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~