Arrests for drug arrests can be quite overwhelming. During the course of a drug arrest, you may feel that you have to do whatever law enforcement says, regardless of your rights. However, your constitutional rights apply regardless of whether you have been arrested for a crime or not.
If your constitutional rights have been violated, a skilled drug attorney could protect your rights. An experienced legal advocate could use a constitutional defense of Fairfax drug charges to fight for you. Contact a lawyer today and know that you are in capable hands.
The penalties for drug offenses can be severe.The charges are intimidating because they carry jail time ranging from no time in jail up to 12 months on a possession of marijuana and up to 10 years on a simple possession of a Schedule I or Schedule II drug.
Drug distribution can carry anywhere up to 12 months on a possession with intent to distribute marijuana charge and up to 40 years on a distribution or possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I or Schedule II drug. An individual also might have to pay thousands of dollars in fines.
If prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, the ramifications can be dire. On top of that, generally, an individual does not want to be a felon. People do not want to face the stigma of being a drug user or distributor. For all of those reasons, someone facing any kind of drug offense should be wary and should also consider using a constitutional defense of Fairfax drug charges when building their case.
Drug cases have the potential to have plenty of constitutional issues. The Fourth and Fifth Amendments are especially relevant whenever one is dealing with any kind of a possession, possession with intent to distribute or distribution of a drug case.
The Fourth Amendment is one’s right to be free from illegal searches and seizures from the government. That means is that in order to be searched and seized, the Commonwealth or the agent of the Commonwealth – police, DEA, animal control, and anybody who is an agent of the state – cannot stop, seize, or search an individual for anything, whether it is drugs, guns, or whatever the case may be without reasonable suspicion that crime is afoot or probable cause that the person either possesses something illegal or is committing a crime without a warrant.
When dealing with drug cases in which the Commonwealth is alleging that somebody possesses something, either they have it on their person or they exercise dominion and control over an item with knowledge, the Commonwealth leans on police seizing and searching individuals. Therefore, with search and seizures, the Fourth Amendment can rear its head and be challenged, making a constitutional defense of Fairfax drug charges valid.
The Fifth Amendment is supposed to protect someone from being forced to make statements against oneself also shows up when dealing with drug cases in which the Commonwealth is trying to show that an individual made statements acknowledging knowledge of an item, acknowledging the item, giving consent to search, or whatever the case may be.
The Fifth Amendment deals with custodial interrogations. Getting those statements suppressed can lead to suppression of anything found after the fact as proofs of the poisonous tree. The Fourth and Fifth Amendment are big when dealing with any kind of a drug possession, possession with intent to distribute, or distribution case.
Whether an individual has committed a crime or not, they are still entitled to certain protections under the law. The violation of these protections could heavily impact the outcome of your case. An experienced drug attorney could use a constitutional defense of Fairfax drug charges to advocate for you.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
