Drugs in Automobiles: Who's Guilty?

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Ron Chapman

When the police search a car and find drugs such as marijuana or cocaine, the person located closest to the drugs is often arrested even though there were other people located in the automobile just before the car was searched.  In that situation, the person who was arrested may well have a good argument that he is not guilty of possessing the narcotics if the prosecutor is unable to prove that he was in "constructive possession" of the drugs.

In order to prove that someone is in constructive possession of narcotics, a prosecutor in Florida must show that the accused individual:

1.  Had dominion and control over the drugs;

2.  Knew of its presence;

3.  Had the ability to maintain control over the narcotics; and

4.  Had knowledge of its illicit nature.

When drugs are found in a car containing more than one person, a jury is not permitted to simply infer that the accused individual knew about the presence of the narcotics nor is it permitted to infer that he had the ability to maintain control over the drugs.  Instead, the prosecution is required to present independent evidence that the individual knew about the presence of the narcotics and that he had the ability to maintain control over them.  Such evidence might consist of statements made by the accused to the police or evidence that that individual's DNA or fingerprints were located on the drugs.  But unless such evidence is presented at trial, the accused individual should be found not guilty.

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Keep an Eye on Your Watch When the Police Stop Your Car

Posted on January 5, 2008 by Ron Chapman

The law throughout the United States is that the police may not detain an individual whom they have stopped for any longer than necessary to accomplish their reason for stopping that person in the first place.

 

For example, say that the police stop your car because you are driving 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.  While the police have a right to stop your car and issue you a citation for speeding, they do not ordinarily have the right to keep you by the side of the road for any longer than it takes to write the citation.

 

What happens all too often, however, is that the police do keep individuals by the side of the road for longer than it takes to issue a citation based on a mere hunch that the driver may have contraband such as drugs or guns hidden in her car.  When that happens, the police will sometimes radio in to their headquarters and ask that a dog that has been trained to detect drugs be sent to their location in order to see whether the dog alerts to any drugs in or around the vehicle.  If the dog does alert to drugs which are eventually located by the police, the driver of the car will almost always be arrested and taken to jail.

 

Because the driver was detained for longer than it should have taken to simply issue a citation for speeding, that driver's lawyer would be well advised to consider filing a motion to suppress the evidence that was discovered by the police as a result of this arguably illegal search and seizure.

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