Drug Charges

Possession Alone is not enough

The type of charges or punishment for drug cases are broad and can vary from a simple fine, to house arrest, a short stay in county jail or a number of years in state prison. Most drug charges can be negotiated with treatment being the focus rather serious jail time. We always look for alternatives to jail and help clients find drug treatment programs acceptable to the court. Occasionally police make mistakes and/or step on a client’s constitutional rights. The most common issues we look for involve illegal search and seizure, violation of Miranda rights, or false statements by overzealous police.

Our office has handled many drug cases from simple possession of marijuana to more complex conspiracies, and transportation for sell of control substances. Drug cases require attention to detail and are often complicated by snitches or informants looking to sell information to settle their own case. We take special care to assess the strength and weakness of the prosecution’s case. With the use of a defense investigator and the right strategy it might be possible to reduce the sting of the potential punishment or develop enough evidence to raise reasonable doubt and challenge the case at trial.

Below are two real cases that we fought for our clients. Although, each case is different and results will vary, these two cases represent the level of commitment to our client and type of results that can be achieved with aggressive representation, and proper planning by an experienced and skilled trial attorney like John R. Rodriguez.

Not Guilty

Our client was pulled over and his truck was searched. Police found a crack pipe in the glove box, an eight ball under his seat, and some marijuana joints in the visor-driver side. During his interrogation he allegedly confessed that he uses the drugs for a quick high. After negotiations failed (Client wanted probation-Prosecution wanted prison) we took the case to trial. We used a “third party defense” and applied the theme “Tools of the Trade.” Our trial strategy focused on the weaknesses of the case and aggressively attacked the alleged confession. Despite the prosecution’s best efforts with over 10 police officers and a drug expert testifying against our client, the jury returned with a NOT GUILTY verdict on all drug charges. Our client was so happy he paid a bonus and took a long vacation afterwards.

Not Guilty

Our client traveled from Nevada to pick up his daughter for his weekend visitation. But, on his way there he was stopped for a traffic violation. The police claimed they could see in plain view a crack pipe in the ash tray and searched the vehicle. They found a stash of crack cocaine in a CD case on the front seat. Our client denied any knowledge and told police the drugs belonged to a friend whose car he borrowed. Police did not believe him since the drugs were in plain sight. He was arrested and charged with possession of controlled substance and transportation across county lines. A trial strategy and theme were developed for jury trial. The client was prepared for trial and testified in his own defense. The basic theme was that he was not going to throw away someone else’s things, even if it was illegal. The jury returned with a NOT GUILTY verdict in one day. Our client said thanks for beating the case and that he will never borrow that friend’s car again.