Drug Possession Defenses in an Austin Criminal Defense Case

One of the main areas in any criminal defense involving possessing drugs is to inspect and examine whether the defendant's rights have been violated during the search or investigation by officers. All of us have the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures at the hands of law enforcement and government agents. Such a right comes from the 4th Amendment, which requires a warrant (or an exception to the Fourth Amendment Law) to allow officers to search you, your property, or your home for drugs. This means officers cannot simply setup a station at the corner of 6th street and Congress Ave and search every person that walks by for drugs. Such a search would be considered unreasonable and a violation of Constitutional rights.

When an officer invades your privacy to search or seize property or drugs without a warrant and without an exception to the warrant requirement, then that officer has violated your 4th Amendment rights. This means the search and seizure of the drugs can be challenged in court with a motion to supress evidence.

During a Motion to Supress Evidence, the defense attorney argues the procedures or techniques used during the arrest, investigation, or search were invalid under the law, and in violation of the defendant's fourth amendment right against unreasonable searches. In essense, the defense is asking the court to withhold or prevent the jury from learning about the seized evidence due to the violation of rights. At the same time, the district attorney is arguing the officer acted reasonably or within one of the many exceptions to the warrant requirement of the 4th amendment.

Motions to Supress are one of the major ways to defend a drug possession or intent to deliver drug case, since drugs are often concealed upon a person, in a car, or in a home. The main way for officers to find the drugs is to search, which creates the possibility that a person's rights wer violated during the investigation and search for drugs.

Motions to Supress Drug Evidence can be based on many areas of invalid procedures or violations of rights. Some of the most common are:

• Search Warrants;
• Pat-Down or Frisk Searches;
• Plain View Searches;
• Consent Searches;
• Search Incident to Arrest;
• Search of bags or belongings;
• Automobile (Car) Searches;
• Search of Home.

 

In addition to using Motions to Supress to defend a Drug Case, it is useful to understand some other criminal law principles. If you found this helpful, the following guides may be useful as well:
Overview of Criminal Case Guide: Arrest | Arraignment | Pretrials | Motions | Jury Trial | Sentencing | Appeals
Other Constitutional Protections: 5th Amendment Miranda Rights | 6th Amendment Right to Counsel

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