Anytime a Florida resident faces criminal charges, he or she retains the right to challenge them. This goes for drug possession charges as well. If police placed you under arrest because they believe you were in possession of an illegal substance, it will be up to them and prosecutors to prove that was the case.
Whether you knew about the drugs that police allegedly found, simply facing charges does not mean you are guilty. Several defenses to this crime exist, and one or more may apply to your circumstances.
The most common defenses
When it comes to possession charges, numerous defenses could be appropriate. The most common defenses to drug possession include the following:
- Sometimes, investigators go too far and cause an individual to do something they would not ordinarily do. If someone who turned out to be either a police officer or a police informant somehow pressured you into carrying or holding drugs, this may constitute entrapment.
- Sometimes, overzealous police officers conduct illegal searches. If you didn’t give an officer permission to search your vehicle, including the trunk, and he or she found something suspected to be drugs, the substance may not be admissible in court because the officer discovered it during a warrantless and unlawful search.
- Some officers are not as honest and trustworthy as the majority of them attempt to be. If there is a possibility that an officer planted the drugs in question and blamed you, the court may dismiss the charges.
- Sometimes, the drugs actually belong to someone else. You may not have known that one of your friends or family hid the drugs in your car or your home. When police found them, you were the one arrested because you rent or own the home or vehicle in which officers found the illegal substance.
- Sometimes, the chain of custody is broken, and a prosecutor can’t produce the alleged drugs that you were supposedly in possession of at your arrest. Without such crucial evidence, the charges may not stand.
- Sometimes, police are simply wrong. There are numerous powdery and leafy substances out there that may look like drugs but aren’t. If a crime lab conducts testing on the substance and discovers it to be something other than an illegal drug, it’s possible no crime was committed.
As you can see, just because you face charges for drug possession, that does not prove your guilt. Challenging the charges could result in a dismissal or reduction of the charges, depending on the circumstances.
What should you do?
Anytime you face criminal charges, your freedom and your future are in jeopardy. Reviewing the circumstances surrounding your arrest and the evidence prosecutors intend to present in court could reveal procedural mistakes or violations of your rights that weaken the prosecution’s case and provide you with avenues to achieving the best results possible to your case. Fortunately, you do not have to embark on this endeavor alone.