When you are accused of a drug crime, the punishment you face is scary and may be overwhelming. Drug crimes in Illinois come with large fines and lengthy times in jail. These punishments can disrupt your life causing you to lose your job, hurt your family, or lose your friends.
The first step toward avoiding these serious punishments and risks is to create a strong defense strategy. With a strong defense, you can fight back against punishments that are too severe for the crime. Doing so protects your future and helps you get the best outcome possible in a difficult situation. Here are some of the steps you and your Illinois drug crime lawyer will take to determine the best approach to your defense.
- Investigate the search and seizure. First, you want to know if the search and seizure of the drugs was performed correctly. If the police made a mistake, they may have charged you for a far worse crime. This can leave you to face harsh penalties for a crime you did not commit.
- Understand the circumstances of your arrest. Your defense depends quite a bit on the circumstances surrounding your arrest. For example, were you caught ingesting the drugs? Or were you simply near someone who had drugs on his person? This makes a big impact on your case.
- Get details on the nature of the possession. Similar to the circumstances, your defense attorney will need to know the nature of the possession of the drugs. For instance, small amounts of marijuana will not be punished as heavily as having large amounts of other narcotics.
- Determine if the police had probable cause to search you. Finally, it is important to determine if the police were legally able to search you. Without having probable cause, you may have been illegally searched and arrested. Evidence obtained from an illegal search may be excluded from the criminal record, forcing the prosecutor to reduce or drop charges against you.
Creating a strong defense strategy requires you and your Illinois criminal defense attorney to look at each of these factors. To learn more about how to defend against your Illinois criminal charge, call our Collinsville criminal defense attorney at 612-623-4297 or 866-647-5286.
