The way a criminal defense lawyer attacks a possession with intent case is generally the same from case to case. From a general perspective, a criminal defense lawyer must determine if there are any legal defenses to the offenses charged. In other words, putting the value of evidence aside, were any laws or rules of procedure violated by the police or prosecution? If so, evidence may be suppressed. This can lead to charges being reduced to lesser offenses, cases being dropped, and sentences being diminished or eliminated entirely.
The ultimate outcome of any cases will hinge entirely on its specific set of facts and the applicable law. The following areas include issues of concern for any criminal defense attorney in any possession with intent case.
Illegal Traffic Stops
Were you illegally detained by police? If so, any evidence recovered as a result must be suppressed by a judge. It makes no difference if the evidence is cocaine, weapons, or statements made by you to the police. The type of evidence is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how the police came to obtain the evidence.
When it comes to detaining a person, police must be able to articulate a reasonable explanation as to why they thought the person being detained had committed a crime, was committing a crime, or was about to commit a crime. It makes no difference if no crime was actually committed, was actually being committed, or was actually about to be committed. So long as the officer acted reasonably, the detention will pass muster.
For example, if a police officer sees a person pointing a gun at another person, he certainly is allowed to stop both people and investigate. If he pats down the person holding the gun for officer safety and discovers a bag of cocaine in the process, it makes no difference if the two people were actually friends rehearsing a scene for a school play. From the officer’s perspective, it appeared as though a crime was being committed, so therefore the detention was lawful. Since the pat down was also reasonable, for officer safety reasons, the discovery of the cocaine was proper.
However, if the officer is unable to articulate a reasonable basis for his/her belief that a crime had been committed, was being committed, or was about to be committed, the stop was illegal. It is important to also note that traffic infractions also count as crimes for this purpose.
For example, if a police officer observes a person run a red light, he/she is allowed to initiate a traffic stop.
The legality of any police detention is extremely important because it will determine if evidence discovered as a result of that detention can be used against the defendant. For this reason, a criminal defense attorney will devote tremendous attention to determining if any police detention was lawful.
In some cases, police detentions are obvious. In other cases, they are not so obvious. As a result, a criminal defense lawyer will pay close attention to the police officer’s explanation as to why and how he/she detained the defendant. Answers to these questions are usually available in the police reports. In some cases, it is necessary to conduct depositions to get to the bottom of what actually happened.