My question involves criminal law for the state of: Texas

My fiancé was wrongly accused and convicted late last year in Edinburg, Texas on a felony charge of theft of services in the application for and acceptance of medical treatment charged to Medicaid and TANIF assistance relief money, with a total of $1,500.00. Out of the blue one day, she was arrested, jailed, and brought to court on these charges.

She hardly speaks any English and her court- appointed lawyer's Spanish skills are clearly not proficient. In fact, she had me speak to him on a particular matter because she could not understand his Spanish.

His communication to her gave her the understanding that since she was indigent and he was only being paid as a court-appointed attorney, she should plead guilty on the charge because he could not spend a lot of time defending her. If she did not plead guilty, moreover, that she would be deported to Mexico and she would lose all four of her children.

In court, she tried to explain to the judge that she did not sign for the services she was accused of applying for and that was not her signature on the documentation. The judge chastened that, nevertheless, this is your name so it must be your signature. He also accused her of being "hysterical" in his court (at this point in the midst of her defending herself, especially since her attorney made if clear he was not going to, she was terrified of losing her children), and he also mentioned that she will be deported if she does not act more rational and "behave better" in her courtroom.

I am in the process of attempting to obtain the original documents pertaining to this case in order to do something that Texas State Health and Human Services investigators (who originally brought these allegations), the court system, and even her attorney apparently failed to do: compare her signature against those on the original documentation. However, everybody is stonewalling me at this point, and we are having a very difficult time obtaining these. I even asked her attorney pointblank, "Did you compare the signatures," and he evaded this direct question.

I do not think there is any way my fiancé could be lying about what actually happened here. Her explanation is that her ex-husband encouraged his new girlfriend, who has the same first name as my fiancé, to apply for and receive these services for both her and her children.

My fiancé has never had any brush with the law before this and worked seven days a week before this felony charge was flagged by her employer who immediately fired her from her nursing job.

She was wrongly accused here, was provided inadequate legal counsel and defense, and had a judge who did not provide adequate translation services; as such, she was coerced into entering a guilty plea in the fear that she would otherwise be deported and lose her children.

Under these circumstances, she did the right thing in sacrificing herself and reputation in order to keep her children. How do we go about getting justice now, especially after I am finally able to compare the signatures on the original documentation from Texas State Health and Human Services Agency and the Hospital where the services where obtained? What are our potential remedies we could pursue her: ask for another trial, try to get a pardon, or only get her record expunged?

There were some grievous errors and mismanagement made in her case where she has done nothing wrong. Even more frightening, given the cavalier attitude of the entire legal system here, she remains in danger of this happening again with the risk of this outside party applying for services again, and then the system comes after her again for this.