Good Fences And Not So Good Neighbors: Property Law 101

What Should You Do If You Get Charged With Drug Possession At A Traffic Stop?

9 April 2021 by Hunter Moore

One of the most common ways to get charged with drug possession is to get pulled over by the police. When the police pull you over, they will often try to find a reason to search your car so they can arrest you. If they found drugs and arrested you, here's what you should do.

Contest the Ticket

If you've been charged with drug possession, you may think a traffic ticket that only carries a fine is the least of your worries. In fact, the ticket can make or break your entire case.

The reason for contesting the ticket is important, as the police need probable cause to pull you over. The probable cause for a traffic ticket is whatever traffic violation the police officer observed. However, if you can demonstrate that you weren't committing that violation, the officer had no cause to pull you over.

If the officer didn't have cause to pull you over, everything that happened after that point is invalid. That includes the police searching for drugs and arresting you.

Contest the Search

Even if the police had a reason to pull you over, they still need a reason to search you. If you have drugs in plain view on your seat, that's a valid reason to search your car. If you had drugs hidden in a closed trunk, the police may not have had a valid reason to look in your trunk.

When you go to court, you can make a motion that forces the police to explain why they searched your car. If they don't have a good reason, such as you said they could, they saw drugs in plain view, or their dog smelled drugs, the search was illegal. That means that police can't use what they found against you, and the drug charges are invalid.

Contest the Charges

You can also contest drug possession charges directly. One way of doing this is to show that the test the police used to determine what you had drugs was done incorrectly, so the police haven't actually proven that the substance they took from you was an illegal drug.

You can also contest that the drugs were not yours. Especially if you were a passenger in a car, you might be able to create a reasonable doubt whether you or someone else placed the drugs near you in your car.

To learn more about drug possession law, contact a local drug possession lawyer today. A drug possession lawyer can guide you through your case so your ticket can be dismissed.

Share

Search