Fighting a Drug Possession Case When the Drugs Don't Belong to You

Oftentimes, when a police officer arrests a suspect for drug possession, the suspect claims that they didn't know the drugs were there. While this might be a lie in many cases, you may literally be in possession of illegal drugs without realizing it. If this is the case, a drug possession lawyer may be able to help you craft an effective defense.

Unwitting Possession

If you had unwitting possession of drugs, you may not be aware that someone else had placed drugs in your possession. This might occur when a friend rides in your car with you who happens to be a drug user. However, you will need help from a drug possession lawyer to gather the evidence necessary to prove that the drugs were placed in your possession without you realizing it.

If you are in a room where drugs are present and there are other individuals in the same room, the police will need more evidence to prove that the drugs belonged specifically to you. Even if it may seem unlikely that a particular party would own the drugs, the police cannot assume that this is the case and must prove that you were the owner of the drugs.

Entrapment

It may be difficult to prove that the police entrapped you because a police officer is allowed to attempt to sell drugs to you as a way to prove that you willingly possessed drugs. However, an officer is not allowed to groom you into committing a crime that you would not normally commit.

For example, the officer cannot try to gradually wear you down until you take the drugs. If you find yourself charged with a crime under these circumstances, the facts may set you free if you can prove that you would not have committed the crime otherwise.

The Burden of Proof

Simply asserting that the drugs are not yours can be effective because the burden of proof rests on the officer to prove that you were knowingly in possession. There is also a chain of custody for the drugs you are accused of being in possession of. Oftentimes, the drugs you were accused of possessing are lost. 

In other circumstances, the police might accuse you while using the wrong evidence. Your attorney will ask for proof of chain of custody. If they cannot show how the evidence was handled, you may be able to have your charges dropped.