A conviction for drug charges may subject you to serious penalties, including incarceration and large fines. Additionally, you can be saddled with a criminal history that follows you around for years and prevents you from getting certain jobs, financial aid or public benefits. If you are facing drug charges, it is important that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney in Miami Dade. A knowledgeable criminal defense attorney in Miami Dade can discuss possible defenses that may apply in your case, such as:

Unwitting Possession
Under this legal defense, you allege that you were not aware that you were in possession of drugs. For example, if a friend visited your home and dropped drugs in your couch cushion or a friend stashed drugs in your vehicle without you knowing, even though you might be in possession of the drugs, you were not aware of it.

Unlawful Search and Seizure
Police must follow very specific rules when they search a person’s home or vehicle and seize items from it. In most situations, law enforcement will need a warrant. However, there are exceptions, such as if drugs are in plain view. If your constitutional rights were violated by the police, any drugs they found may not be admitted as evidence in your criminal case.

Chain of Custody Disrupted
Once police take drugs into evidence, they must safeguard this evidence and ensure that no unauthorized person had access to it. If the chain of custody is broken, this puts into question which could have tampered with the evidence.

Crime Lab Analysis
Some people take medication out of pain bottles and place them in zipped bags or use supplements that may look like drugs. However, they may not be drugs. The prosecution has the burden of showing that a seized substance is an illicit drug that is not prescribed to you.