Suppressing Evidence In Drug Possession Cases

If you have been charged with drug possession in Florida, the strength of the state’s evidence against you will determine your ultimate fate. There are specific criteria that must be established by the state in order to establish a person’s guilt, and those criteria must have evidence to back them up. However, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to make mistakes in evidence gathering, particularly in the area of search and seizure. With an attorney on your side, you may be able to have certain evidence in your case suppressed.

Creating Reasonable Doubt

A case of drug possession in Florida has three prongs that all must be satisfied in order to get a conviction:

• The presence of an illegal substance (or what a person believes to be an illegal substance);
• The defendant’s knowledge of its presence (that is, knowledge that it was in a certain place); and
• The defendant’s control over the drugs, whether by actual or constructive possession. Constructive possession is when drugs are not necessarily in one’s physical possession, but they are in a place under the defendant’s aegis.

If even one part of these requirements is not fulfilled, reasonable doubt exists, and no conviction can happen. One of the most commonly seen methods for creating reasonable doubt is to try and have evidence suppressed. In general, evidence is inadmissible if it was obtained in a way that is unlawful.

Reasons To Suppress

It may seem unlikely, but there are several different reasons why certain items of evidence might wind up being inadmissible in court, even if law enforcement did their job to the best of their ability. For example, many of the most common reasons for evidence inadmissibility have to do with the warrant used to obtain that evidence – if the warrant was unsigned, or if a law enforcement officer exceeds their authority in executing the warrant, any evidence obtained usually cannot be used.

It is worth noting that there are rare exceptions where inadmissibility can be waived, and the evidence will be accepted anyway. This usually occurs in situations where the problem is addressed by another factor – for example, if you consent to a police search of your home, a defective warrant will not matter because the police had another reason for their presence. It is crucial to be careful about what information you provide without an attorney present.

Contact A West Palm Beach Drug Possession Attorney

Drug possession is a serious charge in Florida, and if you are facing a potential conviction, you need an experienced attorney on your side who understands how to use the law to your benefit. A West Palm Beach drug crimes attorney from Perlet & Shiner, P.A. is ready to try and assist you. Contact our office at (561) 721-0552 to speak to an attorney.