Busted for Marijuana Use --- Advice Needed!

[madlibz05]

Hey guys. Here's the story:

Yesterday I was hanging out with three friends in one of their student apartments on our college campus. We were playing video games in the living room while we get a hard knock at the door and three police officers on the other side, but notice that my friends roommate had left the door cracked open. My friend opens the door and they come in, one officer looks straight at me and says "WOW, you're blazed." They ask if they can look in my friends room, he says yes, and they find marijuana remains in an ash cup and on the desk; enough to test positive on their test. They tell us that they smelled marijuana in the hallway, and that if we deny to using they will write each of us up for possession, but if we admit to using, we will get a ticket for marijuana use. We all admitted, got our tickets, and said goodbye.

Use in Michigan is 90 days jail and $100 fine. I've had an MIP about 3 years ago in a different court, served my probation, and got it off my record.

Do I get a lawyer? Just plead guilty and accept the consequences...or does anyone else have any ideas? Thank you!

madlibz05 Reviewed by madlibz05 on 09-08-2008. Busted for Marijuana Use --- Advice Needed! Hey guys. Here's the story: Yesterday I was hanging out with three friends in one of their student apartments on our college campus. We were playing video games in the living room while we get a hard knock at the door and three police officers on the other side, but notice that my friends roommate had left the door cracked open. My friend opens the door and they come in, one officer looks straight at me and says "WOW, you're blazed." They ask if they can look in my friends room, he says Rating: 5

[GoddessHerb]

Double post.... Sorry

[GoddessHerb]

Yep get a lawyer and face the consequences. IMHO, one should always get a lawyer when dealing with the law. It's so convoluted the average citizen can not adequately defend themselves.

What your friend should have done is invoke their rights and not let the cops in in the first place. And when they asked to search you all should have said no and invoked your fourth amendment right against illegal search. Smelling cannabis is not always enough for probable cause (although I am unsure of current Michigan law). And even if smell is used as probable cause for a search, a good attorney could use questioning of the officer's ability to use smell as cause of search to convince a judge or jury it was not enough for a search and get the whole search thrown out. Worst case scenario you assert your rights and end up guilty anyway. Of course it would cost you more money to assert your rights via attorney. But at least you'd have a fighting chance of beating a guilty rap instead of just giving a confession. I'm not even sure how they could charge you all with possession when there wasn't anything to possess and there was no way to prove who possessed it. I think you were all played by a professional who just wrote 4 $100 tickets instead of one! Just my opinion though. :jointsmile:

What is comes down to is you forwent your fourth (illegal search/seizure) and fifth (to not incriminate yourself) amendment rights simply by complying with the officers coercion and offering up a confession. If you weren't read your Miranda rights you may still have a chance to get that thrown out, but please consult an attorney as I have no idea if this is the case.

Please visit this link and keep the card on you at all times. That way you will know your rights and feel confident in asserting them should something like this ever happen again. Oh and you have to follow what the card says if you want it to work for you and not against you. IE. Be polite and SHUT UP! I hope this helps. Good luck.

Blessed be~

[the image reaper]

fine $100, probably probation, or community service ... lawyer = $5000 ... if it was me, I'd just use the free Public Defender, in small cases, the outcome is usually the same ... save your money :smokin:

[madlibz05]

Thanks for your input. About the 4th & 5th Ammendments...I figure the roommate who left he door open in the first place would allow the cops in to search and considering it was on campus at student apartments, university police had that right. Then I got scared that if I chose not to incriminate myself, they could have drug tested me easily and I would have been just as guilty. As for possession, that pisses me off too, but if I could get a minor in possession for being drunk and "possessing it in my system", why not write me up for possession of marijuana?

Pricks; the public defender sounds like a good idea considering I just don't know the legalities of the court.

[smok3y]

Get a lawyer dude.. How much did they find? by the sound of it, it wasent much. If its was less than a grm it should just get thrown out of court if it even makes it there.. They were probley just trying to scare you dude..

:jointsmile:

[rebgirl420]

Yep get a lawyer and face the consequences. IMHO, one should always get a lawyer when dealing with the law. It's so convoluted the average citizen can not adequately defend themselves.

What your friend should have done is invoke their rights and not let the cops in in the first place. And when they asked to search you all should have said no and invoked your fourth amendment right against illegal search. Smelling cannabis is not always enough for probable cause (although I am unsure of current Michigan law). And even if smell is used as probable cause for a search, a good attorney could use questioning of the officer's ability to use smell as cause of search to convince a judge or jury it was not enough for a search and get the whole search thrown out. Worst case scenario you assert your rights and end up guilty anyway. Of course it would cost you more money to assert your rights via attorney. But at least you'd have a fighting chance of beating a guilty rap instead of just giving a confession. I'm not even sure how they could charge you all with possession when there wasn't anything to possess and there was no way to prove who possessed it. I think you were all played by a professional who just wrote 4 $100 tickets instead of one! Just my opinion though. :jointsmile:

What is comes down to is you forwent your fourth (illegal search/seizure) and fifth (to not incriminate yourself) amendment rights simply by complying with the officers coercion and offering up a confession. If you weren't read your Miranda rights you may still have a chance to get that thrown out, but please consult an attorney as I have no idea if this is the case.

Please visit this link and keep the card on you at all times. That way you will know your rights and feel confident in asserting them should something like this ever happen again. Oh and you have to follow what the card says if you want it to work for you and not against you. IE. Be polite and SHUT UP! I hope this helps. Good luck.

Blessed be~

I agree, that was very stupid of you guys to allow them to search. You have a right as a U.S. citizen to say "absolutely not officer, I wish to see a search warrant".

And admitting to the crime to get a lesser consequence is a trick police to do push you into a corner.

Get a lawyer.

[madlibz05]

Get a lawyer dude.. How much did they find? by the sound of it, it wasent much. If its was less than a grm it should just get thrown out of court if it even makes it there.. They were probley just trying to scare you dude..

:jointsmile:

Talked to a few lawyers today and got one who I think fell in love with me so somehow I talked him down to a flat rate of $1000, and considering I spent $1500 on my MIP lawyer..I'm pretty satisfied. They found only enough to put in their little test, but it was all just ashes and remnants. Unfortunately the district I live in is in love with probation & drug testing, and two out of the three judges are bitches. Hopefully I luck out and get the nice one .

Oh and p.s. they weren't trying to scare us they did fucking scare the shit out of us. Four little stoners high out of their minds, interrupted from a game of Rock Band, on school grounds. I have to meet with the Dean of Students Wednesday, hope I don't get kicked out.
Wish me luck!

[DaBudhaStank]

I'm sorry but I'm still really amazed that people don't shut their door....

It seems like every other time some one gets busted at a party or busted smoking weed, the story starts with "So I was chillin with my buddies, ya know doing the thing, smokin some reef, and I forgot to close the door to my apartment/house..."

Do people still like leaving the keys in the lock too? I wonder...

[jsn9333]

I don't see any reason to get a lawyer now, to be honest. You've already done his job (and done it pretty poorly, to tell you the truth).

You're first mistake was admitting use. They could not have charged you all with possession without your admission. You have to be in the same room as the pot to get charged with constructive possession. You should never admit anything to the police. Leave that to your lawyer. That's what you pay him for. He could have pled down from possession to use as easily as you did (even easier actually), and, what's more, he had a good chance of getting the charges against you dropped... except you talked. Never talk to the cops except for your name, address, drivers license... that sort of identification stuff. *Never*. They try to tell you that they'll go easier on you if you talk, but that is always a lie. The only way they could've gotten you for anything is with your admission... and they knew that.

I believe they could have searched the room anyway given that odor is usually enough for probable cause to search. So letting them do that was probably not a huge mistake. In fact, it could have helped them to not tear the place up too much and find more bud, since they felt you were being honest. I believe sometimes consent to search is a good thing to give if you think they probably will get probable cause to search anyway. This is especially true if your weed is extremely well hidden and you don't want dogs running around.

However, most of the time I advice to not consent to a search. And never, ever, ever talk or admit anything to the police. Leave that to your lawyer.