Possession Of Contraband In A Correctional Facility Lawyer In Orange, TX
A small amount of a drug that would be a misdemeanor on the street becomes a third degree felony once it crosses into a jail. Texas Penal Code § 38.11 does not scale by amount, and this page covers what it prohibits, the penalties and the defenses.
What Is Jail Contraband In Texas?
Under Texas Penal Code § 38.11, it is a felony to take a prohibited item into a correctional facility, give one to a person in custody, or possess one while confined. Listed items include drugs, alcohol, deadly weapons, money and mobile phones. The base offense is a third degree felony, whatever the quantity of the item.
Source: Texas Penal Code Chapter 38, Obstructing Governmental Operation
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Define Contraband In A Correctional Facility?
Texas Penal Code § 38.11 makes it a felony to bring certain items into a correctional facility, to provide them to a person in custody, or, for someone confined, to possess them. A "correctional facility" under § 1.07 includes any place designated by law for confining people who have been arrested, charged or convicted: a city or county jail, a state prison, and contract and community corrections facilities.
In Orange County, that means the Orange County Correctional Facility at 205 S Border Street, operated by the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Every arrest in the county is booked there, so every contraband case that begins at booking begins there.
The statute does not scale by amount. A trace of a controlled substance is treated the same as a large quantity.
The items § 38.11 prohibits include:
- Alcoholic beverages, controlled substances and dangerous drugs, other than prescribed medication handled the way the statute allows
- A deadly weapon
- A cell phone or other wireless communications device, or any component of one
- Money, when provided to a person confined in the facility
The phone provisions reach further than the others. It is an offense to possess a device or component while confined, and also to acquire, provide, or pay for one with the intent that someone in custody will use it.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Jail Contraband In Texas?
The base level is set once, in § 38.11(g), and it is a felony. These are statutory limits, not predictions.
In the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
- Classification
- Third degree felony.
- Prison range
- Two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
- Fine
- Up to $10,000.
- Facility employees
- The statute sets the same third degree level for every subsection. A facility officer or employee who is authorized to carry a weapon while on duty has an affirmative defense to the weapon offense.
- Related charge
- A possession charge under the Health and Safety Code can be filed for the same substance, so one arrest can produce two cases.
- Probation
- Whether supervision is an option depends on the offense, the record and the court. Probation violations are covered on their own page.
A felony conviction carries lasting effects beyond the sentence, including the loss of firearm rights and a permanent public record.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Jail Contraband In Texas?
I was arrested with drugs on me. Can I be charged again at the jail?
What if I told the officer about the item before booking?
Does medication count?
Can a visitor be charged for what someone else asked for?
Possible Defenses
How Can A Jail Contraband Charge Be Defended?
A § 38.11 charge that starts with an arrest turns on what happened between the patrol car and the jail. Was the person searched at the scene? Were they asked whether they had anything on them? Was the item found in a place the person controlled, or in a holding cell used by others?
An attorney reviews booking video, search records and officer reports. No result can be promised.
The underlying charge still matters.
A contraband count is often filed with a drug possession charge for the same substance. How both are resolved, whether by dismissal, reduction, plea, deferred adjudication or trial, affects the person's felony record as a whole.
For a person already on supervision, a contraband arrest can also be alleged as a new offense in a probation violation motion.
Voluntary Act
Did the person choose to bring the item into the facility, or was it already on them when taken in under arrest?
The Search
Was the person searched before booking, and was any search lawful?
Possession And Control
Was the item found on the person, or in a cell, vehicle or area others could reach?
Is It On The List
Is the item a listed one, and is the substance confirmed by a lab?
Knowledge And Intent
Can the state show the person knew about the item or meant it for someone in custody?
The Chain Of Custody
Was the item handled and tested in a way that supports the charge?
Local Process
What Happens After A Jail Contraband Arrest In Orange County?
A contraband charge is a felony, so the case goes to a grand jury. It is often filed together with the case that brought the person to the jail.
The Discovery
Staff or officers find the item during booking, a search or a visit. A report is written, and the item is tested if it is a drug.
Grand Jury
The prosecutor presents the case to a grand jury, which decides whether to indict.
Evidence And Resolution
The defense asks for booking video, search records and lab results. The case can end in dismissal, a reduction, a plea or a trial.
- Local facility
- The Orange County Correctional Facility, run by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
- Where it is heard
- A grand jury, then one of three district courts: 128th District Court, 163rd District Court, and 260th District Court, at the Orange County Courthouse.
- Who prosecutes
- The Orange County District and County Attorney's Office.
- Who makes the arrest
- Orange Police Department, Orange County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Vidor Police Department, Bridge City Police Department, Pinehurst Police Department, or West Orange Police Department.
- If the case is appealed
- The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Jail Contraband Charge?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person.
Do Not Talk About The Item
Statements about where an item came from can be used against you.
Learn Every Charge
Find whether there is a possession charge in addition to the § 38.11 count.
Keep Booking Papers
Save the property receipt, bond papers and any inventory sheets.
Note Who Searched You
Names of officers, times and where searches occurred can matter.
Ask About Supervision
If you are on probation, a new felony can lead to a violation motion.
Avoid Jail Calls About The Case
Calls from the jail are recorded and can be used.
A lawyer can review the booking and search before decisions about a plea. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about contraband charges in Orange County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 38: Contraband in a correctional facility under § 38.11
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 1: Definition of correctional facility in § 1.07
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 6: Voluntary act and culpable mental states
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Punishment classes and ranges
- Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 481: Controlled substances
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Orange trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Topics
Other Criminal Charges Handled In Orange, TX
A contraband charge rarely arrives alone. It is often filed on top of the arrest that brought the person to the jail. See the full criminal defense overview for Orange.
Other Criminal Charges
Property, weapons, and public order offenses that sit outside the main categories.
Probation And Sentencing
What a sentence can look like, and what happens when the terms of one are challenged.
Records And Defense
How a case can come off, or be shielded on, a record, and the defense tools the law provides.
Common Questions
Jail Contraband Questions People In Orange Ask
What is the charge for bringing drugs into the Orange County jail?
Taking a controlled substance, dangerous drug or alcoholic beverage into a correctional facility, or providing one to a person in custody, is an offense under Texas Penal Code § 38.11. It is a third degree felony, with two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The amount of the substance does not change the level.
Can I be charged with contraband if I was arrested with drugs in my pocket in Orange, TX?
A person arrested while carrying a drug who is then taken into the jail can face a § 38.11 charge on top of the possession charge. Texas law requires that criminal conduct include a voluntary act, and whether entering a jail under arrest is voluntary has been argued in Texas appellate courts. How that question applies depends on the facts of the booking.
Is having a phone in jail a crime in Orange County?
Section 38.11 makes it an offense to possess a cell phone or other wireless communications device, or a component of one, while confined in a correctional facility. It is also an offense to provide one, or to acquire or pay for one, with the intent to make it available to a person in custody. Both are third degree felonies.
Does a jail contraband charge in Orange, TX apply to visitors and staff?
Section 38.11 applies to anyone who takes a prohibited item into a correctional facility or provides one to a person in custody, including visitors, family members, contractors and employees. The statute sets the same third degree level for every subsection whoever is charged. A facility employee authorized to carry a weapon on duty has an affirmative defense to the weapon offense.
Where is a jail contraband case heard in Orange County?
A § 38.11 charge is a felony. It goes to an Orange County grand jury and, if an indictment is returned, to one of the three district courts at the county courthouse. The District and County Attorney's Office prosecutes it, often alongside the charge that led to the original arrest.
What must the state prove in a jail contraband case in Orange, TX?
The state has to show the person was in a correctional facility or providing an item to someone in one, that the item was on the list in § 38.11, and that the person acted with the required mental state. For a person already in custody, it also has to connect the item to that person, rather than to a shared cell or a common area.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Two Charges From One Arrest
A contraband count can turn a misdemeanor arrest into a felony case. The facts of the search and the booking are where the case starts.
Orange Office
