If you've been arrested on drug possession charges, you should understand your legal options. Even if you were caught with drugs, that doesn't mean that you have no valid defense in court. The best thing you can do is to reach out to an attorney who can help you understand what your options are. The best defense will vary based on your precise situation, but you have several choices.
Search and Search Warrant Problems
The law requires that the officer have probable cause to search your property, a legal search warrant, or your consent. If none of these three exists, your situation might qualify as an unlawful search. If the search wasn't legal, that could result in all of the evidence found under that search prohibited for use in court. For example, if the officer seized drugs that weren't visibly out in the open, such as if he or she searched your car without a warrant or your authorization, you may have a valid defense.
If you were served with a warrant, your attorney may investigate the circumstances surrounding it's issue. If the warrant was obtained under false pretenses, such as providing misleading or unreliable information to the judge, your defense attorney might be able to have it declared unlawful and have anything found under the warrant thrown out.
Drugs Didn't Belong to You
If the drugs found by the police weren't actually yours, your attorney may be able to present a defense that they belonged to your roommate or another person in the car. At that point, the prosecution would have to be able to prove beyond any doubt that the drugs were actually yours.
Misplaced Evidence
Evidence can be transferred from the police department to the lab to the evidence lockup and any other points in between. Changing hands so often increases the risk that something could happen to it. For example, evidence can be lost, misplaced or otherwise damaged. Don't assume that just because the prosecution is continuing with the case that the evidence still exists intact. Have your attorney request the evidence at the trial. If there's no evidence left to produce, you may be able to have the charges dismissed.
Drug cases can be particularly complex, particularly when you're facing the potential of jail time. Your criminal defense attorney will explore these options and more to build a solid defense against the charges when the case goes to court. Get in touch with a representative from a firm like Kalasnik Law Office for help today.
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