Criminal Law

• Drugs
• Gangs
• Sex Crimes
• Three Strikes

Drug Cases

Outside of medical marijuana issues, drug cases come in two categories:  possession for use and possession for sales/actual sales. The difference in the two categories may come down to the amount of drugs found and what other items are present to show the intended purpose of the drugs found. The penalties for sales cases are obviously higher and have more severe consequences than possession for personal use. In both cases, exercising your right to remain silent is important. In possession for use cases, many times a recovery program may be provided, allowing you to avoid a conviction. Since the common thread in all cases is who had possession and what they intended to do with it, exercise your right to remain silent even if confronted by law enforcement and questioned. Consult our Know Your Rights Handbook on what to say in these situations and seek out counsel.

Keith Staten has handled numerous drug cases. You must not volunteer information to law enforcement because they will use it against you later. Ask about the People v Kambon and People v Williams drug case victories for examples of how you must protect yourself, and why a good lawyer is necessary to avoid jail time.