Drug possession is a serious crime no matter where in the country you live, and a conviction can have serious ramifications for your future. If you are found in possession of an illegal controlled substance such as heroin, methamphetamine, or cocaine, you will face serious third-degree felony charges. If convicted, you could serve up to five years in prison and pay significant fines. The most important thing you can do after being arrested for drug possession is to contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer. Attorney Mark Solomon, PA, has extensive experience successfully defending people against drug possession charges. We have listed some of the best tips for fighting a drug possession charge below.
 
Prove That You Were Not in Actual Possession of the Drug 
You can face drug possession charges after having been in actual or constructive possession of drugs. Actual possession of drugs happens when a police officer finds the drugs on your “person,” meaning in your jacket pocket, your pants pockets, or in a backpack or purse that you are carrying. You may be thinking that you will not be convicted because you did not own the drugs on your person. However, you can still face charges even if you did not own the drugs in your pocket, and they belong to your friend. The fact that you did not own the illicit drugs is not a defense to drug possession crimes.

You can defend yourself by contending that you are never in actual possession of the drugs. Perhaps someone else put the drugs in your pocket, or the drugs were found in a bag that did not belong to you. You can also challenge this element of the case by claiming that the law enforcement officers to arrest you violated your constitutional rights. Your lawyer can call into question the search that law enforcement engaged in when they found the drugs.

To legally stop someone, law enforcement officers must have probable cause to search you or your vehicle. Probable cause means the officers had a reasonable suspicion that they have committed or are about to commit a crime. Law enforcement officers can pull you over based on a reasonable suspicion that you were committing a crime or about to commit a crime. Still, they cannot search for your person or your vehicle without proving that they had probable cause. When law enforcement officers cannot justify why they pulled you over or searched your car, you will likely have a winning defense that they violated your constitutional rights and the judge should throw out the charges against you.
 
Prove That You Were Not in Constructive Possession of the Drugs
Suppose you were charged with possession of illicit drugs after law enforcement found drugs in your apartment. In that case, you may be able to argue that you were not in constructive possession of the drugs. Prosecutors must prove that you knew the drugs were located where they were found, and you had the ability to control the drugs or access them to prove constructive possession. For example, suppose you are a passenger in a motor vehicle that you do not own, and law enforcement officers find cocaine in the glove compartment. In that case, you can be charged with constructive possession of an illicit drug so long as the following elements are met:

• You had control and dominion over the cocaine
• You knew the cocaine was there
• You knew that the cocaine was illegal

 
It can be difficult for prosecutors to prove that you knew drugs were in the location law enforcement officers found the drugs. For example, just because they found marijuana tucked inside a couch in an apartment you share with roommates does not mean they can prove you put the marijuana there or even knew about the marijuana. In other words, just because law enforcement officers found the drugs near you, or in a place you share with other people, does not mean you were in constructive possession of the drugs. Additionally, you claim that law enforcement officers violated your constitutional rights when searching for illegal drugs.
 
Crime Lab Analysis Defense 
Police officers do not always properly identify substances. Just because something looks like LSD or cocaine does not mean it is. The prosecutor must prove that the substance was indeed properly identified by the police to succeed in convicting a defendant for possession of an illicit substance. They must send the evidence to the crime lab so experts can analyze the substance and confirm that it is an illegal drug. State crime labs are incredibly overburdened and have been known to make mistakes when analyzing chemicals.

They could and properly identify the chemical found at the crime scene, or they may even improperly weigh the drugs. When police officers or lab technicians wrongly way the drugs, you could receive a harsher charge and sentence as the penalties for drug possession are based on the weight of the drugs found at the crime scene.
 
The Drugs Were Planted
There are many different reasons why someone would plant drugs on you, in your car, or at your home. Perhaps they are seeking revenge, or they needed to ditch the drugs quickly to avoid being arrested themselves. The testimony of police officers carries a lot of weight during criminal trials, but you can claim that the drugs were planted by police officers or someone else. If successful, you will be able to show that you are not in actual or constructive possession of the illicit drugs and that you should be found not guilty.
 
Contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
 Every case involving drug possession is unique, and you need an experienced lawyer who will review the details of your case and develop an effective defense strategy. If you or your loved one are facing drug possession charges, contact today to schedule your initial consultation and learn how he can advocate for your rights.

​Assault, battery, and domestic violence crimes are all commonly mistaken for each other. These crimes have different elements and people frequently mix them up. If you have been accused of one of these crimes, it is wise to understand what your criminal charges mean, and what the prosecutor will need to prove to secure a conviction.


Battery Charges
The crime of battery is what many people refer to as “assault.” The crime of battery can happen in two different ways.

First, someone can intentionally touch or strike another individual against their will. This type of battery is intentional and involves physical contact. The second type of battery happens when an individual intentionally causes someone else bodily harm. A first battery offense is a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail. If you have another battery conviction on your record, you will be charged with a third-degree felony, which carries a sentence of up to $5,000 in fines and up to five years of jail time.

Aggravated Battery Charges
Prosecutors can bring charges of aggravated battery when the circumstances around the incident are particularly severe—those convicted of aggravated battery face up to $10,000 in fines or 15 years in prison. The penalties for aggravated battery are increased. For prosecutors to secure an aggravated battery conviction, they will need to first prove that an underlying battery occurred. 
Then they need to prove that one of three additional factors are present. Specifically, they need to prove the following:

• The defendant “intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement,” or
• The defendant utilizes a “deadly weapon” or
• The victim is pregnant at the time of the aggravated assault, and the defendant knew or should have known she was pregnant.

Assault Charges
An assault happens when someone verbally or physically threatens to harm another person. There needs to be an “apparent ability” of the defendant to carry out his or her threat.

Additionally, the threat must create in the victim a reasonable fear that the violence is imminent.,Many people assume that assault involves hitting, striking, or punching someone else. However, a defendant does not need to make physical contact with the victim to face assault charges. Instead, all they need to do is take a swing at someone with their fist or engage in a verbal threat without making contact to meet the assault elements.

Assault is a second-degree misdemeanor, which carries up to a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. The penalty for assault could be higher if there are aggravating circumstances, such as domestic violence assault or aggravated assault.

Aggravated Assault
Prosecutors need to prove four elements to convict a defendant of assault:

• The defendant intentionally and unlawfully threatened, by word or act, to do violence to the alleged victim.
• When the defendant made the threat, he or she appeared to have the ability to carry out the threat.
• The defendant’s threat created a well-founded fear in the mind of the alleged victim that violence was about to happen.
• The made the assaults either with a deadly weapon or with a fully-formed conscious intent to commit a felony crime.

Essentially, aggravated assault is the same as assault, but the prosecution must prove an additional element. With aggravated assault, the prosecutor must prove that the defendant used a deadly weapon or had the intent to commit a felony when he or three made the threat.

Prosecutors will need to prove that the defendant intended to threaten violence against the alleged victim. To do so, they need to show that the defendant intended violence against the alleged victim. The prosecutor does not need to prove that the defendant made actual contact or wounded the victim at the time of the assault. A deadly weapon means any weapon that the defendant used or threatened to be used in a way that is likely to produce great bodily harm or
death.

Aggravated assault is a third-degree felony. The penalties for a conviction of aggravated assault
include up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and a fine of up to $5,000. Prosecutors
take assault extremely seriously and aggressively prosecute defendants. Even if you are a first-
time offender, you faced a possibility of serving jail time if you are convicted.

Domestic Violence Charges
Domestic violence occurs when the defendant commits a crime against his or her domestic partner. Domestic violence is different from assault or battery because the prosecutor must prove that the alleged victim and the defendant have a domestic relationship with one another.
Specifically, the prosecutor must prove that the defendant and the victim live together, have lived together in the past, or share a child together.

When the two individuals do not have a child together, they must be spouses, former spouses,
related by marriage, related by blood, residing together as a family, or have resided together as a family in the past. When the special relationship exists between the victim and the defendant,
prosecutors can charge the defendant with domestic violence. All of the following crimes can be
considered domestic violence charges:

• Assault
• Aggravated Assault
• Battery
• Aggravated Battery
• Sexual Assault
• Sexual Battery
• Stalking
• Aggravated Stalking
• Kidnapping
• False imprisonment
• Any other crime that can result in the physical injury or death of another person

Contact Our Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyers
If you have been charged with battery, assault, or domestic violence, you need an experienced
criminal defense lawyer on your side. Contact Mark Solomon, P.A today to schedule your free
initial consultation.