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Fighting The Possession Of CDS NJ While Driving

By Stephanie Russell


Almost all the states have identified a list of Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS). These substances have been illegalized and if you are found using or selling these substances, you are charged in a court of law. In most of the states, there are very serious penalties for committing this crime especially if the substances are found in your car. The life-threatening penalties are granted by the court under those circumstances where they find you guilty of Possession of CDS NJ in your vehicle. Some of the strong defenses to the possession of these substances while driving are provided below.

If the law enforcement officers discover that you are operating a vehicle that contains the illegal substances, you should not panic. It is very difficult to prove some of the fundamentals of this charge and the prosecution has to prove these aspects before they can secure a conviction. This is good news for the accused person because there is a chance that the court will dismiss your case on grounds of insufficient evidence.

The starting point in your defense is to prove to the court on whether you were aware or not aware of the substances being present in your car. The court can only charge you for the crime if you had full knowledge of the substances being in the vehicle at the time of the crime. Otherwise, if you were not aware that the drugs were in your car at the time the search was conducted on the vehicle, then the court will discharge you.

The court can only find you guilty of the offense if the substances were identified while the car was moving. If in any case the drugs are actually discovered in your car but the car was not operational, there is an opportunity for you to prove to the court that you were not driving the vehicle and are innocent of the crime.

Legal possession is another common defense for this charge. You are innocent of this crime if you possess the substances legally. A good example is where the doctor prescribed the substances or you were taking the prescription drugs to a member of your family. It is also important for the prosecution to proof the substance was illegal.

The charge for the possession of these substances only applies where the individual was driving on a public road or highway. Even if the law enforcement officers find the substances in your car but you are driving on a private road, then the court has no option but to drop the case or reduce the penalties.

Under the law, police officers are only allowed to search your vehicle if the court has issued them with a search warrant or in those cases where there is a probable cause to do so. If you are driving and the traffic officer orders you to stop and then conducts a search in your car but they do not have a warrant, the case is usually dismissed by the court. The courts consider this as a breach of the rights of the defendant as provided for under the constitution.

If you have been found guilty of possession of CDS, you can use either of the above defenses to get your case dismissed. A lawyer can help you when you find yourself in this problem.




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