How to Fight Drug Possession Charges
Posted on: 12 March 2018
Having illegal or prescription drugs in your possession is illegal, unless you were prescribed the medication, and the police can arrest you if they find drugs on you. When this happens, the court can charge you with a drug possession charge, and this can often be a felony charge. If you do not believe that you should be charged with the crime the police believe you committed, you might be able to get out of the charge if you have the right defense and evidence.
Consider the Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment is the amendment that protects your rights against unlawful searches for any reason. This amendment is there to protect you against police searching you without probably cause. If the police violate the rights under this amendment, you could fight your drug charges on this basis.
Fighting your case with this defense can work well if there is considerable evidence that the police overstepped their boundaries and broke the laws of this amendment. On the other hand, the police only need probably cause to search your car if they stop you and suspect that you might have drugs. Because of this, using this defense is not always the best option unless there is a lot of evidence that proves that the police invaded your rights under this amendment.
Use the Defense that the Drugs Were Not Yours
In some cases, people can get out of drug charges by using the defense that the drugs were not theirs. For example, if you stopped in to visit a friend when the police suddenly came by and searched the home, the police might charge you for drug possession if drugs were found in this house. The problem is that this is your friend's house, and you might not have even known that the person had drugs. If this is the case, you would have to fight your case on the basis that the drugs were not yours and that you didn't know they were there.
You can also use this defense if you lived with a person who had drugs in his or her possession. You would have to be able to prove that you did not know that your roommate had drugs, and this can sometimes be challenging to prove in court.
Find Out if the Court Processed the Drugs
When a person is arrested and charged with drug possession, the police should send the drugs they found to a lab to be tested. The purpose of this is to prove that the drugs they found were really illegal drugs and to prove what type of drugs they are. If the police or court failed to test the drugs the police supposedly found on you, they would have no right to prosecute a case against you. There just simply wouldn't be any evidence to prove that you had drugs in your possession.
Settle for a Lesser Charge
If you cannot find a good defense to use to fight your drug charges, you could always settle for a lesser charge. You could also take steps to help your case. For example, if you are a drug addict, you could willingly go to rehab before your trial begins. If you do this and get clean while you are there, this factor could look good for your case, and the court might agree to drop or reduce the charges.
There is one thing you should understand about drug charges: you cannot fight them alone. You will need to quickly find a good criminal drug possession lawyer to help you every step of the way.
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