the firearm was worth. A gun taken from an unlocked vehicle is a felony from the first minute, which is a common and expensive surprise.
Burglary. Penal Code Section 30.02 reaches entering a habitation without consent with intent to commit a felony, theft or assault. Burglary of a habitation is a second-degree felony, and it rises to a first-degree felony where the intent was to commit a felony other than theft. Whether a structure counts as a habitation is often the whole case.
Collin County diversion, matched to the situation
- A non-violent case with a workable history
- The District Attorney’s Burden-to-Blessing Pre-Trial Diversion Program runs six to twelve months with life-skills and job-skills training, and publishes separate timelines for misdemeanor and felony charges. Participants are eligible for an immediate expunction on completion.
- An opioid-driven possession case
- The District Attorney Opioid Treatment Program accepts pre-indictment referrals from prosecutors and defense attorneys. Eligibility is limited to a non-violent offense with non-violent criminal history, excludes driving while intoxicated offenses and manufacture or delivery cases, and takes possession cases only in state jail amounts or less.
- A qualifying mental health condition or intellectual disability
- The Adult Mental Health Court was created jointly by the District Attorney’s Office, the 219th District Court and County Court at Law No. 3, supervised by Judge Jennifer Edgeworth and Judge Lance Baxter. Successful participants may have pending cases dismissed and become eligible for immediate expunction.
- A veteran facing a misdemeanor
- The Misdemeanor Veterans Treatment Court in County Court at Law 6, led by Judge Ben Bender, uses a phased program of treatment, mentorship, peer support and judicial supervision, and also serves veterans facing supervision-related violations.
- A high-risk impaired driving case
- The DWI and Drug Court in County Court at Law 7 targets high-risk substance-dependent impaired drivers. Participants plead guilty first, then go onto supervised probation with intensive treatment, frequent random testing and frequent court appearances.
Which door is open depends on the charge, the history and the timing, and the pre-indictment window closes quietly. Start with the charges we defend, and if the McKinney Police Department at 2200 Taylor Burk Dr. has contacted you, talk to counsel first.
McKinney criminal defense FAQs
How long do I have to take care of a McKinney ticket?
Twenty working days from the date the citation was issued. Inside that window you can enter a plea, pay the fine and costs, or set a court date. Two details matter: they are working days rather than calendar days, and the clock starts on the issue date, not the date you found the citation in a glovebox. Letting it run out is the standard way a fine-only allegation turns into a warrant, and the McKinney Municipal Court does issue warrants of arrest.
Where is a McKinney felony case heard?
At the Collin County Courthouse, 2100 Bloomdale Rd. in McKinney, main line (972) 548-4100. The courthouse opened in the fall of 2007 and houses the district courts, the district attorney’s office, the law library and the district clerk, with the county courts at law moving into the same building in September 2012. Felonies are distributed among fifteen district courts. Because McKinney is the county seat, the courthouse, the prosecutor and the jail are all inside the same city.
Is McKinney split between two counties like Plano is?
No. The Census Bureau’s 2020 place-code file lists McKinney city as lying wholly within Collin County, unlike neighboring Plano and Richardson, which each span two counties. Every McKinney case therefore files into the Collin County system, with one prosecutor, one sheriff and one set of courts. That removes a real source of confusion. Families do not have to work out which county has custody of a relative or which district attorney received the file before they can do anything useful.
Where do they take someone after a McKinney arrest?
To the Collin County Sheriff’s Office detention facility at 4300 Community Ave. in McKinney, which is where felony and Class A or B misdemeanor arrestees are held. The detention facility line is (972) 547-5200 and the Sheriff’s main line is (972) 547-5100. Sheriff Jim Skinner runs the office. Because the facility is in the same city as the arrest, families here avoid the cross-county drive that people in Plano, Richardson and Mesquite routinely have to make.
What happens at the first hearing in Collin County?
Collin County runs a dedicated Magistrate Court at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building, 2100 Bloomdale Rd. in McKinney, with Judge Lisa Bronchetti presiding and a main line of (972) 547-5485. Its published responsibilities are advising defendants of their rights, determining probable cause, setting bond and issuing warrants, and it also issues and enforces bond conditions. It does not determine guilt or innocence. The bond conditions imposed there can shape daily life for months, which is why the hearing matters more than its length suggests.
Can I appeal a McKinney municipal court decision?
Yes, and it goes up to the county level. Collin County publishes the jurisdiction of its seven county courts at law as covering misdemeanor criminal cases, Class C appeals, civil matters, mental health cases and probate. So an appeal from a fine-only municipal case lands in one of those courts rather than staying in the city. What form that appeal takes depends on how the municipal record was made, which is a good reason to get advice before the first setting rather than after it.
More McKinney questions
Is there pre-trial diversion in Collin County?
Yes. The District Attorney’s Burden-to-Blessing Pre-Trial Diversion Program is a six to twelve month supervised path that includes life-skills and job-skills training, with separate published timelines for misdemeanor and felony charges. Participants are eligible for an immediate expunction on successful completion. Admission is not automatic and the application is made through the District Attorney’s office, which keeps a dedicated program inbox at da_pretrialdiversion@co.collin.tx.us. Timing matters, so raise it early rather than after the case has been set for trial.
What if a mental health condition is behind the charge?
Collin County runs an Adult Mental Health Court, created jointly by the District Attorney’s Office, the 219th District Court and County Court at Law No. 3, for defendants with a qualifying mental health condition or an intellectual or developmental disability. It is supervised by Judge Jennifer Edgeworth and Judge Lance Baxter. On successful completion participants may have pending criminal cases dismissed and become eligible for immediate expunction. Documentation of the diagnosis usually drives whether an application goes anywhere, so gather records early.
I am a veteran charged with a misdemeanor in McKinney. What are my options?
County Court at Law 6 runs a Misdemeanor Veterans Treatment Court led by Judge Ben Bender. It serves veterans facing misdemeanor charges and also veterans facing supervision-related violations, using a phased program of treatment, mentorship, peer support and judicial supervision. It is a structured commitment rather than a shortcut, and the mentorship component is a real part of it. If the charge is a felony or involves impaired driving, the analysis shifts to different Collin County programs.
Will a McKinney DWI go to the DWI court?
Not automatically. The Collin County DWI and Drug Court runs out of County Court at Law 7 and targets high-risk, substance-dependent impaired drivers. The structure is important to understand before anyone asks for it: participants plead guilty first, then are placed under supervised probation with intensive treatment and counseling, frequent random alcohol and drug testing, and frequent court appearances. That plea is not reversible if the program goes badly. Our page on a Texas DWI charge explains where it fits.
Which court gets my Class A misdemeanor?
One of Collin County’s seven county courts at law, all of which now sit in the Collin County Courthouse at 2100 Bloomdale Rd. after moving into the building in September 2012. Their jurisdiction covers misdemeanor criminal cases along with Class C appeals, civil matters, mental health cases and probate, so a criminal docket shares the room with very different work. That mix affects scheduling and how quickly a contested setting can actually be reached, which is worth factoring into any decision about resetting a case.
Can a McKinney charge be erased from my record?
Only through certain endings. In Collin County, the Burden-to-Blessing Pre-Trial Diversion Program and the Adult Mental Health Court both make participants eligible for an immediate expunction on successful completion, and a completed District Attorney Opioid Treatment Program can make a case eligible to be dismissed and expunged. Convictions do not qualify, and most felony deferred adjudications lead to a different analysis. Our Texas expunction and record-clearing page explains which dispositions open which remedy.
Arrested in McKinney?
Free, confidential consultation — direct to attorney, 24/7. We pick up jail-release calls at all hours.
Call (972) 370-5060Why a McKinney charge stays in town at the Collin County seat
McKinney holds a position most of its neighbors do not: it is the seat of Collin County, and the Collin County Courthouse — the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building — sits in town. For residents charged in their own city, that changes the geography of a case. The same courthouse where Allen, Frisco, and Plano defendants are summoned is the local one here, and pretrial detention runs through the Collin County Detention Facility nearby. A felony or higher-level misdemeanor filed by the Collin County District Attorney is heard a short drive from home rather than across the county, which can ease the logistics of court dates, bond, and meeting with counsel.
That county-seat role makes McKinney the destination court for much of Collin County, so the building is busy and the docket moves at a county-hub pace. We handle cases here knowing the rhythm of a courthouse that draws filings from across the surrounding cities, not just from within McKinney's own limits. Knowing how a hometown matter fits into that larger flow — when settings are likely to be reset, how quickly a case advances, what a local judge tends to expect at each stage — is part of how we prepare. The advantage of familiar ground cuts both ways, and we use it for the client's benefit.
Not every McKinney citation lands at the county courthouse. McKinney Municipal Court handles Class C, fine-only matters — traffic tickets, city-ordinance violations, and similar low-level offenses — entirely apart from the county courts that hear felonies and Class A and B misdemeanors. The two courts share a city but not a docket, and confusing them is a common early mistake. We make sure a client understands which court their charge actually belongs in, because the procedure, the stakes, and the path to a clean resolution differ sharply between a municipal-court ticket and a county-court criminal case.
Enforcement in McKinney clusters along its main corridors. US-75 (Central Expressway) and US-380 carry the heaviest through-traffic, with SH-5 and SH-121 feeding stops across the city, and the historic downtown square draws its own foot and event traffic. DWI, drug, and traffic-related arrests frequently begin on those routes. If you have been charged in McKinney, the first practical question is which court holds your case — and from there we build the defense on local ground.
About the Authors
Criminal Charges We Defend in Mckinney
L&L Law Group represents clients throughout Mckinney and Collin County against the full range of Texas criminal charges. These are the charges our defense team handles most often — or call (972) 370-5060 for a free, confidential consultation.