If you are held with drug possession charges, hiring a criminal attorney to defend your case is the only option. A defense lawyer can help you win the case, whether you are charged with the personal intake of drugs or selling it to others. A good lawyer might help analyze which defenses are applied in your case.
What are the Common Defenses against Drug Possession Charges?
Facing the charge of drugs is not going to be easy. This situation might make you feel all alone and hopeless. There are more chances of feeling that there can be no defense to help you get rid of this critical situation and avoid punishment.
The truth is that there are multiple defense strategies available to help the accused against the drug charges. An experienced lawyer can come to your rescue in such cases.
Here are some of the most common defenses that can be used against drug possession charges.
Claiming that Drugs Belong to Someone Else
A prevalent defense to get freed from any criminal charge is to say that you are not the culprit. In the drug possession case, you can say that you are not aware that the drugs are available in your apartment or simply say that these drugs aren’t yours.
For example, in this case, a defense attorney will constrain prosecutors to confirm that the joint found in the vehicle applied to their client and not to the other passengers.
Drugs were Planted
You can go this way, but it isn’t easy to prove in the courtroom. This is because a police officer’s sworn testimony is not questionable and carries a lot of weight in the courtroom. But, if the judge approves this, your criminal attorney can file a motion that requires the department to discharge the file of the complaint officer.
This file contains the entire information, such as contact details and names of all those who have made the complaint. A private investigator or your attorney then interviews the lists of informants.
Alleging that the Accused is the Victim of Deception
Law enforcement officials know all the legal strategies and are free to set up sting operations. Entrapment or deception occurs when informants or officers produce a suspect to commit a crime that has not been committed by him/her.
If an informant forces a suspect into fleeting the drugs to the third party, this is considered entrapment or deception.
Crime Lab Analysis
The prosecution has all the right to prove that the thing that looks like LCD or Cocaine is not actually what it looks like. The lawyer can prove that the found substance is illegal but not a drug by analyzing the crime lab analysis.
Missing Drugs
Drugs are missing can be another drug possession defense. Like the requirement of crime lab analysis, prosecutors who lose their actual drug risk can have their case dismissed. Captured drugs can be changed or transferred multiple times before they get locked in the evidence box. So, it can never pretend that the evidence is still the same as it was during the trial.
Exception for Medical Marijuana
Since medical marijuana is legal in many states, it is not the case of drug possession until found in the recommended quantity. States that have exceptions for marijuana laws still demand signed papers from the doctors.
Do You Need Help With Drug Possession Defense?
If you need help to get free from drug possession charges, you may need to look for an experienced criminal attorney. These lawyers are capable of bringing the statement in your favor.