Defend Against Charges with help from Houston Drug Possession Attorneys
Our skilled Houston drug possession attorney represents people charged with all drug possession crimes, including:
- Possession of Controlled Substance
- Possession of Marijuana
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
- Possession with Intent to Deliver or Delivery or Manufacturing a Controlled Substance.
In these cases, a common issue is whether the police had the right to search for the drugs that they found. Citizens of the United States have Constitutional Rights that protect them from unreasonable searches and seizures of their possessions.
Typically, the police need a warrant to search you, your home or your possessions. However, there are some exceptions to this rule which allows police to conduct searches without a warrant. One common exception is the vehicle exception. A police officer does not need a warrant to search a vehicle that they have pulled over.
However, the police must first have reasonable suspicion to initially pull the car over. Reasonable suspicion means that the police reasonably believe that a crime has been committed; or is being committed.
Then, after the police pull your car over, they must have probable cause to conduct the search of your vehicle.
Probable cause is defined as information sufficient to warrant a prudent (reasonable) person’s belief that the wanted individual had committed a crime (for an arrest warrant) or that evidence of a crime or contraband would be found in a search (for a search warrant).
For a warrantless search of your vehicle to be valid, the police officer must have both a reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, and probable cause to search the vehicle.
What should I do if a cop pulls me over and searches my car for drugs?
If you get charged with possession charges after a police officer unlawfully searches your vehicle, you need to get in touch with a good defense lawyer. An experienced attorney can make the case for a suppression hearing and file a motion to dismiss the case.
Example 1
Here’s an example of a case that we had at Leeds Law Firm: our client was pulled over by a police officer. The officer searched our client’s vehicle and found 23 pounds of marijuana in the car.
Our skilled Houston drug possession lawyer was able to get the case dismissed after a suppression hearing because the police officer did not have reasonable suspicion to pull our client’s car over.
The client was in a rental car and the officer ran the car’s plates and pulled our client over. His alleged reason for puling our client over was that he was “following traffic too closely.”
Our experienced Houston Criminal Defense Attorney set the case for a suppression hearing and after hearing the evidence, a very reasonable Judge decided that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to pull our client over, and he order that the evidence be suppressed. The District Attorney promptly filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Example 2
Another example of an officer incorrectly attempting to use the vehicle exception happened in another one of our client’s cases. An officer pulled our client over and found a pound of marijuana in our client’s vehicle. The officer’s reason for pulling our client over: he was allegedly going 23 mph in a 20 mph zone.
After carefully reviewing the traffic stop, our zealous Houston Criminal Defense attorney discovered that the police officer’s dashcam showed that our client was only traveling 17 mph before he was pulled over. We set that case for a suppression hearing as well. And another very reasonable Judge suppressed the evidence, and the District Attorney dismissed the case.
Why is a suppresion hearing important?
At this point, I am sure that you recognize that a suppression hearing is a valuable procedural tool that a good criminal defense attorney can use to help their client get their case dismissed. After a successful suppression hearing, where the evidence seized gets suppressed, the District Attorney typically dismisses the case.
Get in Touch with Our Experience Houston Drug Possession Lawyer Now!
If your are in the Houston area and need a skilled, zealous and tough Criminal Defense Lawyer to fight for you, do not hesitate to call us at (713) 357-4885 for a consultation.
Our skilled Houston drug possession attorney has succesfully conducted numerous suppression hearings for our clients. Just because you get caught with drugs in your possession does not necessarily mean that you are guilty of a crime. The prosecutor still has to prove their case, including that the law was following in the police officers obtaining their evidence against you.
