What If Police Made a Mistake During Your Drug Arrest?
Dealing with an arrest for a drug offense can overwhelm and scare you. If you have recently been arrested and aren’t sure what to do next, you may want to speak to a local lawyer about your options. With a lawyer’s help, you might learn that police made a significant mistake during your arrest.
What Kinds of Mistakes Could Police Make?
Unfortunately, mistakes during drug arrests are all too common. Sometimes, these mistakes violate the law and infringe on the arrested person’s rights. The mistake could even rise to the level of invalidating the entire basis for the criminal offense. Police may make mistakes when searching or seizing evidence, when maintaining control of evidence, when identifying the drug type, or by illegally entrapping someone.
Search and Seizure Mistakes
When police search a person or building, they may make a mistake as to the scope or extent of the search. Police most often need to have probable cause and may need a warrant from a judge. If a police officer looks through your trunk and other enclosed areas of your car during a traffic stop without your permission, the officer may have conducted an illegal search. These mistakes depend greatly on the circumstances of the search, however. Your lawyer can review your case to see if there was a violation of the law.
Chain of Custody for Evidence
In drug cases, the evidence may get lost or be tampered with along the way to trial. Police must maintain an unbroken chain of custody or risk having the evidence thrown out in court. Your lawyer can check for evidentiary mistakes after your arrest.
Identifying Drug Type
Police may arrest innocent people because they mistake perfectly legal drugs for controlled dangerous substances. Once the lab tests the drugs, the police may realize their mistake. Your lawyer can help protect your right to be released if you did not violate the law.
Entrapment
Unfortunately, police sometimes illegally entrap people and then arrest them. Entrapment means that the police enticed you to commit a crime. Often this happens if they already suspect you and want the incriminating acts on tape. However, depending on the facts, this act could violate your rights. Again, talk to a lawyer to learn more.
To learn more about options for people arrested for drug crimes, seek out the local criminal defense attorney who cares about seeking the best outcomes for his clients. Clint Patterson, Esq., of Patterson Law Firm, a former Tulsa prosecutor, is familiar with the potential mistakes that could affect clients’ cases. Schedule a case evaluation by visiting Patterson Law Firm online or calling Clint’s office at (918) 550-9175.