Drug charges
What the report says, and what it leaves out
Possession, paraphernalia, possession with intent. They sound alike, and they are not the same case.
Most drug cases begin with a stop, a search or a knock at a door. Before I talk about pleas or trials, I read the report, watch the video and study the lab sheet, and I ask how the police came to be standing where they were.
Some cases are narrower than the charge sounds. Some are not. I will tell you which kind yours looks like, even when the answer is hard to hear.
What I check first
Why the stop or the search happened
Where the substance was found, and whose it could have been
How it was weighed and tested
Whether treatment or a diversion program is open to you
Questions after a drug arrest
Should I talk to the police again?
Be polite, say that you want a lawyer, and call me. Things said without a lawyer in the room are easy for the other side to use later and hard for you to take back.
Will this cost me my driver's license?
It can. In many places a drug case triggers a separate license process that runs on its own clock, apart from the criminal case. Tell me early so that no deadline slips by.
Could I get treatment instead of jail?
Some courts offer diversion or a drug court program to people who qualify. Whether you do depends on the charge, your record and what the local program accepts. I will find out what is open.
The drugs were in a shared car. Am I charged too?
Sometimes the charge reaches everyone who could have reached the substance. I look at who had control of the space and what the officers actually saw.
Bring me the paperwork
Photograph the charging papers or the bond sheet and describe what happened. I will tell you what the next date means.