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Defense Options Against Drug Possession Charges
If you are charged with drug crimes, including possession or drug trafficking, you can face serious consequences if convicted. The penalties for drug crime convictions can include many years in prison. Aside from the criminal penalties, you may also face consequences in your personal life, such as derailment of your career, damage to personal relationships, and loss of societal standing, if you are convicted of a drug-related crime.
Understanding your options and having experienced legal support for your defense is essential to peace of mind and an enhanced chance of a successful outcome when facing drug charges.
What Should You Do If You Face a Drug Charge in Missouri?
It may seem like something that will never happen to you. However, anyone can face criminal charges. A mistake in identity, a poor choice during a bad day, or simply falling in with the wrong people can all lead to situations that involve being charged with a crime. No matter how you arrive at a situation involving criminal allegations, taking proactive steps to protect your rights and support your defense is critical.
Understanding the Serious Nature of the Charges
No matter what accusations you’re facing, know that drug crime charges are serious. Even if you know you’re innocent and think there’s no way you can be convicted, you should take the charges seriously and plan to fight them with available resources.
Contacting a Defense Attorney
One of the best ways to use your resources to fight drug crime charges against you is to connect with an experienced criminal defense team. The criminal defense system is complex, and no matter how prepared you might be to advocate for yourself or research your options, having defense attorneys on your side helps you:
- Understand all of your options
- Receive guidance about the potential impact of each choice in your case
- Have someone to turn to when your rights are infringed upon
- Create and manage a long-term plan for your defense
Creating a Strategy for Your Defense
Once you’re working with criminal defense attorneys, you can begin creating a strategy for your defense. Your lawyers review the facts of the case, the charges against you, and any evidence. Then, they provide guidance about what type of defense strategies are potential options and how you might expect different strategies to play out.
While no attorney can 100% predict the future, experienced criminal defense attorneys in Missouri have a lot of previous data to draw from related to how prosecutors and courts respond to various situations. They can use this information and their knowledge about the law to help you understand the likelihood of various strategies working out in your favor. This enables you to make an educated decision about your defense.
Some Legal Options When Facing Drug Possession Charges in Missouri
Talking with a criminal law team can help you understand options such as seeking a plea deal or leniency for first-time offenses. It can also help you gauge your chances of proving your innocence in court if your case goes to trial.
Plea Deals
Sometimes, a plea deal may be the most likely favorable option. For example, suppose the evidence against you is robust. In that case, your attorney might advise that taking the matter to court increases your chance of being convicted of most or all charges against you. Your attorney might encourage you to explore plea deals if conviction seems likely.
A plea deal involves pleading guilty to a lesser charge to avoid more severe consequences. For instance, if you are being charged with a drug trafficking offense, your attorney might advocate negotiating for a lesser drug possession charge, as the penalties may not be as severe.
Seek Leniency for First-Time Offenses
When cases involve a first-time offense for someone who has otherwise been an upstanding citizen, Missouri prosecutors and courts may be willing to provide some leniency when negotiating plea deals or handing down sentences following convictions. For instance, a sentence might include mandated rehab treatment instead of time in prison. However, you can’t assume this will be the case, so discuss these scenarios with your attorneys.
Demonstrate Your Innocence
Of course, the best outcome after facing drug crime charges occurs when you can demonstrate your innocence and be free of all convictions and resulting penalties. Some work that can go into proving your innocence against drug possession charges includes:
- Reviewing the details of the arrest. Your lawyers will review the facts related to your arrest to ensure law enforcement acted legally and according to procedure. If your attorneys show that the arrest wasn’t legal, the charges may be thrown out.
- Gathering and analyzing evidence. Defense attorneys work to gather evidence, including videos and photographs, witness testimony, police reports, and any other information that may be relevant to your case. They will analyze this information to find potential holes in the prosecution’s case that can be used to argue for your innocence.
- Creating a narrative around your alibi. If you have an alibi, your lawyer will work on gathering information to support it. For example, if you were not present at the time an alleged crime occurred, your legal team might work to present evidence that proves you were at work or a social event.
- Presenting your case in court. Your legal team will present your case in court in the best possible way to support a verdict of innocence.
To get help with drug possession charges, call the Missouri DWI & Criminal Law Center at 816-846-2219.
