Once all investigations have been completed and any motions to suppress have been resolved, there are four paths that your case may take. First, if a motion to suppress was granted in a possession of cocaine case, odds are the prosecution lost its evidence and must dismiss the charges by announcing a nolle prosse. However, this may not be the case if the evidence suppressed was a statement or partial statement. In such instances, a prosecutor may decide to proceed with a possession of cocaine charge by relying on evidence other than your incriminating statements.
That said, lets assume a motion to suppress was lost or did not result in the case being dismissed. When this occurs, a person charged with possession of cocaine has three choices:
- Fight the possession of cocaine charge further by requesting a jury trial,
- Resolve the possession of cocaine charge by accepting a plea bargain,
- Resolve the possession of cocaine charge by pleading open to the judge.
Jury Trial in a Possession of Cocaine Charge
When a person takes their possession of cocaine charge to trial, they are essentially challenging the prosecution to prove the charge. There are two reasons why a person would take their possession of cocaine charge to trial:
1) They feel they can win the trial because the evidence is lacking,
2) They have no choice because their criminal history or other legal liabilities make taking a plea bargain or giving an open plea impossible and other means to resolve the case have failed, such as an unsuccessful motion to suppress.
Jury Selection
Like all other offenses, possession of cocaine trials begin with jury selection. During this phase, the prosecutor and your criminal defense attorney will have an opportunity to speak to and question the jurors. A good trial lawyer will use this opportunity to educate the jury about the law, the trial process, and the specific issues in your case.
Winning your possession of cocaine trial begins in jury selection.
During that time, both sides will try their best to identify those jurors who cannot be fair and impartial so that they can be excused. From there, the attorneys will also try to identify those jurors who are favorable, unfavorable, neutral, or indiscernible.
Once a jury is selected, they are sworn in and the trial will begin. Once a jury is sworn, double jeopardy attaches. This means, if the prosecution loses, they cannot charge you again for the same conduct and try to convict you a second time.
Opening Statements Regarding Possession of Cocaine
After jury selection is complete, each side will be given the opportunity to give an opening statement. This is not mandatory, but is done in most cases. However, depending on the strategy used at trial, there are instances in a possession of cocaine trial where a criminal defense attorney may wish to reserve opening until after the prosecution has rested its case. When this occurs, a criminal defense attorney is likely holding back to maintain the element of surprise.
That said, opening statements are an opportunity for the criminal defense attorney and the prosecutor to frame their cases. During this time, they will tell the jury what is to be expected in the way of evidence for possession of cocaine, what the issues are, and where to focus their attention. Most of all, it is important for the criminal defense attorney to “frame the case” and communicate the overall theme of the defense.