Drug / Narcotic Charges A Good Lawyer Makes All The Difference
Our New York and Westchester Criminal Defense Lawyers have extensive experience in handling the criminal defense of drug charges including both misdemeanors and felonies in the New York Metropolitan area including the New York City Courts (Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan) and Westchester including the Criminal Courts of White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, Scarsdale, Valhalla, Greenburgh, Mount Kisco, Rye, Port Chester and Armonk. So whether you are a casual user, someone struggling with addiction or sold drugs, if you were arrested and are facing a drug charge in New York, our criminal defense attorneys can get you through this with the best possible outcome and minimize the impact of the criminal charges on your life.
As New York and Westchester Criminal Defense Attorneys, we provide aggressive representation of drug and narcotic charges. Drug charges range from basic misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance to felony-level drug possession based upon the weight or amounts of the drug possessed and sale of controlled substance. Whether you have a first time pot arrest or were caught with oxycodone, heroin or crystal meth, our drug defense lawyers have the experience to get you a good outcome.
Fighting the Case
Since drug charges require knowing possession of drugs, the cases which are the most defensible are where drugs were found on one person in a group, or in a car occupied by multiple people and everyone is arrested and charged. One of the most common defenses is lack of knowledge or possession. Often when the police find drugs in a car or an apartment, they will arrest everyone in the car or who was present in the apartment, if no one admits that the drugs were theirs. However, merely being in a car or other location where there are drugs is not a crime, so long as the drugs are not out in the open. To convict someone of possession of drugs, the prosecutor must prove you knew the drugs were there. These cases can be defended by testimony that the defendant knew nothing about the drugs.
Another common defense, that our New York City and Westchester criminal defense attorneys have utilized is challenging the underlying search, during which the drugs were found, as unconstitutional. This means that if a Court agrees that there wasn’t probable cause for a police officer to perform a search, then, the drugs will likely be suppressed and the charges dismissed. Search and seizure issues are common and each case requires an extensive analysis of the underlying facts. Since most drugs are found as a result of a search, issues regarding the validity of search warrants must be thoroughly investigated. Also stop and frisk seizures often implicate constitutional challenges, as do searches based on traffic stops. So if a case has to be litigated, the central issue is whether there was probable cause for the underlying stop and search. Often if the evidence is suppressed, there is no case.
Getting Treatment Makes A Big Difference
Our criminal defense attorneys have extensive experience in obtaining reductions in the level of the drug crimes charges and the ultimate sentence by working with our clients to get treatment. Often treatment shows the Court that you are taking the situation seriously and are not likely to be a repeat offender. Proof of even outpatient treatment goes a long way toward helping our attorneys get your drug charged reduced. In certain circumstances, with Judicial Diversion, (see below) it is possible for our drug defense attorneys to get even felony sale charges completely dismissed. If you were selling to support your drug habit, you can still qualify for Judicial Diversion. This program can get you or your loved one the help you/they need and give you a fresh start in life, without the stigma of a criminal conviction.
Drug Sales And Intent To Sell
Actually selling any controlled substances, such as cocaine, crack, crystal meth, heroine or oxycontin is a felony. Sometimes, people who have below the felony weight are arrested charged with a felony for possession with intent to sell. In New York, possessing a drug with the intent to sell it is also a felony, even if you have drugs below the felony weight level. To show intent to sell, the government must establish actual intent, but they can do that through proof that small amounts were individually packaged, words or actions by the person to show they were intending to sell the drug.
If you were arrested for a drug sale or possession of drugs with intent to sell in Westchester County or Manhattan, call our N.Y.C. Drug defense lawyers.
Our White Plains And Nyc Criminal Defense Lawyers Answer The Most Frequently Asked Drug Crime Questions
Misdemeanor or Felony
One of the most frequent questions, our Manhattan and Westchester criminal defense attorneys are asked is whether someone is facing a misdemeanor or felony. In general simple possession of a drug is Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh degree, which is a misdemeanor. If you were involved in a sale, or had a significant amount of drugs, also known as felony weight, then it is a felony. Whether possession of a drug is a misdemeanor or felony depends on what type of drug is possessed and how much of the drug that the person who was arrested has.
What is Possession
Obviously, if you have drugs on your person, then you have actual possession. However, there are other circumstances where a person can be charged with possession of drugs, even if the drugs are not actually on their body. These include circumstances where the person has knowledge and control of the drugs. Common examples include drugs found in a vehicle or if a person has a stash of drugs, near them or they drop or throw drugs while being chased by the police. Whether a possession charge is provable, where drugs are not found on the body of the person arrested, depends on a number of circumstances and the best option is to have a consultation with an experienced drug defense lawyer.
Felony weight means the weight at which simple possession becomes a felony. Essentially, New York law assumes that only small amounts of drugs are utilized for personal use, so if you have more than a certain weight of drugs, it becomes a felony. As the weights become heavier, the charges also increase to more serious felonies that carry longer possible sentences of incarceration. The different drug levels for felonies begin at the D felony level and go all the way up to A-1 felony level. One of the most common questions our criminal defense attorneys are asked is What is Felony Weight? or When am I facing a Felony because of Felony Weight? With most drugs, felony weight starts at half an ounce, but with PCP felony weight is 50 milligrams (mg) and with cocaine, felony weight is 500 milligrams (mg). For concentrated cannabis, marijuana, felony weight starts at a quarter of an ounce.
There are two primary categories of drug felonies in New York . The first are sales charges. When somebody is accused of selling drugs, either to an undercover police officer or to another citizen, they can be charged with felonies as a result of that sale. The second major category of drug felony charges is weight charges. Depending on the amount of drugs that somebody has on them at the time that they are arrested, they can be charged with a felony. There is a certain weight of drugs that one must have on them in order to be charged with a felony in the weight category. In terms of misdemeanors, basically any drug charge that doesn’t fall into one of these two categories for a felony, is charged as a misdemeanor in New York.
Judicial Diversion
The New York Court have a Judicial Diversion program, in which people who are charged with drug crimes and have an underlying addiction can participate in a drug court program. While the program can be rigorous, the benefit of participating in the program, is that if successful, the charges can be dismissed. This even includes indictments for drug sales, where the accused was selling to support their own drug habit. The program can be especially beneficial for people who are charged with felony drug possession and are facing serious jail time, because if successful, the defendant not only will avoid jail, but will have the indictment completely dismissed. The diversion program allows people who are struggling with drug addiction to have a fresh start in life and get the treatment they need.
Crystal Meth Drug Cases
Methamphetamine also known as Meth or Crystal Meth, has become a major source of addiction and crime. New York law has reacted to the crystal meth by enacting laws aimed at more serious consequences for meth users. For example, mere possession of crystal meth, even without a sale, is a Class C felony, it the meth which weighs one-half ounce or more. Likewise, it is an A-II felony to possess two ounces or more of meth, whereas for most other narcotic drugs, the A-II weight is four ounces, so you could be facing an A-II felony for half the amount of crystal meth, compared to cocaine or other drugs.
If I Didn't Have The Drugs On Me Can I Be Charged
One of the most common questions that our New York City criminal defense lawyers and Westchester criminal defense attorneys are asked is if a person can be prosecuted if they didn’t have the drugs on them. There are two types of possession, actual possession and constructive possession. Actual possession is when the alleged narcotics or drugs are found on the individual’s body or their person, such as in their hands, their purse, or in their pocket. The second category for possession cases are what’s called constructive possession, which is where drugs are found in a car, or found within somebody’s home, where they might not necessarily be on the person’s body, but in an area that the person has custody and control over.
What Are The Penalties Associated With Drug Charge Convictions In New York?
The penalties associated with drug charge convictions will largely depend upon what you are charged with and ultimately convicted of. If somebody is accused of selling a significant amount of narcotics, they could be facing a mandatory incarceration sentence that could be as high as 15 years. If you are charged with merely possessing a few bags of narcotics, you could be looking at a fine. The levels of punishments and penalties can vary greatly, depending on whether you are facing felony or misdemeanor charges, as well as the level of felony that you are accused of committing. Our Westchester criminal defense lawyers who handle drug cases have also negotiated a lot of probationary sentences with drug cases. Our White Plains criminal defense lawyers have also been active in seeking to get our clients into the diversionary programs that are utilized, as an alternative to incarceration.
Can I Avoid Jail If I Do A Drug Program
There is a program called CAT, which is a drug treatment alternative program that’s utilized frequently with drug offenses. The goal is to help the offender rehabilitate, rather than face jail time for a drug offense. This is a very typical result for a felony drug case. At a misdemeanor drug case, you could see something like probation, a fine, community service or some sort of social services, where individuals would be exposed to treatment options and then they would have the ability to elect to go and engage in those programs, or any combination thereof. There is a vast range of penalties for drug offenses in New York State.
It also largely depends on where the case is being prosecuted. Cases in New York City—Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens—typically engage in programs assigned to getting drug offenders treatment. That is the preferred route that those offices take. In Westchester, there is also an emphasis towards rehabilitation as well. Alternative programs are a great opportunity for an individual to engage in a treatment program that has been very successful, and we’ve seen many people come out the other side and are very grateful for the opportunities. Sometimes, you can have your charges even potentially dismissed as a result of successfully completing tasks. I’ve seen that in the Bronx on a number of occasions, and know it happened in other jurisdictions throughout New York City, where individuals who successfully complete treatment can potentially have a significantly reduced conviction, or a potential dismissal, if they really take advantage of the option that they are given.
If I Have A Drug Charge Will I Have A Permanent Criminal Record
Not necessarily, for misdemeanor level drug charges, our NYC & Westchester criminal defense lawyers have extensive experience in negotiating dispositions down to non-criminal offenses, which do not result in a permanent record.
Likewise, when a client completes Judicial Diversion or one of the other Court drug programs, often there is a dismissal, which avoids a criminal record. Also, if a person is eighteen years old or younger when they are arrested for a drug charge, they are entitled to a youthful offender adjudication, which does not result in a criminal conviction.
There were over 70,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017. According to the New York Division of Criminal Justice Statistics, in 2018 there were almost 3,000 drug arrests in Westchester County, 731 of which were for felonies. In Manhattan, New York County, there were approximately 6,300 drug arrests , of which 2354 were for felony drug charges.
Our Criminal Defense Lawyers Are On Your Side.
A Good Lawyer Can Make All The Difference Offices In Westchester And Manhattan
Offices in Westchester and Manhattan
We proudly serve the communities of New York City, including the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Westchester including White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, Scarsdale, Valhalla, Greenburgh, Mount Kisco, Rye, Port Chester and Armonk. To speak with one of our Westchester drug defense lawyers, call our White Plains office at (914) 359-2870 or to speak with our New York City Drug crimes lawyers, call our Manhattan office at (212) 858-0503. Our New York City and Westchester County Drug crimes attorneys have many years of experience, knowledge and expertise to handle crimes involving drugs all over New York, particularly in White Plains, NY, and Westchester County. Call us today for a free consultation and to discuss your options confidentially.
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Whether you are charged with simple possession or a felony drug sale, our White Plains criminal defense lawyers, and Manhattan criminal defense attorneys have the experience to get you through this process and minimize the damage to your life. From our White Plains office our Westchester county criminal defense lawyers defend people charged with drug crimes in White Plains, Yonkers, Scarsdale, Tarrytown, Port Chester, Croton, Elmsford, Greenburgh and New Rochelle.
From our Manhattan office, our Manhattan criminal defense lawyers represent people charged with drug crimes in Manhattan, NYC.
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To request your free initial consultation with our team, call our New York City office at (212) 858-0503 or our White Plains office at (914) 354-3809. You can also request a case review online
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