Possessing drugs is a serious crime that involves severe penalties that involve jail time, fines, and a lifetime criminal record. An individual could, however, get falsely accused of drug possession if drugs have been implanted into them. This may happen due to various circumstances, including misunderstandings, false allegations, or intentional attempts to frame a person. If you are involved in such a case, you should seek help from a criminal defense attorney.
What to do if drugs are planted on you?
Being convicted of drug possession can have severe and lasting consequences. After a drug possession conviction, the following are some typical repercussions:
- Request the court to remove the evidence.
You could request the judge to suppress the proof if the police breached your constitutional rights when they reportedly found the drugs you were in possession of. A request to suppress can be a solid defense against accusations of drug possession in the right conditions. The case will likely be dropped without a trial if the petition to suppress is granted.
- Search warrants
The Constitution forbids unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Police must generally obtain a warrant before investigating a person’s home, company, hotel room, baggage, sealed packages, or mail, for example, or some other location or thing in which they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
- Warrantless searches
But not all searches require a warrant. The police have the authority to carry out warrantless searches under certain circumstances. The laws regulating warrantless searches are unclear, and officers often go beyond limits and conduct illegal searches.
- Challenge for the evidence of possession
The legal system differentiates between real and constructive possession. Actual possession means a substance is present on your person, like in your hands, mouth, pockets, pocketbook, or package. Constructive possession means controlling a substance, even if you do not truly possess it.
- Proximity and Control: Factors indicating constructive procession
If a person intentionally possessed an illegal drug, it depends on the entire scenario. Judges consider the defendant’s proximity to the drugs or how far away the drugs were from the defendant. Courts have, however, regularly found that bare proximity cannot be utilized to convict somebody of constructive possession of a banned drug.
How to defend yourself?
Your defense attorney may start by trying to prove that you were not the only one with access to the residence, car, or other places where illegal drugs were found. By doing this, it would be possible to deduce, but not prove, that someone else possessed the drugs.
