Many people who are caught possessing or smoking marijuana by the police decide not to hire legal counsel when dealing with their criminal charges. Unfortunately, this can be a serious mistake. A simple charge of possessing marijuana may lead to a misdemeanor conviction. That will result in a permanent, lifetime criminal record. Although it may be possible to get the conviction expunged in the future, it will remain visible in some background checks including most of those performed by a government agency. That is why it is very important to treat any drug possession charge seriously by hiring a Criminal Attorney Pensacola.
With the services of a good Criminal Attorney Pensacola, there are a wide variety of ways to fight a minor marijuana possession charge. First of all, it may be possible to get the charge dismissed. For example, if the evidence was obtained from an illegal search and seizure, it may be suppressed from the case by the judge. That means the prosecution may have to drop the charges.
Another way that a good Criminal Attorney Pensacola can resolve the drug possession charge is to fight it in court in front of a jury. In the United States, the state needs to prove its criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt. If at least one juror doesn’t believe that the prosecutor has proven the case, that could lead to a mistrial or even an acquittal. In many instances, the state’s case is quite weak.
Finally, many cases are resolved via plea bargaining. The Criminal Attorney Pensacola will want to try to get the misdemeanor charge reduced to an infraction. For example, it may be possible to get the prosecutor to agree to the defendant participating in a diversion program. If the defendant completes the diversion program successfully, then the charge will be dropped. This is often offered to first time defendants for very minor crimes. If the evidence collected by the prosecution is strong, then it may be necessary for the defendant to accept a conviction that has little or no jail time in exchange for not having a trial that is costly to both the state and the defendant.
