Spodek Law Group

NYC Drug Possession Lawyers

Drug possession is a serious offence in the state of New York, and it should be taken seriously. If you have been arrested and charged with this crime, your first move should be to get a lawyer. Being charged with a crime is not the same things as actually committing a crime. On many occasions, people who neither possess drugs nor use them get caught up in a law enforcement sweep, sting, or special operation. In these instances, it is assumed that everyone in the vicinity of where a crime has taken place is guilty of it.

But this is not necessarily so. If you have been falsely accused of drug possession, if you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, hiring a criminal defense attorney will ensure that you are exonerated and released.

It is important to realize that police officers and public prosecutors have every incentive to arrest, charge, and convict as many people as they can. Once you are arrested, you will be in an environment that is designed to intimidate you; its entire aim is to make you feel as though you have done something wrong. If you know you haven’t, then you should act accordingly.

Retaining the services of a defense attorney will ensure that you get due process. You are under no obligation to prove you did nothing wrong. It is the other way around in the American system of justice: police and prosecutors must prove their case. Calling an attorney will ensure that your case is handled in the right way.

If you are caught up in this situation unjustly, you should not take the matter lightly. If the authorities are somehow able to make it look as though you were in possession of a controlled substance, you can face pretty serious penalties. Cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, club drugs, OxyContin, marijuana, and illegally obtained prescription drugs are all defined as controlled substances under state law.

Depending on what the authorities are able to make stick, you may be convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony. Either way, you will have a criminal record, which can affect your ability to get a job or even rent an apartment. Penalties can range from a small fine and less than a month in jail to a life sentence and a $100,000 fine. This is nothing to mess around with. You may be a smart, confident, and capable person, but you should bring in an expert to handle your case. You might say or do something that you think perfectly harmless, but that can actually be used by prosecutors to prove your guilt. Working with a lawyer who has extensive knowledge and experience in such cases will prevent you from making such errors.

If you are essentially guilty of the crime you have been arrested and charged for, if the police have irrefutable evidence that you were in possession of drugs, you still need a lawyer. It is the only way that you will be able to get a deal that minimizes the severity of your sentence. The police have no interest in helping you avoid prison and a large fine. Your attorney does. A lawyer who has handled scores of cases like yours and has deep insight into how the law enforcement and prosecutorial system in New York work will be able to get you a good deal. This is especially the case if the police are after a larger and much more important figure. You may be able to tell them all that you know in exchange for a much lighter sentence.