Drug charges can devastate life. The allegations themselves are enough to damage your reputation and possibly your employment, but the threat of conviction can have you facing significant jail or prison time, lost employment, a haunting criminal record and a negative impact on any pending family law issues like child custody. You can’t afford the harshest penalties that are being threatened by the prosecution, which is why now is the time to figure out the most effective way to defend yourself.
Fortunately, there are several criminal defense options that could be available to you in your case. The one that proves most effective for you will depend on the facts, but we want to look at several of them here so that you can fully assess your options and further explore those that you think are best suited to protect your interests.
The criminal defense options you might be able to use in your drug-related criminal case
Although facing serious criminal charges can be stressful, take some comfort knowing that there are several potential ways to attack the prosecution’s case. Here are some of the strongest criminal defense tactics that might give you an advantage in your case:
- Evidence suppression: You have a Constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. This generally means that law enforcement must secure a warrant before searching you, your car, your home or your place of business. While there are some exceptions to the general warrant requirement, all too often law enforcement makes mistakes in utilizing those exceptions or in executing a validly issued warrant. In these circumstances, your rights have been violated, and any subsequently gathered evidence is tainted with illegality. This will support a request for you to block that evidence from being presented against you.
- Argue a failure to prove actual possession: Simply being near illegal drugs isn’t enough to convict you of possession. Instead, the prosecution must prove that you had control of them. If they can’t prove that point, then you have strong arguments to get off the hook.
- Show improper evidence collection and storage: The police have standard protocols for evidence collection, storage and testing. If they make an error here, then the integrity of the evidence can be compromised, rendering it difficult for the prosecution to prove that the evidence is what they claim it to be. So, look to see if the police made any of these missteps in your case.
- Attack witness credibility: Not all witnesses are trustworthy. But if you suspect that the prosecution is presenting testimony that’s questionable, then it’s on you to demonstrate why it shouldn’t be trusted. You could do this by highlighting inconsistent statements made by the witness, or by attacking their motivation, bias or ability to recollect the events in question.
- Argue lack of intent: If you’ve been charged with intent to distribute, then the state must demonstrate that you had the requisite intent to obtain a conviction. If they fall short, here, then dismissal or acquittal is likely.
These are just a few of the many criminal defense options that might be available to you. Diversion programs, for example, may be another avenue worth exploring. But before choosing the legal strategy you want to pursue, be sure to fully assess all of the paths you can take. By doing so, you’ll hopefully be better positioned to make informed decisions that shield you from the aggressive tactics deployed by the prosecution.
