Learn the Best Defense Strategies If You Were Charged With a Federal Drug Offense
Most of these drug crime cases that I see that are filed at the federal level involve large quantities of drugs being sold, or transported sometimes from out of the country into the United States.
The federal government has plans to stop all drug importation in the U.S. They've got agents not only throughout the United States, but also in other countries.
And, if they don't have agents in the other countries, they've got agents who are connected with the authorities of many of the countries that are shipping drugs into the United States, like Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama.
They know about these countries. They know the drugs are being grown/harvested there and moved into the U.S. and they have a lot of connections with the authorities there in order to track the drugs and arrest the people who are involved with the important of drugs in the United States.
Negotiating with The Federal Prosecutor On Drug Cases
The way you defend a drug case is to hire an attorney who has handled many federal drugs cases throughout their career. I've been handling drug cases for 26 years now, across the country, but mainly in the central district of Los Angeles.
I know how the prosecutors look at these cases. I know how they litigate them. I know how it takes to win these cases and I know when it's time to work out a resolution in these cases versus fight the case in a jury trial.
That's probably one of the first decisions you have to make when you're in a position of defending a federal drug crime. You've got to be able to assess the case, talk to the client about it, look at all the evidence that is available.
Then, speak to the prosecutor about it and then use your experience to make a determination of whether it's a case that can be fought or whether it's a case that needs to be negotiated. That's step number one.
If you're fighting against the government tooth and nail in a federal drug conspiracy case for example, and you're going to lose the case ultimately, all you're doing is burying your client because the government is not going to give your client all of the potential benefits he or she could have if they were handled the right way.
If they weren't agree with the defense attorney because they tried to block every single move the government made, tried to fight against everything, try to embarrass the government, the government takes note of that and in a case where they are ultimately going to win, it's a foolish move to fight them tooth and nail.
Review of Prosecutor's Evidence in a Federal Drug Offense
If on the other hand it's a weak case — if it's a case where there's some good angles regarding potentially illegal searches, illegal seizures — anything that can cause the case to be dismissed.
Obviously, a great defense attorney is going to capitalize on that and try to get the case dismissed and the government shouldn't really complain about it because someone's constitutional rights shouldn't be trampled.
And, if they are trampled, the government should be supportive of a defense attorney who is trying to make sure that their client is taken care of.
A lawyer to ensure their rights are handled, their freedom is handled and everything that is important to them is defended in these big federal drug cases because of all that is on the line, all that is at stake. So, here is the best way to defend a drug case:
- step number one, decide how you're going to handle the case — whether we're going to fight it, whether we're going to negotiate it; and
- step number two, you have to execute a plan depending on what you've chosen to do.
If you're going to fight the case, you have to get it ready for jury; if you're going to negotiate the case, you have to put together a mitigation package for the prosecutors and you have to figure out what arguments are going to make sense and make a difference to the judge.
Contact Our Law Firm If Charged With a Federal Drug Crime
So, once you decide whether you're going to fight it or not, the defense attorney and the defendant must have a meeting of the minds. We need to determine what the next steps are going to be, and of course, I as a defense attorney, am going to guide my client through.
I will use my 26 years of experience to make sure that the best possible moves are made in order to get the best possible result.
Hedding Law Firm is a top-ranked criminal defense law firm located in Los Angeles County at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. Contact our office for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0994.
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