A drug possession conviction can impact your life in many ways. From community service to prison time, there’s no shortage of potential penalties.
If you find yourself heading to court to defend yourself against drug possession charges, it’s critical to implement a defense strategy to help prevent a conviction. Here are several of the most common:
- Unlawful search and seizure: The Fourth Amendment can do many things, including protecting you against unlawful search and seizure. Drugs found in plain view can be seized by police and used as evidence. However, the unlawful seizure of drugs, such as by entering your home without permission, is not permissible as evidence in court.
- Drugs don’t belong to you: This is a common, basic defense strategy. It’s rooted in the idea that the drugs aren’t yours and you’re unsure of where they came from. For example, your legal team will put the burden on prosecutors to prove that the drugs belonged to you, and not another party, such as a visitor to your home.
- Planted drugs: It’s not always easy to prove, but you may be able to argue that another individual, such as a police officer, planted the drugs in your car or home.
- Entrapment: Police are legally permitted to set up sting operations, but that doesn’t mean they can induce you to commit a crime. This can be as simple as an undercover officer or informant pressuring you to pass them drugs.
- Crime lab analysis: Police may assume that you were in possession of an illegal drug, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you were. The prosecution has the responsibility of proving that the substance is illegal. This typically results in the drugs being sent to a crime lab for analysis, but not always.
It’s easy to believe that drug possession charges will result in a conviction, but this doesn’t always hold true. You have the legal right in Colorado to protect yourself, such as by taking steps to prove that you’re not guilty.
With the right drug possession defense strategy in place, you’ll feel better about your ability to prevent a conviction and the consequences associated with it.