Building a Hampton Roads Drug Possession Defense

Building a Hampton Roads drug possession defense is difficult to do alone, which is why you should get in touch with a capable criminal defense attorney if you have been charged. A skilled drug lawyer can potentially examine the facts and evidence of your case, and use this information to craft an argument that works for you. Work with a Hampton Roads drug lawyer that can attempt to build a solid case for you.

Constitutional Issues in Drug Possession Cases

The most common constitutional issue in drug possession cases is the Fourth Amendment with regards to searches and seizures. Often, these cases involve traffic stops and when there is a traffic stop, the officer has to establish probable cause to pull someone over, has to have either reasonable or articulable suspicion to search a person, or has to have probable cause to search a vehicle depending on the various circumstances. That implicates the Fourth Amendment. Some Fifth Amendment issues arise when people are questioned and may not have been given their proper Miranda warnings. The constitutional issues can play a major role in building a Hampton Roads drug possession defense and can serve as a mitigating factor in a person’s case.

Building a Defense

The approach that an attorney takes to building a Hampton Roads drug possession defense depends on the case and usually, defenses involve whether or not the person had knowledge of the substance or knowledge of what the substance was. Drug defenses often are centered around possession and whether or not the person had actual knowledge of the drug. Also, the argument could be that the officer violated the Constitution in searching the vehicle or searching the person, that law enforcement did not have the right to do this, that they should not have been interacting with the accused in the first place, or that the officer exceeded the scope of their interaction to conduct the search.

Importance of Contacting an Attorney

The earlier a lawyer is able to get in on a case, the better it is and the more time they will have to start building a Hampton Roads drug possession defense. With enough time, an attorney can research possible defenses and exhaust all possibilities. A lot of times, people will wait until the last minute to hire lawyers and by that point, the lawyer is limited in how much they can prepare. Depending on how long this case is going on, the judge may not allow for a continuance. So, the sooner a lawyer is able to start working, the sooner they are able to try and talk to the prosecution. If this is a situation in which a lawyer is able to line up an alternative punishment, that gives the lawyer more time to do that.

Attorneys try to look at whether or not they can actually prove the case. So, they look at the manner in which the officer interacted with the accused, the manner in which the officer got permission to search the vehicle, or whether this was a probable cause situation. They also look at the criminal record of the client to see whether this is a situation in which there might be a first-offender program or the client has a bad record and a conviction will result in the client going to jail for a long time. In that case, the lawyer must fight it and just try to get a dismissal. If an individual has been charged with drug possession, they should consult a qualified drug defense attorney that can help.