wrong place, wrong time!

[kg2012]

Ok, so I had my first offense, but I didn't have anything! I was at a friend's place, and the police got an anonymous tip about smoking the reefer. There were five of us hanging out, and the cops busted in there after some guy knocked and we answered..claiming they smelled m-j, they charged through the door.
They found a pipe and some seeds on the table in the kitchen in another room, We were sitting in the living room. The owner of the lease wasn't there, so they made us wait two mfkng hours in the livingroom before they got a search warrant. I didn't have anything on me, was in the other room, they charged all of us with community poss. of para. and poss. of marijuana. They illegally searched a female(not me.) They didn't even charge the owner for having buttloads of pipes and bongs.

I'm going to have to get a court apointed lawyer, should I even plead not gulity, and face the risk of being fined more, or pay the fine and work it off my record?
I have the pre-trail coming up very soon...like tomorrow.

kg2012 Reviewed by kg2012 on 03-19-2008. wrong place, wrong time! Ok, so I had my first offense, but I didn't have anything! I was at a friend's place, and the police got an anonymous tip about smoking the reefer. There were five of us hanging out, and the cops busted in there after some guy knocked and we answered..claiming they smelled m-j, they charged through the door. They found a pipe and some seeds on the table in the kitchen in another room, We were sitting in the living room. The owner of the lease wasn't there, so they made us wait two mfkng hours Rating: 5

[hubrock]

make you wait till they get a warrant? BULLSHIT dude... if you are not under arrest, you are FREE TO LEAVE. but thats too late now, cuz u stayed.

i know nothing of american law, other than what i see on law and order, so dont lsten to me

[jsn9333]

First of all, if there is any way you can afford your own lawyer with a good number of years of criminal drug defense experience... DO IT.

2nd of all, there is a possibility even a lame court appointed lawyer could get you off. If you have admitted anything to the cops, you're screwed. But if you've practiced your right to "remain silent" like a good citizen should... then you may be good to plead not guilty.

Actual possession is if you have the stuff on you. Constructive possession (which is probably the same as community possession) refers to a situation where a person has knowledge of the item and the ability to access the item. That is the charge often used at parties where a bunch of people are in the room with weed being used.

To beat the charge you could simply claim that you didn't know the stuff was in the other room, and the State would have to prove that you did know. They may try to offer your friends lower senttences if they testify against you, though. That could be a problem if they have pleaded guilty. However, given you really were in the other room, if you haven't admitted knowing about the weed, then chances are the second you put up a fight the prosecutor will drop the charges b/c it will be difficult for him to prove his case against you.

P.S. - Situations like this are why you should never even go to a party where weed is smoked openly. The safest way to use weed is with a few close friends, in a locked room... and put it away in a drawer the second you're done smoking. It's sad, but that is the reality in this country. Especially at loud parties... constructive possession gets a LOT of people busted who never thought they could be busted (and even a lot of people who had no intention of even smoking!).

Ok, so I had my first offense, but I didn't have anything! I was at a friend's place, and the police got an anonymous tip about smoking the reefer. There were five of us hanging out, and the cops busted in there after some guy knocked and we answered..claiming they smelled m-j, they charged through the door.
They found a pipe and some seeds on the table in the kitchen in another room, We were sitting in the living room. The owner of the lease wasn't there, so they made us wait two mfkng hours in the livingroom before they got a search warrant. I didn't have anything on me, was in the other room, they charged all of us with community poss. of para. and poss. of marijuana. They illegally searched a female(not me.) They didn't even charge the owner for having buttloads of pipes and bongs.

I'm going to have to get a court apointed lawyer, should I even plead not gulity, and face the risk of being fined more, or pay the fine and work it off my record?
I have the pre-trail coming up very soon...like tomorrow.

[carinia]

That really sucks dude.
Had this same thing happen to a friend of mine. He didnt stay silent, instead put up a fuss so of course they booked him.
Ill totally remeber that too, b/c the cop actually told my friend 'Shoulda just kept your mouth shut, pot head'

jeez.

[FakeBoobsRule]

make you wait till they get a warrant? BULLSHIT dude... if you are not under arrest, you are FREE TO LEAVE. but thats too late now, cuz u stayed.

i know nothing of american law, other than what i see on law and order, so dont lsten to me

Yeah, you really shouldn't give advice if all you have seen about American law is from Law and Order ( I wish I could make that sound right here!) You can be detained where you are not under arrest but you are not free to go. They are detaining you while they are conducting the investigation for whatever various reasons whether it is to determine if a crime has been committed to securing the location while a warrant is being applied for to prevent evidence from being destroyed to whatever.

I'm going to have to get a court apointed lawyer, should I even plead not gulity, and face the risk of being fined more, or pay the fine and work it off my record?
I have the pre-trail coming up very soon...like tomorrow.

Wow, you and the prosecutors and maybe the police are going to go for a hike?!?!! LOL

Also, way to wait til the last minute!

Get at least a court apppointed attorney. It's not like you plead not guilty and they jack the fines up on you. A more accurate description would be that you are offered a lower or lesser sentence or a lesser punishment if you make it easy for them and plead guilty. If you go in there and plead guilty without working out a deal then you have made it very easy on them to really stick it to you. Get a lawyer. Plead not guilty. If they offer you a deal you can live with then take it but in this case I would hold out.

When you opened the door, could you see any contraband in plain sight from the doorway? Who was in what room with what and where were the cops? Did anyone give consent to let them in or search? Why was the female searched? Was it a weapons pat down? Was she under arrest?

You may want to give a more detailed explanation of what happened. Detaining you for 2 hours to get the warrant probably isn't going to be an issue but if they applied for the warrant with the products of an illegal search, you might stand a chance.

[kg2012]

I wish they would take a hike lol.

I went, it was just to set the court date. Yes I'm getting a good lawyer, f the court appointed lawyer, and im pleading Not guilty.

It was on the table in the kitchen, so sorta. we were all in the living room. The Cops went into the livingroom/kitchen area and saw it.

What's really weird is that they aren't even charging the owner of the lease with anything, even though all the pipes and other shit they took was his(he wasn't at the apt. at th time), but I don't really understand that, and it pisses me off.

I have no idea why they put their hands down her pants pockets,they really dug into her pants. They didn't search me like that, i just had to show that my pockets were empty. No one got arrested, just stupid tickets.

I don't know how more detailed I could get, that was how it happened. I didn't say anything besides I wasn't high and didn't have anything on me. I wasn't at a huge party either, it was just a few people hanging out, playing a video game, and smoking.

This guy was infront of the cops(who supposedly set it up), who happened to be the boyfriend of the daughter who's father is the chief of narcotics, who's daughter use to date one of guys there, knocked on the door ahead of the cops and we opened and the cops busted in saying they smelled pot. Then like 7 cops came into the the apt. and went into the living room, then into the kitchen and saw the pipe w/ some seeds on the table.

I live in Lousisana, so marijuana laws are strict, and punishment is harsh.

[Joexi]

This guy was infront of the cops(who supposedly set it up), who happened to be the boyfriend of the daughter who's father is the chief of narcotics, who's daughter use to date one of guys there, knocked on the door ahead of the cops and we opened and the cops busted in saying they smelled pot. Then like 7 cops came into the the apt. and went into the living room, then into the kitchen and saw the pipe w/ some seeds on the table.

..Huh? :wtf: