Thousands of people face criminal charges on the grounds of possession of drugs and related abusive substances. Most of the cases involve the availability of little amount of the controlled substance in the car of the defender. All these cases account for a huge percentage of the criminal court dockets in every state that leads to routine behavior of the drug possession defendants as well as sentencing.
In case a person faces criminal charges, it is important to get in touch with a professional attorney for representing the same in the court of law. This post reveals some common and most effective defenses that lawyers use for combating a drug charge.
- Unauthorized Search or Confiscation
Search and confiscation issues are very common when it comes to cases related to drugs. According to the Fourth Amendment made in the Constitution of the United States, a person has the right to be free from the arbitrary searches. In simple words, the investigating department does not search the property of the person even without having valid evidence confirming that the person is involved with the nuisance.
- Violation of Miranda Rights
In case a person is placed under arrest and makes any statements in front of the authority, it is important to let the person make aware of the right to remain silent. Under this provision, the opposition can use the statements against the person in the courtroom.
It is in the Constitution of the country that whenever a person is in the custody of the police, he/she has the right not to make any self-indiscriminating statements before the authority asks a single question.
- Proof of Actual Drugs
When a person is charged with the charges of possession of drugs, it is important for the State to produce the actual drugs on the basis of which the person is standing in the witness box. In case the charges are already there, and the State no longer has the actual drugs during the search operation, the charges will drop with great ease. Drug Crime Lawyer in New Jersey or practicing in any other Federal state make use of this defense in most of the cases, and this has been one of the most effective ones till date.
- Entrapment
This is one such scenario that is very rare in the State. This happens when a law enforcement officer enforces a person to commit a crime that he/she is unlikely to commit. It is more like an abuse of authority or the power of the police. In case someone who works for the police like as an informant and the same pressurizes to pass on drugs to a third party, the case entrapment defense also applies in this context.
- Lack of Possession
Another most common yet effective defense in the drug case is to assert that the drugs do belong to the person facing the charges. This particular has a higher percentage of success in case even a single is present on the spot when drugs are discovered.
For instance, in case the police discover in an apartment with several tenants, the defendant can argue that the same does not belong to him/her, or there was no idea about the presence of the same.
Although, these defenses might sound simple and easy to go, when it comes to proving them in the court it needs years of experience and expertise. Thus, it is imperative to seek professional help from a reliable lawyer dealing with criminal law to get the best results.
