Should You Represent yourself in a Drug Charge Case?

When your life and liberty are at stake, it’s better to trust your fate to the experts. Getting sued for possession or use of illegal substances is no joke, and drug crimes can ruin your life, especially if you get convicted. Indeed, it’s not some DIY project that you can get done alone.

Yes, your sense of justice may be that strong, and you know yourself and your circumstances than any lawyer, but this knowledge is not the kind that can win you a not guilty verdict in a criminal case.

As you already know, a drug-related case falls within the province of criminal law; hence, it requires thorough knowledge of the penal laws, rules on criminal procedure, and rules on evidence. Though you can just read about these in law books, understanding and applying them require expert knowledge. Here are some legitimate reasons to persuade you to hire a lawyer in any drug-related case.

Lawyers can help you build a strong defense 

When someone files a drug case against you, it’s not the end of the world. You can still get out of the mess and prove your innocence. And you can defend yourself better if you’re working with a credible lawyer. Your lawyer can help you prove that the drugs aren’t really yours. After listening to your side of the story, he will commence framing a defense that would either exempt you from guilt or mitigate your criminal liability.

One of the best defenses your criminal lawyer can come up with is alleging that the drugs belong to another person and that you were only framed for the crime. For example, after finding a justifiable reason to search your car, the police found drugs in the back seat. As the owner of the vehicle, you can become the primary suspect. Though it’s common for police to hear the ‘it’s not mine’ excuse, it doesn’t automatically mean that it’s a lie. Your lawyer can help you prove that another person has access to your vehicle and that they could probably be the owner of the illegal substances.

Another defense that your lawyer can help you formulate is asserting that those drug paraphernalia were searched and seized illegally. When a search is unlawful and unconstitutional, anything seized at that time is inadmissible as evidence.

In this case, your lawyer can assert that no search warrant was shown at the time of the search. Or if there is, that the said document was not secured legally. For example, the police flagged your car at a checkpoint, and while you’re at a halt, they opened the compartment and found drugs. The drugs found at this time couldn’t be admitted as evidence because it was seized illegally. Searches at checkpoints are limited to a visual search; hence, rendering the act of opening the compartment unconstitutional. Any evidence gathered following such unconstitutional are immaterial to the case.

Lawyers can look for loopholes in the opposing party’s evidence

Penal statutes are construed liberally in favor of the accused. The ratio behind such a principle is that the law believes it is better to free a guilty man than send an innocent one to prison. Your lawyer can take advantage of this legal principle by arguing that the other party’s evidence is not enough to overcome the presumption of your innocence.

In criminal cases, the one who has the ‘onus probandi’ is the party alleging that the crime was committed. And since one’s liberty is taken in exchange for his conviction, the law requires the plaintiff to prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This quantum of proof is so high that the accused is given a bigger chance to prove his innocence.

Takeaway 

You may know all of the legal principles, but putting all these into action requires a reliable criminal lawyer’s knowledge, skills, and expertise. Lawyers spent four years or more of their life studying these principles, and they even have to pass the most challenging exam just to get a license. This means that what they learn is not something one can digest and fully imbibe in one seating. So, instead of worrying about these principles and how they ought to apply in your case, trust your case to a lawyer.