Should You Take a Misdemeanor to Trial in Bexar County?

If you’re facing a Misdemeanors charge in Bexar County and wondering whether to take your case to trial or accept a plea, there’s no single right answer that applies to everyone. It’s a genuinely case-specific decision, and understanding how a Bexar County misdemeanor trial actually works — not just the abstract idea of “your right to a jury” — can make that decision considerably clearer.

Who You’d Actually Be Facing

Class A and B misdemeanor cases in Bexar County are prosecuted by the Criminal District Attorney’s Misdemeanor Trial Division, which typically assigns two prosecutors to each County Court at Law, supported by investigators and additional staff. A Class A misdemeanor carries up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000; a Class B carries up to 180 days and a fine of up to $2,000. Understanding what’s actually at stake with your specific charge is the starting point for weighing your options honestly.

What a Misdemeanor Jury Actually Looks Like

This is worth knowing precisely, because it’s a genuinely significant fact in the trial-versus-plea decision. A misdemeanor jury in a Bexar County Court at Law consists of six jurors — smaller than the twelve-person jury used in felony trials. But here’s the part that matters most: unlike a Texas civil jury, where a verdict only needs agreement from 5 of 6 jurors, a criminal verdict requires complete, unanimous agreement from all six. If even one juror isn’t convinced of your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury cannot convict.

During jury selection, each side gets 10 peremptory challenges — the ability to remove a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason, though these can’t be used in a way that discriminates based on race. Texas courts also take jury composition seriously as a matter of constitutional concern; reducing a misdemeanor jury below six members, even with a defendant’s agreement in some circumstances, has raised real constitutional questions in Texas appellate cases rooted in U.S. Supreme Court precedent on jury size.

The Honest Trade-Offs

Neither trial nor a plea is automatically the better choice, and it’s worth understanding both sides honestly rather than defaulting to a general assumption.

What a Plea Offers

A plea agreement provides certainty. Trials are unpredictable — even cases that look strong on paper can lose in front of a jury, and prosecutors and defendants alike often prefer avoiding that risk. A plea can mean a reduced charge, an agreed sentence, or eligibility for a diversion program that keeps a conviction off your record entirely. It’s worth knowing that guilty pleas resolve the overwhelming majority of Texas criminal cases — trials are genuinely the exception, not the norm, in the Texas system generally.

The trade-off is real: accepting a plea generally means waiving your right to a jury trial, to cross-examine the witnesses against you, and in most cases, to a broad appeal.

What a Trial Preserves

Taking your case to trial keeps every one of those rights intact, and it’s the only path that can result in a full acquittal rather than a negotiated reduction. If the evidence against you is genuinely weak, or if a specific defense (like a successful motion to suppress evidence, covered in more detail in our companion guide on getting a misdemeanor dismissed) hasn’t fully resolved your case beforehand, trial may be the stronger option.

It’s worth being honest about something uncomfortable, too: fear of a harsher sentence after a trial, the stress and expense of the process, and even a criminal defense attorney’s own risk assessment can lead people — including people who maintain their innocence — to accept a plea rather than risk trial. This isn’t a reason to avoid considering trial; it’s a reason to make sure this decision is made with clear-eyed information about your specific case, not just general anxiety about the unknown.

What Actually Drives This Decision

The right call depends on factors specific to your case: how strong the evidence against you genuinely is, whether a pretrial motion could exclude key evidence before trial is ever necessary, what the realistic plea offer actually looks like compared to your exposure at trial, and how a conviction — even a negotiated one — would affect your life beyond the courtroom. This isn’t a decision to make from a general rule of thumb; it’s one that depends on a real, thorough evaluation of your specific charge and the evidence behind it.

What This Means for Your Bexar County Case

Deciding whether to fight your case at trial or negotiate a resolution is one of the most consequential decisions in a misdemeanor case, and it deserves a real conversation grounded in the actual facts of your situation — not a generic assumption about what’s usually best. An early, honest evaluation of your evidence gives you the clearest possible picture of what trial would actually look like, so any decision you make is genuinely informed rather than made out of uncertainty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many jurors decide a misdemeanor case in Bexar County?
A: Six, compared to the twelve-person jury used in felony trials.

Q: Does a misdemeanor jury have to agree unanimously to convict?
A: Yes. All six jurors must unanimously agree for a conviction. If even one juror has reasonable doubt, the jury cannot convict.

Q: Is it common for misdemeanor cases to actually go to trial?
A: No. The large majority of criminal cases in Texas are resolved through a plea rather than a trial. Trials are the exception, though they remain a real and important option in the right case.

Q: What do I give up if I accept a plea deal?
A: Generally, your right to a jury trial, your right to cross-examine witnesses against you, and in most cases, a broad right to appeal.

Q: How do I know if I should take my case to trial?
A: This depends on the specific strength of the evidence against you, whether pretrial motions could weaken the state’s case, and what a realistic plea offer looks like compared to your exposure at trial. This is a decision worth making with your attorney after a real evaluation of your case, not a general rule.

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Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law
115 Camaron St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Office: 210-500-0000

Division: Criminal Defense San Antonio
Practice Area: Misdemeanors