Business and Management

How a Drug Crime Defense Lawyer Can Help You

If you have been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, you will need a drug offense defense attorney to help you fight the charges. While not every defendant chooses not to plead guilty to their charges if you choose to go this route you are constitutionally guaranteed a fair trial, decided by a jury of your peers.

You will have the opportunity to defend yourself during this test.  You’ll want to find a Denver drug lawyer who will handle your case, hold the key to fighting back, or even cut costs entirely. Here are some strategies he can use.

Suppress evidence

One of the best ways to win at trial—and probably prevent the case from going to trial in the first place—is to file a motion to suppress the evidence. This is proof that the state has to prove its case. This is a popular strategy, although it rarely works. However, when it is, it can work in a big way. While this may sound unfair to the police and prosecutors, it is the system working as it should. If evidence is collected in a way that is contrary to the laws we hold dear, it should be thrown out.

Void the warrant

If the police had a search warrant while obtaining the evidence against you, it would be difficult to argue against the collection of said evidence. That said, a good drug offense defense attorney will look at that warrant and the circumstances surrounding its issue. If the warrant can be declared invalid, any evidence gathered at that point has to be excluded. One of the ways this can happen is if you can prove that the police had no probable cause to stop you. 

Ignorance

Simply claiming that you didn't know the drugs were illegal would not be enough to make a successful argument at trial. But if you can prove that you didn't know you owned drugs (a friend had them in your car or something to that effect), you may have away. This is a common defense, but it is not usually successful. If your drug offense defense attorney can bring corroborating evidence, however, it may convince a jury.