You live in a wealthy area, and you have no need to be on drugs or to sell them. You know that not everyone is like you, though, which is why you didn’t think twice about a friend riding in your vehicle with marijuana. You didn’t think much about it then, but now you’ve been pulled over and accused of a drug crime.
In your situation, this is a clear mistake. Your friend must have dropped a baggy of marijuana. She was from out of town and came from a state where it was legal, but that makes no difference to your case. What can you do to show that you aren’t the criminal you’re being accused of being?
The first thing your attorney may ask is if you gave the police permission to search your vehicle. If the police did not have a warrant and did not receive permission, then the search may have been illegal. That would make the evidence inadmissible in court and result in the charges being dismissed in most cases.
Another option is to seek the actual drugs during the trial. If the prosecution can’t produce the drugs you’re accused of having, then the case may be dismissed. During these cases, drugs are seized, and that means that they could go missing as they’re being transferred.
Another defense is showing that the drugs belong to someone else. You can claim that you didn’t buy or use the drugs, and you can even state that you had no idea that you had them in your vehicle. Your attorney can press the prosecution to prove that the drugs are yours and not a friend’s. For example, if the drugs were found under the passenger seat, then you might assert that your friend left them there when she was sitting in the back or passenger seat. Since some drugs stay in your bloodstream for a long period of time, a test to show you do not have any in your blood could help prove that you weren’t using them.
Your attorney can help you review your defensive options. With the right help, you can stand up for yourself and make sure your reputation is not damages unnecessarily. The drugs aren’t yours, so you shouldn’t face charges for a crime you didn’t commit.
Source: Nov. 30, -0001