Work With a Drug Attorney and Protect Yourself from Prescription Drug Charges

As a California drug attorney, I regularly see people charged with crimes that they did not commit.  This is, unfortunately, all too common as police continue the war on drugs.  In this war, the most common victim is regular people just trying to live their lives.  While the police arrest the easy targets, drug dealers continue to roam the streets.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are immune to being arrested for drug possession.  Instead, protect yourself by taking precautionary measures.

Arrests for possession of prescription drugs continue to mount and very often the people arrested are completely innocent.  As an example, there was a case in Georgia where a girl was arrested after the police found methamphetamine in her car that had been prescribed to her.  She did not have her prescription in her possession, so the officers assumed she was committing an illegal act. Officers also found a spoon in her possession.  Yes – a spoon.  She explained that she had used it to eat lunch, but they didn't believe her and decided that she had been creating methamphetamine. 

She argued in defense of these allegations and explained that she was innocent but was still arrested and sentenced by a judge to drug counseling pending trial.  Even though she had not been proven guilty, she was still required to attend drug counseling and, when she could not attend the counseling appointments, was arrested and put in jail for a month.  During this time, she also lost her job.  Eventually, the lab results came back, and it corroborated her story that the spoon was used to eat lunch and contained no drug residue.  As a drug attorney, we encounter cases like this on a regular basis where an innocent person becomes a victim of the war on drugs. 

Another reason that people are often arrested illegally is because they have prescriptions in their possession that belong to someone else.  This is fairly easy to do when you think about it.  For example, if you borrow your roommate's car and you are pulled over for speeding and the police ask to search the vehicle.  If you allow the search and they find prescription medication in the glove box, you could be arrested.  Even if the medication is in the name of the person that owns the car, you could still go to jail.  This may seem unfair, and it is, but the police have the right to do this and often do.  

As a drug attorney, we recommend that you take steps to protect yourself.  One of the first things you should do is be cautious of what you do and say around the police.  Do not mention anything that could be considered incriminating and prompt a search of your vehicle.  Do not give them permission to do a search of your car or home.  Instead, ask them to produce a warrant and call a lawyer. Even if you think that you have nothing to hide, the police will often find something that they will use to incriminate you.

Whenever in doubt, call an attorney so that you don’t become another victim of the war on drugs.

Criminal Law and Illegal Cell Phone Searches in San Diego

As someone who practices criminal law, I see warrantless searches on a regular basis. If the police believe a crime was committed, they are likely to look for a way to prove it. This can often include searching your car or home without a warrant. Keep in mind that if the police ask if they can come in your home or search your car, you have the right to say no. It may not feel that way in the moment because badge wearing, gun carrying police officers can be intimidating but you do have the right to object to warrantless searches and you should. If you object to a warrantless search the police officer may attempt to obtain a warrant from a judge by giving a statement of probable cause.

One area of dispute has been whether or not the police are allowed to go through your cell phone without a warrant. It has happened on a frequent basis and officers have used the information they found to arrest or prosecute. A recent case, Riley v. California went all the way to the Supreme Court where there was a unanimous ruling that a warrant is needed in order to search the contents of a cell phone. This is important for you to know because the police will not tell you your rights. You have to know them and enforce them.

As an Orange County criminal law attorney, this Supreme Court decision is an important one. Without it, the police and prosecutors have been able to submit into evidence photos that were taken on a person's phone, videos, maps with history on them, call logs, texts, etc. in order to prove their case. This has been highly unfair for defendants that use their cell phone as a way to record personal information and conduct what they believed to be, private conversations.

One of the cases that was heard by the Supreme Court, United States v. Wurie, came out of California and involved a man that was pulled over and arrested for possession of guns. In the meantime, his phone was searched, and the police found evidence of Wurie being connected with a gang shooting that had taken place. No warrant was obtained prior to conducting the search and as a result of the evidence obtained from his cell phone, he was sentenced to fifteen years in jail.

My job, as a criminal defense attorney, is to make sure that my clients receive the best possible defense after being charged with a crime. It doesn’t matter what the crime is; everyone deserves a strong defense and the opportunity to make their case. Doing so often involves making sure that my clients’ rights are protected at the same time. Even though, the Supreme Court has issued this ruling some law enforcement officers and prosecutors may be unaware of this change. It is up to me, as a defense attorney, to argue case law before a judge as to why certain evidence is inadmissible and should not be used in court. It is important to work with someone that is experienced in criminal law because the more your attorney knows, the better chance you have of navigating the court system to your benefit. As they say, knowledge is power! If you are pulled over, remember that you do not have to consent to a search and should never give consent for an officer to look through your cell phone.