Richardson Criminal Defense Lawyers
Direct-to-attorney criminal defense for Richardson arrests and Dallas 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, 18 miles from Richardson.
L and L Law Group represents clients arrested in Richardson, Texas and clients facing charges in the Frank Crowley Courts Building 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 Richardson matter. Our office is in Frisco, 18 miles from Richardson (25 minutes). Free 24/7 consultation: (972) 370-5060.
Common Richardson criminal charges we defend
The Richardson Police Department publishes an instruction to families that tells you most of what is odd about a Richardson case. To bond someone out after an arrest on a felony or on any misdemeanor above a Class C, you either pay at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office at 111 Commerce in Dallas, or you pay at the Collin County Sheriff’s Office at 4300 Community Blvd in McKinney. Two buildings, two cities, and which one applies has nothing to do with which side of Richardson the arrest happened on. It follows the county the case files in.
That fork exists because the Census Bureau’s 2020 place-code file lists Richardson city in both Dallas County and Collin County. The address where the alleged offense occurred, not the address of the police station, decides which of two very different criminal systems you spend the next several months inside.
The first day, in order
- Booking at the Richardson city jail, 140 N. Greenville Ave., phone 972-744-4820. The Police Department describes it as a facility that houses arrested persons pending release on bond, transfer to another facility such as a county jail, or a court appearance.
- Arraignment there is generally held once a day at approximately 11:00 a.m., though the Department notes alternate times are used to accommodate magistrate schedules. Missing that window is often what turns a few hours into overnight.
- Bond is posted at whichever county sheriff matches the filing county, at 111 Commerce in Dallas or 4300 Community Blvd in McKinney.
- The case is then set in a Dallas County or Collin County court and prosecuted by that county’s district attorney. Nothing about the Richardson Police Department address, 200 N. Greenville Ave., predicts which one.
Two counties, two different machines
| Feature | Dallas County | Collin County |
|---|---|---|
| Felony courts | Seven numbered Criminal District Courts plus the 194th, 195th, 203rd, 204th, 265th, 282nd, 283rd, 291st, 292nd and 363rd District Courts | Fifteen district courts |
| Misdemeanor courts | Eleven County Criminal Courts | Seven county courts at law |
| Prosecutor | Frank Crowley Courts Building, 133 N. Riverfront Boulevard, Dallas, (214) 653-3600 | 2100 Bloomdale Road, Suite 100, McKinney, (972) 548-4323 |
| Main diversion route | DIVERT Court | Burden-to-Blessing, DAOTP, County Court at Law 7 DWI and Drug Court |
What the charge level does to that map
Class C offenses stay in the Richardson Municipal Court at 100 E. Campbell Rd., at the southwest corner of Campbell at Jupiter behind Walgreens. The court has jurisdiction over Class C misdemeanors and city ordinance violations that occur inside the corporate city limits and are punishable by fine only. The clerk’s office line is 972-744-4500 and a 24-hour information line runs at 972-744-4501. The court directs that case questions, requests, filings and record requests go through its online forms, and it states plainly that emailing the court does not constitute an appearance in a case. People lose cases to that sentence.
Class A and Class B misdemeanors leave the city entirely and land in a Dallas County Criminal Court or a Collin County court at law. This is where most Penal Code Section 22.01 assault cases and most first-time Section 49.04 driving while intoxicated cases sit. On a DWI, the criminal case is only half the exposure. A separate administrative license revocation proceeding under the Transportation Code runs on its own clock after a refusal or a failed specimen, and missing that hearing request costs you the license fight without a word being said in the criminal court.
Felonies go to a district court. Several charges reach felony level faster than people assume. Assault that impedes the normal breathing or circulation of a family or household member is a third-degree felony under Section 22.01, not a misdemeanor. A theft under Penal Code Section 31.03 becomes a state jail felony where the person has two prior theft convictions of any grade, so two old shoplifting cases can convert a $200 allegation into a felony. Evading arrest or detention under Section 38.04 jumps to a third-degree felony when a vehicle is used, which is why running from a traffic stop is the worst decision available at that moment.
Drug cases split by chemistry rather than by quantity alone. Marijuana possession is charged under Health and Safety Code Section 481.121, a Class B misdemeanor under two ounces. Concentrates, wax, cartridges and edibles are treated as tetrahydrocannabinols in Penalty Group 2 and prosecuted under Section 481.116, where less than a gram is already a state jail felony. Two people carrying the same plant in different physical forms can face wildly different courts.
Which diversion door exists depends on the county
On the Dallas County side, DIVERT Court is a judicially supervised treatment and case-management program administered through Dallas County Criminal Justice. On successful completion the original charge, along with misdemeanor charges arising from the same transaction, may be dismissed, and the participant may then file to have the offense expunged. The intake coordinator line is 214-653-5878.
On the Collin County side, none of that applies. The equivalents there are the District Attorney’s Burden-to-Blessing Pre-Trial Diversion Program, which runs six to twelve months with life-skills and job-skills training and carries immediate expunction eligibility on completion; the District Attorney Opioid Treatment Program, which excludes driving while intoxicated and delivery cases and charges a $500 fee for non-indigent defendants plus a non-waivable $55 monthly supervision fee; the County Court at Law 7 DWI and Drug Court, where participants plead guilty before entry; the County Court at Law 6 misdemeanor Veterans Treatment Court; and an Adult Mental Health Court built jointly by the District Attorney, the 219th District Court and County Court at Law No. 3. First appearances on that side run through the Collin County Magistrate Court at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building in McKinney, which sets bond and enforces bond conditions but does not decide guilt.
Getting the county right on day one changes which program you are even allowed to ask for. Start with the charges we defend, then let us confirm the filing county before you plan around any of it.
Richardson criminal defense FAQs
Where do I go to pay bond after a Richardson arrest?
The Richardson Police Department gives two addresses, not one. For a felony or a misdemeanor above a Class C, bond is paid either at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office at 111 Commerce in Dallas or at the Collin County Sheriff’s Office at 4300 Community Blvd in McKinney. Which applies depends on the county the case files in, not on where in Richardson the arrest occurred. Confirm the county before driving anywhere, because the two buildings sit in different cities and a wasted trip can cost someone another night in custody.
Is Richardson in Dallas County or Collin County?
Both. The Census Bureau’s 2020 place-code file lists Richardson city as falling in Dallas County and Collin County. For a criminal case that is not trivia. It determines your prosecutor, your courthouse, your jail, and which diversion programs you can even apply for. A case filed in Dallas County goes to the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney at the Frank Crowley Courts Building. A case filed in Collin County goes to the Collin County Criminal District Attorney in McKinney. Check the paperwork rather than assuming.
How long does someone stay in the Richardson city jail?
The Police Department describes the jail at 140 N. Greenville Ave. as housing arrested persons pending release on bond, transfer to another facility such as a county jail, or a court appearance. It is a way station, not a destination. The practical timeline usually hinges on arraignment, which is generally held once a day at approximately 11:00 a.m., with alternate times used to accommodate magistrate schedules. If someone is booked in after that, the wait is often until the next day’s docket.
What time is arraignment at the Richardson jail?
Generally once a day at approximately 11:00 a.m., according to the Richardson Police Department, which also notes arraignments can occur at alternate times to accommodate magistrate schedules. That single detail drives a lot of the first day. Bond conditions, contact restrictions and the release paperwork usually flow from it, so arriving with a bondsman before it happens accomplishes less than people expect. The jail information line is 972-744-4820 and it is worth calling before making the drive.
Can I just email the Richardson Municipal Court about my ticket?
You can email, but the court states directly that emailing does not constitute an appearance in a case. That is the part people miss. The court asks that case-related questions, requests, document filings and record requests be submitted through its online forms, and it keeps a clerk’s office line at 972-744-4500 with a 24-hour information line at 972-744-4501. An email sitting in an inbox will not stop a deadline from running or keep a warrant from issuing on a Class C case.
Which court will my Richardson felony case go to?
A district court in the filing county. Dallas County runs seven numbered Criminal District Courts plus the 194th, 195th, 203rd, 204th, 265th, 282nd, 283rd, 291st, 292nd and 363rd District Courts, with additional auxiliary courts and felony court magistrates. Collin County routes felonies through fifteen district courts. The two systems have different sizes, different dockets and different practices, so the same allegation can move at a very different pace depending on which side of Richardson it started on.
More Richardson questions
Is DIVERT Court an option for a Richardson drug case?
Only if the case filed in Dallas County. DIVERT is a judicially supervised treatment and case-management program run through Dallas County Criminal Justice, and on successful completion the original charge and misdemeanor charges arising from the same transaction may be dismissed, with the participant then able to file for expunction. The intake coordinator line is 214-653-5878. A Richardson case that filed in Collin County cannot use it and has to be evaluated against Collin’s own programs instead.
What programs exist if my Richardson case files in Collin County?
Collin County has its own menu. The District Attorney runs the Burden-to-Blessing Pre-Trial Diversion Program, six to twelve months with life-skills and job-skills training and immediate expunction eligibility on completion, and the District Attorney Opioid Treatment Program, which excludes driving while intoxicated and delivery cases and charges a $500 fee for non-indigent defendants plus a non-waivable $55 monthly supervision fee. There is also a DWI and Drug Court in County Court at Law 7, a Veterans Treatment Court in County Court at Law 6, and an Adult Mental Health Court.
How does a Richardson DWI work if the license is already suspended?
Two separate proceedings run at once. The criminal case under Texas Penal Code Section 49.04 sits in a county-level or district court, while an administrative license revocation case runs on its own schedule after a refusal or a failed specimen. They have different deadlines and different decision-makers, and winning one does not resolve the other. Our page on a Texas DWI charge explains how the two tracks interact and why the license clock usually runs out first.
Do I need a lawyer for a Class C ticket in Richardson?
It depends what the citation is. The Richardson Municipal Court handles Class C misdemeanors and city ordinance violations that happen inside the corporate city limits and are punishable by fine only, which sounds harmless. But a Class C conviction is still a criminal conviction that shows up on background checks, and some Class C dispositions affect licensing, immigration status and insurance. If the citation is genuinely a parking or equipment issue, paying it may be fine. If it alleges conduct, get advice first.
Can I get a Richardson case expunged after it is over?
Possibly, and the path through the case usually decides it. A Dallas County DIVERT completion allows the participant to file to have the offense expunged. On the Collin County side, the Burden-to-Blessing program and the Adult Mental Health Court both carry immediate expunction eligibility on successful completion. Dismissals and acquittals open other doors. Convictions and most deferred adjudications do not. Our Texas expunction and record-clearing page lays out which outcomes qualify.
Why did my Richardson case get filed in a county I do not live in?
Because filing follows where the alleged offense happened, not where you live or where you were booked. Richardson spans Dallas County and Collin County, so a person living on one side of the city can easily be charged on the other. It also means your bond, your prosecutor and your court dates may all be in a city you have never had a reason to visit. That is normal here, and it is the first thing worth confirming on any new Richardson case.
Arrested in Richardson?
Free, confidential consultation — direct to attorney, 24/7. We pick up jail-release calls at all hours.
Call (972) 370-5060Which court hears a Richardson case depends on the county line
Richardson sits astride the Dallas–Collin county line, and that boundary, not the city limit, decides where a serious charge is heard. An offense on the Dallas-County side is filed by the Dallas County District Attorney and routed to the Frank Crowley Courts Building, while one a few blocks north, on the Collin-County side, goes to the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney under the Collin County District Attorney. The same conduct can therefore follow two different tracks — different bond practices, different court dates, and a different prosecutor's office holding the file. Pinning down which side of the line the arrest happened on is the first practical question our team asks in any Richardson matter.
That county split applies only to the more serious charges. Class C misdemeanors — most traffic citations and city-ordinance matters — are handled by the Richardson Municipal Court no matter which county a felony or Class A/B offense would land in. So a fine-only ticket stays in town, while a DWI, theft, or assault charge crosses into either Dallas County or Collin County depending on where it occurred. Treating a municipal-court citation and a county-level charge as the same process is a common early mistake, and the venue difference shapes how we approach each from the outset.
Richardson's road network funnels much of its enforcement onto a handful of arteries. US-75, the Central Expressway, runs the length of the city, and the President George Bush Turnpike and SH-190 carry heavy commuter volume across the north side — corridors where traffic stops and DWI investigations cluster. The city is the heart of the Telecom Corridor, with corporate campuses drawing a daytime workforce, while the University of Texas at Dallas and the CityLine development add a steady student-and-resident mix. That blend of commuters, professionals, and students gives Richardson a caseload that doesn't look quite like its single-county neighbors.
For someone charged in Richardson, the practical takeaway is to confirm the county before anything else, because it determines which courthouse, which bond schedule, and which prosecutor's office are involved. Our team handles cases on both the Dallas and Collin sides of the line and works to keep a Class C municipal matter from being treated like a county-level case — or the reverse. Knowing in advance whether a UTD-area or Telecom-Corridor stop falls in Dallas County or Collin County lets us prepare the right venue from day one.
About the Authors
Criminal Charges We Defend in Richardson
L&L Law Group represents clients throughout Richardson and Dallas 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.