Probable Cause
Experienced New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Discusses Probable Cause and Illegal Searches
With regard to probable cause in New Jersey, the driver has more responsibility or more exposure than the passenger. However, in order for the police to prove probable cause on the passenger, the officer is going to have to articulate additional facts more than simply that they just smelled burnt marijuana. As an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney, I advise that passengers should also refuse to consent to searches by the police.
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If You Have Been Arrested for Drug Possession, Your Attorney Should Research All the Facts Surrounding Your Arrest
In the state of New Jersey, possession of 50g and under of marijuana is a disorderly persons offense. The penalties include significant fines and possible jail time. When we handle a case, a marijuana, cocaine or heroin case, we conduct a fairly extensive interview with my client.
Was the Police Officer’s Probable Cause Warranted?
Very often, you have someone who is parked in the back of a large parking lot for a bowling alley or a large supermarket and they’re parked with another person and the police will come upon them and observe them for a while and they won’t have even committed any moving violation.
They’ll just approach them and start questioning and that’s a fairly common way in which the police act, especially in what we call “drug prone locations.”
The police are allowed to approach the vehicle. Depending on how the facts unfold, they might even be able to legally and legitimately ask you to come out of vehicle and talk to them. People who are users of heroin have paraphernalia. They have hypodermic needles, spoons and lighters. They have to prepare what they’re taking and, very often, a police officer will walk up on a car and see some item that they call in plain view.
If you or a loved one had a physical search performed and the police found drugs on your person, or in your vehicle, contact New Jersey drug crime lawyer Carl Spector today for dedicated representation. in New Jersey, contact New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Carl Spector for a free confidential consultation. Let his experience work for you!
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