Drug Offense

Defending Individuals who have been Accused of Violating New Jersey Drug Laws

Offenses related to the possession, use, sale, or distribution of illegal drugs in University Park are an extremely serious matter in the state of New Jersey. If you have been arrested on suspicion of a drug offense, there are many factors that determine the penalties that you may be facing, including the amount of drugs that were found, whether the arrest took place in a school zone, the type of drugs that were discovered, and whether or not you have prior criminal offenses on your record.

Regardless of whether your case involves the police finding a joint in your pocket or alleged narcotics trafficking, you need to retain an attorney as soon as possible. In many cases, a skilled New Jersey criminal defense attorney can have a significant impact on the outcome of a drug case and may even be able to have the case against you dismissed. To learn more about how we can help you, call New Jersey criminal defense lawyer Daniel R. Danzi today.

Drug Crimes Defenses in University Park

Because drug crimes tend to involve the police finding drugs on a person, in their home, or their vehicle, the legal defenses raised in drug cases often involve alleging that law enforcement violated a person’s legal rights during the investigative process. The 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits law enforcement from searching or taking your property whenever they want – they either need to secure a warrant or be able to establish that exceptional circumstances exist that would justify the warrantless search or seizure.

Under the law, if a police officer in University Park searches your home or vehicle without sufficient legal justification, any evidence they gather could potentially be suppressed by the court. When evidence is suppressed, it means that it cannot be used against you in any legal proceedings. In many drug cases, when evidence discovered by an illegal search is suppressed, the case is dropped by the prosecution or dismissed by the court.

Even in cases where there are no defenses available, the representation of an attorney can often help avoid the most serious of the consequences associated with a particular drug offense. The vast majority of criminal cases are resolved through the plea bargain process, in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or in exchange for the prosecutor recommending a more lenient sentence to the judge. An experienced New Jersey criminal defense lawyer can recognize and exploit any weaknesses in the prosecution’s case in order to get you the most favorable plea bargain possible.