From the early 80s, United States has been facing the problem of drug trafficking. Plenty of initiatives have been taken by the US government to curb the spread of drug inside the country. The laws that govern the use and possession of drugs and addictive substances are pretty harsh. Anyone, who's accused of taking and possessing drugs, faces legal consequences.
Each state in US has its own set of laws to deal with problems related to drug and substance abuse. Miami is one of those states that have very specific legal codes, which restrict the use and possession of drugs.
Even a small mistake could get you arrested. You might think carrying a very small amount of prescription drugs is innocuous. Guess what, if you are in Miami, then having more than 28 grams of prescription drugs in your possession could send you to prison for twenty-five years.
May be you take drug only occasionally, you should still know all the relevant legal clauses. Here are some key facts related to drug charges in Miami;
- If someone possesses 28 grams of cocaine, then he'd be subject to $50000 penalty and three years in jail.
- If someone possesses marijuana that is 20 grams or less, then he may have to face a minimum of one year jail sentence and pay a fine of $1000.
- If a person carries more than 20 grams of marijuana, then he'd have to spend at least five years in jail and pay $5000 as fine.
Since getting arrested for possession of drug is not so rare in US and many get arrested every year, it's essential for an individual to stay in contact with a drug defense attorney. There are long-term consequences of possessing drug. If you are found guilty, then not only your reputation will be smeared, but your candidature in academic institutes or future employment could also come serious threat.
A drug crime defense attorney could help the defendant in various ways. The key to build a successful case to save the defendant is getting involved in the case as early as possible. You might wonder why it's important? It's important because of two reasons' first, if the lawyer doesn't get involved early, then the police will have ample time to build a case against the defendant.
Secondly, fighting a drug case means making lots of important decisions, more so, such decisions need to be made quickly. To put it simply, if the defendant doesn't get the lawyer's help right after he's arrested by the police, then the odds of failure will increase.
There are some issues that are highly pertinent to a drug crime related case. Only an experienced drug crime defense lawyer could address those issues accurately. Some of those issues are following;
- Should the defendant cooperate with the police at the time of the interrogation?
- Should he accept the offer from the law enforcement to become the witness, who'd be working at the behest of the government.
- Should the defendant negotiate for a plea deal offered by the law enforcement officers?
- Most importantly, should the defendant make a statement to the police?
The most important part is collecting evidences to create a case. This part is most difficult because unlike other types of crimes, drug crimes often involve complicated criminal procedures and that makes building case to dodge the charges difficult.
To build a successful defense case the lawyer first needs to review the arrest warrant. The second most important thing to consider is whether the law enforcement has followed all the procedures while arresting the defendant.
Often, accurate procedures are not being followed and that gives the defendant an edge. The defendant may get released from all the charges just because at the time of arresting him, the police has violated any of his fundamental rights.
The lawyer might want to review the statement that the defendant has given to the police. He'll read through the entire statement to see whether the defendant has already confessed his crime. If he really has done so, then saving him would be really difficult even for the seasoned lawyers. Investigating the codefendants (If any) is also a very important procedure as they might testify whether or not the defendant was carrying the drug or whether he was falsely implicated.
In short, Miami criminal defense lawyers are fully aware of the A to Z of Miami drug and trafficking law. Taking their help immediately after getting arrested for a drug crime is not an option for a defendant, it's compulsory.
