Drug charges can quickly threaten to derail your future, which is why you need an aggressive criminal defense, and you need it now. But to build the competent criminal defense strategy that you need to protect your future, you have to take the time to carefully analyze the facts of your case in light of the law. After all, even if the evidence against you seems insurmountable, you may be able to achieve the outcome you desire.
Suppressing the prosecution’s evidence
If you are facing drug charges, one way to poke holes in the prosecution’s case is to try to suppress the evidence that it intends to use against you. To do this, you’ll have to show evidence of one of the following:
- Illegal police action: If you can show that the evidence being used against you was obtained after an illegal police action, such as an unjustified traffic stop, then you may be able to convince a judge that the evidence is tainted by that illegality. This can lead to that evidence being suppressed through what is known as the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine.
- Missed depositions: To find out how the prosecution’s witnesses are going to testify against you, you should depose them. However, if those witnesses get cold feet and fail to appear at depositions for which they’ve been subpoenaed, then you can ask a judge to block their testimony from being presented against you in court.
- Chain of custody errors: The police are supposed to follow certain protocols to ensure that evidence is properly gathered and maintained. If law enforcement officers fail to abide by those standard practices, then you may be able to draw the validity of the evidence into so much doubt that the court deems it inadmissible.
Know how to navigate the law to your advantage
As you can see, you may have strong criminal defense options available to you, even if it seems impossible to overcome the prosecution’s case. That’s why it may be in your best interests to discuss the facts of your case with an experienced attorney. Hopefully then you can develop a legal strategy that puts the law to work for you in a way that protects your future.