If you or someone you love has been charged with drug possession, you know already that Oklahoma takes these charges very seriously. A good criminal defense lawyer will have a number of possible defense strategies to suggest. The following may be some of them, depending on what’s right for your case.
What Are the Best Defense Strategies for Drug Possession Charges?
The Drugs Aren’t Yours
Perhaps the first and simplest defense is showing that the drugs were not yours. In fact, you don’t actually have to prove a negative (that the drugs aren’t yours), you just have to cast doubt on the prosecution’s claim that they were yours. The prosecution has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any charge they bring against you, so they will have to provide clear proof that those drugs were yours.
Your lawyer may be able to undermine this in various ways. Check out this site to learn more about what a skilled defense lawyer can do.
The Drugs Were Found Illegally
The police can’t just go into your home or car or stop you on the street on a whim. There must have been a legal search for the evidence found in that search to be used against you in court. Your lawyer may be able to argue that the search for the drugs was not instigated for legal reasons or was not conducted legally, or that your rights were violated in some other way. If they can exclude enough evidence, this can be a powerful defense and at the very least bring the prosecution to the bargaining table with a plea bargain.
You Were Entrapped
Entrapment is illegal. No agents of the government, including the police, are permitted to originate a criminal act or try to implant in an innocent person’s mind the temptation to commit a criminal act and then induce them to do so. The police can work undercover to reveal crimes, but sometimes they overstep their bounds and engage an entrapment. Your lawyer can help you understand whether this may be a valid defense in your case.
Forcing the Prosecution to Prove It Is a Drug
Sometimes, the prosecution actually hasn’t proved that what they found is an illegal drug. This is not always a useful defense in every case, but there can be times when a good lawyer can force them to prove that what they found was an illegal drug, and they will be unable to do so. This is often the case where the drug is actually a prescription. If you had a valid prescription for it, the prosecution may not be able to prove that it was illegal for you to have it, even if they think you had too much of it.
There are other possible defenses against the drug charge, and a skilled lawyer will be able to help you explore them all. If you’ve been charged, don’t wait to get an experienced lawyer on your side right away.