Passenger Charged for Drugs in Car

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Tennessee (davidson county)

I'm going to go right into it. I was recently working with a buddy of mine on the road. We got stopped and the officer searched his car. The officer found a very small amount of pot (a bud the size of a nickle) in the floorboard of his car. The pot was around the middle of the floorboard between us. The officer cited me for the pot that was in his car. My friend is also prescribed to a schedule II substance for a back injury. They confiscated the pills and cited him with simple possession II. I am just wondering how I got cited for something that was not on my person and was in his car. About 3 years ago I got caught with marijuana and the charges were expunged in Rutherford county TN. I quit smoking ever since. I'm just wondering if this is lawful for them to charge me for the marijuana that they found in his car. And I will plead not guilty because i know for a fact it wasn't mine. I just need some input on the whole thing. It's stressing me out because i need a clean record to get a job. Thanks for reading my post, I hope to hear something soon.

-wrongfully accused :(

You were charged with possession (not ownership).

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Quoting andyfox1987

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: Tennessee (davidson county)

I'm going to go right into it. I was recently working with a buddy of mine on the road. We got stopped and the officer searched his car. The officer found a very small amount of pot (a bud the size of a nickle) in the floorboard of his car. The pot was around the middle of the floorboard between us. The officer cited me for the pot that was in his car. My friend is also prescribed to a schedule II substance for a back injury. They confiscated the pills and cited him with simple possession II. I am just wondering how I got cited for something that was not on my person and was in his car. About 3 years ago I got caught with marijuana and the charges were expunged in Rutherford county TN. I quit smoking ever since. I'm just wondering if this is lawful for them to charge me for the marijuana that they found in his car. And I will plead not guilty because i know for a fact it wasn't mine. I just need some input on the whole thing. It's stressing me out because i need a clean record to get a job. Thanks for reading my post, I hope to hear something soon.

-wrongfully accused :(

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You'll have to give a little more information . . .

Where were you in the car? Where was the pot?

How did the officer come to search the car?

I was in the car, passenger side, the pot was in front of the middle console on the floor. The car was searched after my friend said they could. The officer leaned down in the floorboard and found the pot. We didn't watch him search the car.

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Quoting andyfox1987

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I was in the car, passenger side, the pot was in front of the middle console on the floor. The car was searched after my friend said they could. The officer leaned down in the floorboard and found the pot. We didn't watch him search the car.

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And were both you and your friend cited for its possession, or just you? He didn't fess up to it being his pot even though it was, and you didn't tell the officer that it's his?

You should pick a smarter friend to ride with, or at least one who will claim his drugs to keep his innocent friends from being charged with them. Simply declining to let the officer search the car might well have prevented all of this. Of course, so would not having drugs in the car. Also him claiming ownership of his drugs would have done so as well.

Yeah the officer told me that the only way to get the charges off of me, was for him to confess that the drugs were his. Problem is, he thinks the cops planted the drugs. Which I totally think is false. Is there any way to get the judge to realize this confusion?

EDIT: My friend was charged for schedule 2 pills that were his. he had prescription. he had no pot charges.

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Quoting andyfox1987

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Yeah the officer told me that the only way to get the charges off of me, was for him to confess that the drugs were his. Problem is, he thinks the cops planted the drugs. Which I totally think is false. Is there any way to get the judge to realize this confusion?

EDIT: My friend was charged for schedule 2 pills that were his. he had prescription. he had no pot charges.

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Don't take legal advice from the arresting officer. They are not working in your best interest to have the case decided against themselves.

Again, get a better friend.

You need to talk to your attorney about your case to see why an unclaimed quantity of pot was decided to be yours. (Is there something you aren't telling us?)

Well, having your friend confess to it being his pot is one way to get the judge to realize this "confusion". But I wouldn't count on that given what you've said your friend has said.

If it's a criminal charge and if you can't afford an attorney, you might qualify for a public defender. You seriously need to bring this to some attorney though.

As for whether it's legal or not for you to be charged with possession of drugs in his car goes, well, maybe, maybe not. If you possessed them, then you can be charged for it no matter where you are. Just because you're in his car doesn't mean they have to be his drugs.

The officer will have to have some reason to believe they're yours to charge you with it. There has to be some reason he decided they're yours and not your friend's . . . who was already charged with carrying another drug.

But, you do have a conviction in your record for possession of this type of drug. That might have factored into the officer's decision making process. Maybe not.

One way to find out is by getting an attorney and subpoening the evidence officer and his pc statement as to why he found probable cause to believe they were in your possession.

Thanks for your quick response. I would like to know why they thought it was me that had ownership of the drugs. I didnt think that the previous charge would even come up on my record if it had been expunged. I will talk to a lawyer and see what comes out of it. Thanks so much once again. I will always come to this legal board for answers to my questions. Have a wonderful day.

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Quoting andyfox1987

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Thanks for your quick response. I would like to know why they thought it was me that had ownership of the drugs. I didnt think that the previous charge would even come up on my record if it had been expunged. I will talk to a lawyer and see what comes out of it. Thanks so much once again. I will always come to this legal board for answers to my questions. Have a wonderful day.

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You're welcome, of course. I hope you don't need to use these types of forums too often in your life. Good luck!

Several factors come into play here.

1. You were charged basically with "constructive" possession, as the drugs were in your immediate area or arms reach. So both occupants could have been charged, as it was in the middle of them.

2. Pringle permits and officer to charge all occupants when drug possession is denied by all. State constitutions may or may not follow this doctrine.

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-809.ZS.html

If the drugs were not yours, plead such. This may be very uphill legal battle though.

well another question I have is that maybe I can speak with the DA in Nashville about the situation? Would that be a bad idea? I'm just pretty mad that my friend wont confess to the charge. Since I have had a similar charge expunged in rutheford county TN, I dont know if they can look back on that and make this my second charge. I hope not :( at any rate, I can't afford a lawyer and I live with my parents so I can't get a public defender. My friend (or so I call him) said he talked to his lawyer, and his lawyer said the charges would be dropped. so confusing :wallbang:

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Quoting andyfox1987

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well another question I have is that maybe I can speak with the DA in Nashville about the situation? Would that be a bad idea? I'm just pretty mad that my friend wont confess to the charge. Since I have had a similar charge expunged in rutheford county TN, I dont know if they can look back on that and make this my second charge. I hope not :( at any rate, I can't afford a lawyer and I live with my parents so I can't get a public defender. My friend (or so I call him) said he talked to his lawyer, and his lawyer said the charges would be dropped. so confusing :wallbang:

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Your friend's lawyer said his charges are dropped, or your friend's lawyer told him your charges will be dropped?

Pardon me for asking, but how old are you? You really need to find some way to get a lawyer.

Is it automatically the case where you live that if someone lives with their parents they're not entitled to a PD? Or are you a minor or something?

Oh, I was just assuming. He told me his lawyer said he would get all of our charges dropped. But I really don't want to go on that alone. For all I know his lawyer could put all the charges on me and I would go to jail for another crime I didn't commit. I am 21, I believe I can get some sort of representation. The thing is, I can't afford a real lawyer in the Nashville area, and I don't know about the track record of appointed attorneys. I don't want the state to throw me under the bus for a crime I did not commit. If I knew that stuff was in the car I would have got out and walked 30 miles to my house. It would be way worth what I'm dealing with now.

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Quoting andyfox1987

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Oh, I was just assuming. He told me his lawyer said he would get all of our charges dropped. But I really don't want to go on that alone. For all I know his lawyer could put all the charges on me and I would go to jail for another crime I didn't commit. I am 21, I believe I can get some sort of representation. The thing is, I can't afford a real lawyer in the Nashville area, and I don't know about the track record of appointed attorneys. I don't want the state to throw me under the bus for a crime I did not commit. If I knew that stuff was in the car I would have got out and walked 30 miles to my house. It would be way worth what I'm dealing with now.

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Oh, my mistake. I thought you said you can't get an appointed attorney because you live with your parents. (In fact, reading it again, I still believe you said that.)

Don't trust this friend of yours. Clearly he's no friend at all if he's willing to let you be charged for his drugs. Then again, this is what happens when you knowingly hang around people who do drugs.

While a PD might not be the best lawyer in the world, a decent attorney beats no attorney. A good portion of PDs are PDs because they want to be. They do that notwithstanding the knowledge they'll make less money than they would in some fancy law firm, ya heard?

As more than a side note, his attorney has no duty to represent your best interests. In fact, his duty is to his actual client, which you aren't. He can't charge you with a crime (you can't be a defense attorney and prosecutor at the same time).

Also, no judge is going to believe that you would have walked 30 miles to get home if you knew your friend had drugs.

The only way this is going to get taken care of is to get yourself an attorney and have him help you. You say you can't afford an attorney, but you live at home with your parents and have a job (or at least did on that day). Get rid of all of your luxuries: phone, cable, internet, eating out, girlfriend payments (if you have one), and anything else you pay for that isn't directly related to you staying alive. I don't know your precise financial arrangement with the 'rents, but you can see what kinds of things fit as options.

It's better to take a hit on your credit rating for being late on a cell phone bill (and to be without a cell phone for a couple of months) and stuff, than it is to go jail or get a criminal conviction. Old debts can be paid off and eventually go away. Old criminal convictions are usually there for life.

Thanks alot man, I feel better knowing what direction to take. To me, this sounds like a simple open shut thing, but as everything in my life.. It will go wrong. I will maybe have to find a better job than the one I have now to pay off a lawyer. I did get charged for marijuana in the past but got it expunged. Will they look at that? I hope that I can come out on top of this case. It would be the right thing, because I would hate to get charged for something that I didn't do. The whole scene is crooked, and the justice system is corrupt if I get charged for drugs I didn't have on me or in my car. (or that I didn't even know about in that case) Not saying it already isn't though. heh.

I am not an expert by any means just a casual observer. In some instances charges can be plee bargined down,(correct me if I am wrong) maybe you could plee it down to a disorderly conduct charge, that is usealy what happends with people that I have heard of in this situation, who have a public pretender.

I would avoid the friend to he sounds like a less then reputable character, it is always wise to keep your aquaintences to a little more then a few.Another angel could be the guilt trip, put the squeeze on the guy make him feel ashamed of himself and make him feel so sorry for you that he admits it is his pot and get it on tape, or just ware a wire and get him to admit it was his in private and show it to the judge. That is how I would go about it, if all else fails.

The worst thing you can do is give up on your self and not put everything you have into proving your own innocents a lawyer is ok to speak the truth that you find but is largely useless in discovering evidence in a little case like this I meen it is not like you are on trial for murder, so he is not going to pull out the big guns so you have to go to extremes to PROVE YOUR INNOCENTS, other wise he will just advise you to plee out and you will have another charge on you.

ADVICE AND FACTS AS I HAVE SEEN THEM PLAY OUT MANY TIMES

Yeah, that's a great idea. I wonder if a text message would work? I can get a recorder, but it's just getting him to admit that. He believes there was no pot in his car. blah blah, I don't believe that. It's more his fault than mine because the guy knows I don't smoke pot or have anything to do with it. Wish me luck guys, I just wish that this had never happened. I'm a good young man, I would never harm anyone, or lie to the police. I guess I will just wait for the sands of time to pour against me. After the court, I will let you guys know how it goes... take in mind that this pot on his floorboard was like maybe like the size of a penny. Ain't that a shame?

I do not belive that a text would do you as much good in court as an audio recording he could say it is not his number or he did not send it, but he can't deny it is his voice on the tape. Do not be obviouse about the whole idea that you are trying to get him to admit to it, just be subtle and lead him by kindness and guilt into the confession. point out all the harm it will cause and show how upset scared and sad you are, and lead him to the point where he cracks and bam theres the confession. Another point of advice is to check the device you will use out, get comfortable with it long before hand, make shure the data is not going to be erased by a built in feature or that the tape will run out just before the big momment(I highly recomend a good digital model, $75-$100). I usealy use a digital recorder purchased new from the store some have an attachable mike that is so small and has a 4 foot cord on it. Don't tell anyone you bought it what it is for or that you intend to use it, hide it from EVERYONE(DONT BRAG). If you tell one person you have it it is like using a megaphone to broadcast it, secrecey. Also get alot of one on one face time with him don't do it at a party with 20 people around there are to many distractions. A casual one on one is the best approach, if he drinks buy him a 12 pack, be so nice he feels guilty, then lead him to pity and subtley move in for the confession when the momment is right and the bond between you is strong.

Alright guys, I went to court yesterday and this is what happened with the situation. Basically I went in court and went to the booking area, my friend that I was with was found in the booking system and booked for his charge of schedule II substance, I however asked for my information from booking, and I wasn't in the system whatsoever. I thought this was kind of strange. The booking lady told me that I was not listed under the case number, as I should have been, and I gave her my information in case the citation came in after the court date... So anyways, after being freaked out about the situation of me not being in the criminal system, I talked to a cop and asked him what I should do. He told me to go to the Police Records place across the street and find out if I had a arrest record. I went across the street, gave the lady my information, and I didn't even have an arrest record on file where this occurred at all. The police officer I talked to followed me in there after I got the information from records and told me that theres a very very good chance that the officer didn't even turn my citation in at all. This made me very happy indeed, because they did turn the other guys citation in. The reason I think they decided to not turn mine in is because they knew that it wasn't my pot in his car and I explained it to the officer extensively, telling him that I do have major panic attacks when I smoke pot or am around it. I think that I should be good, but i dont know how it will go down from here because I believe the officer has to turn in the citation before the court date listed. This was very strange to me, and I would like you guys feedback on this situation just to assure myself and keep an open mind about the situation. All of that worrying I did about this in the last month was a sure wakeup call. :eek: