Defense Options To Use After You Are Charged With A Drug-Related Crime

5 May 2015
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Being charged with a drug-related crime is no laughing matter, and it could result in prison time if you are convicted. If this is your first charge, you may have an easier time getting the charges dropped or reduced, but to do this you will need to hire a good criminal defense lawyer. Your lawyer will discuss the case with you and may use one of these defenses to help you get the charges dropped.

Unwarranted Search Took Place

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution prevents police and other authorities from searching your property without having a search warrant. There is an exception to this rule though. The police do have the right to search your car or home if they have a valid reason to believe that you may be concealing something illegal.

If the police searched your property without your permission or without a warrant, your attorney may suggest fighting this on the basis that they did not have a valid reason to perform this search. This defense may work, and if it does, they may drop the charges that are against you.

Getting drug charges dropped could save you a lot of time, money, and embarrassment. It could also help you avoid spending time in prison, and it will help you prevent having criminal activity on your record.

You Were Forced or Tricked To Carry the Drugs

There are also times when people use the defense that they were forced or tricked into carrying drugs. This would be a good strategy if:

  • Someone threatened you and told you that you had to do this or they would injure you
  • Someone slid the drugs into your bag or car and did not tell you they were there

This theory can often be hard to prove, but not impossible. If you know who forced or tricked you, you could tell the court the person's name. The court may then arrest that person, or they might have the police question him or her.

If you don't know the person that forced or tricked you into this, it may be harder to use this defense because the court would have to try to figure out who this person is. If you have evidence that could be helpful in finding the person, you would need to give that to the court.

The Drugs Did Not Belong To You

A second defense that may work is stating that the drugs were not yours. If, for example, you had borrowed a friend's car and were caught with drugs in the car, you might easily be able to defend yourself by saying that the drugs were not yours.

The downside to this defense is that it might get your friend in trouble. If the drugs really did not belong to you, and if you did not even know they were there, this defense strategy could be the best option to use if you want to get out of the crime.

You Thought It Was Legal

There are many states that now allow people to use marijuana legally for recreational purposes. Because of this, you might be able to use this as your defense, but this would only work if you had been caught with marijuana.

If you had been in a state where it was legal and then went to a state where it was illegal, you could state that you did not realize it was illegal in this particular state.

A good criminal defense lawyer will help you learn all the possible defenses that could be used in your case, and he or she will help you select the one that is best for your situation. To learn more, contact a legal services company today.