Defenses Available for Drug Possession Arrests

Even if You Had Possession of Drugs, a Morristown Drug Defense Attorney Can Still Help Your Case

You got arrested with drugs in your possession. Maybe you had a small amount of marijuana for personal use, or perhaps you got caught with enough heroin, cocaine or meth to be charged with trafficking or distribution. Whatever the case may be, you face serious drug charges, and there is no question that you broke the law. Can an Morristown drug defense attorney help?

5 Ways to Defend Against Drug Charges When You Are Arrested with Drugs in Your Possession

In a word, “Yes.” While you may not be able to defend yourself by claiming that you didn’t actually have drugs on your person (or in your car or home), you could still have several other different defenses available. Depending on the circumstances involved in your case, these defenses could serve to mitigate your potential sentence, or they could be used by your Morristown drug defense lawyer to help you avoid a conviction entirely.

Here are five examples of defenses to drug crimes that you can assert in Morristown even if you were arrested with drugs in your possession:

1. The Police Stopped You Without Reasonable Suspicion

If you were racially profiled or the police otherwise stopped you without reasonable suspicion, then your arrest was illegal, and any evidence obtained after your arrest may be inadmissible in your drug possession case.

2. The Police Searched You, Your Car or Your Home Without Probable Cause

Likewise, if the police searched you, your car or your home without probable cause, then this may also mean the prosecution’s evidence against you is inadmissible in court. Without admissible evidence, the prosecution cannot prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

3. The Police Failed to Read Your Miranda Rights

In addition to the requirements for reasonable suspicion and probable cause, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Miranda v. Arizona provides a defense in many drug possession cases as well. If the police failed to read your Miranda rights before conducting a custodial interrogation, then the prosecution may not be able to use your own statements against you. This could be important, for example, if you falsely confessed that the drugs were yours.

4. The Drugs Weren’t Yours

If the police found drugs on you, it might be a defense to claim that the drugs weren’t yours. For example, if someone else left drugs in your pocket, car or home without your knowledge, then you do not deserve to be convicted and sentenced for drug possession.

5. You Were Lawfully in Possession of the Drugs in Question

Finally, in some cases, it is possible to defend against drug possession charges by showing that you were lawfully in possession of the drugs in question. This is a common defense, for example, in cases involving unlawful possession of prescription medications.  As of October 2020, a ballot measure is pending to legalize small amounts of marijuana as well; and, if New Jersey follows the trend toward legalization, then compliance with the law will provide a new defense in many marijuana possession cases.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Morristown Drug Lawyer Scott Gorman

To find out what defenses you can use to defend against your drug possession charge in Morristown, schedule a free initial consultation with Essex County defense lawyer Scott Gorman. Call 201-489-9199 or tell us how we can reach you online now.