Sentencing for possession, manufacturing, or another offense involving cocaine can include imprisonment and fines. State laws punish these crimes harshly. If convicted, you could spend as much as 30 years behind bars, depending on the amount of cocaine involved in the offense.

Defending a cocaine charge can be complicated. It requires an effective legal strategy to discount the prosecution’s theories and instill doubt about your guilt in the minds of the jurors. There are steps you should take if you’re arrested for possession or another cocaine offense.

Steps You Should Follow After an Arrest

You have specific rights if you were arrested for a crime involving cocaine. You should take immediate action to protect yourself so you don’t say or do anything that could negatively impact the outcome of your case.

Don’t Say a Word

If an officer asks you to identify yourself, you must respond. However, you don’t have to speak with them about the criminal offense. You have a right to remain silent, and you should.

Law enforcement might try to gather information about what happened. Although explaining yourself might seem like a good idea, you could say something incriminating.

Your best option is to stay quiet about the crime. However, you shouldn’t disrespect the police. Remain polite during your interactions and inform them you don’t want to talk to them without your lawyer.

Refuse a Search

Law enforcement can look in the areas immediately surrounding the location of your arrest. However, they cannot search your home or vehicle without a valid search warrant. If they ask for permission to take a look around, politely tell them you refuse.

Hire a Lawyer

You should ask to speak with your criminal defense lawyer following the arrest. It is your right to retain a lawyer’s services and have them with you when the police question you about the offense. If law enforcement violates this right, you could potentially get the charges against you dropped.

Common Defenses Used Against Cocaine Charges

Once you hire a lawyer, they can take over your case and develop a plan to defend you. The most common defenses used for crimes involving cocaine are listed below.

Constructive Possession

Constructive possession means you had knowledge of the drug and exclusive and immediate possession or control of it. Your criminal defense lawyer could argue that you didn’t know about the presence of the cocaine. It might be possible to use this defense if you were in a location with more than one person.

For example, let’s say you borrowed your friend’s car and a cop pulled you over. During a search of the vehicle, the officer found cocaine in the glove box. However, you didn’t know it was there because you don’t own the car. Your lawyer could argue you weren’t in constructive possession.

Temporary Possession

Temporary possession occurs when someone takes transitory, momentary, or temporary possession of a drug from the owner. The cocaine you had on you at the time of the arrest might not have been yours. Since you never exercised control or dominion over the substance, you didn’t legally possess it.

Illegal Search and Seizure

Another common defense when fighting a cocaine charge is arguing that law enforcement performed an illegal search or seizure. Police officers are not allowed to search your person, vehicle, or home without a search warrant. They might try to coerce or intimidate you into permitting them to perform a search, but you have the legal right to refuse.

Your attorney could file a motion to suppress the evidence if law enforcement finds anything linking you to the crime during the illegal search. That means the prosecution can’t present that evidence in court.

Lack of Knowledge

You might have been in possession of the cocaine but didn’t know it was an illegal substance. The state must prove you knew about the illicit nature of the drug to convict you of possession or another type of cocaine offense. You could argue you thought the white powder in your home was baking soda or flour.

Innocence

The most straightforward defense strategy is to claim that you are innocent of the crime. A solid alibi could place you somewhere else during the offense.

For example, there might be video footage of you grocery shopping at the exact time another person manufactured or delivered the cocaine. You could end up with a dismissed case if there’s substantial evidence of your alibi.

Contact Us

If you were charged with a cocaine offense, do not hesitate to contact Mitchell S. Sexner & Associates LLC. For more than 30 years, we have represented Illinois clients in a range of drug-related cases. We have the experience and resources to create the appropriate defense to fight the charges you face.

Call us at (312) 644-0444 right now or reach out to us online for a free consultation.