Jurisdiction is when a court has the authority to issue decisions about a legal matter. For example, personal injury lawsuits, divorce cases, and the probate of the estates of deceased people are civil matters, so a criminal court does not have authority over them. Likewise, some matters belong to the jurisdiction of state courts and others to the jurisdiction of federal courts.
For example, bankruptcy cases are always federal. Most criminal cases fall under the jurisdiction of the state where the alleged crime took place. In other words, if you live in another state and you are accused of committing a crime in Texas, it is the courts of Texas that will handle the case. Federal criminal courts have jurisdiction over cases that involve violations of federal criminal laws and alleged crimes that took place in more than one state. Therefore, drug trafficking cases often go through the federal criminal courts. This can happen if a defendant is accused of transporting drugs across state lines or if defendants in multiple states allegedly conspired to distribute illegal drugs.
If you are facing drug charges in a federal court in Texas, contact a Texas drug crimes attorney.
The Houston Pill Mill Conspiracy Case
In the fall of 2024, a federal court in Texas charged ten people with drug trafficking conspiracy for their alleged involvement with illegally supplying prescription drugs to pill mill pharmacies in Houston. Some of the defendants live in Texas, but others live in Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, and Tennessee. Five defendants are pharmaceutical distributor executives, and the other five are pharmaceutical sales representatives.
The defendants allegedly trafficked 70 million prescription opioid pills and 30 million doses of other controlled substances into pill mill pharmacies in the Houston area, which is notorious for its pill mill activity. The drugs involved were the varieties of oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone that fetch the highest prices on the street, plus prescription drugs such as alprazolam and cough syrup with promethazine and codeine, as these are commonly used on the illegal market in combination with prescription opioid pills. The defendants allegedly received more money from the pill mill pharmacies than a legitimate pharmacy would normally pay for the same drugs; they sold more doses of the drugs at one time than a pharmacy ought to stock.
Another piece of evidence that the prosecution presented to the grand jury was that the pharmacies and the pharmaceutical companies appear to have done just enough compliance paperwork to avoid additional scrutiny by the authorities. Nine of the defendants have pleaded guilty, but one has pleaded not guilty and will go to trial. You still have the right to plead not guilty and the chance to be acquitted, even if your co-defendants plead guilty.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges involving allegations of drug trafficking conspiracy. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.