Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

21 yr olg female goes into convenient store comes out police have searched her veh (her purse still in veh) found a 2 pills ina baggie (1/2 of a prescription - not hers - pill and a motrin 600mg unk if prescrip[tion or not .. also find marijuana ... she is arrested (her 1st police contact of any sort ) charged with the pills ... felony possesion of narcotics.. she was advised on scene by 1 of the officer that the weed was not weed but oregano (she knows better its weed) she was also advised by the same officer that a detective would be coming by regarding the matter wants to know where the pills came from (she had already told them where she got them - from her mother for her toothache) but if she did not cooperate with the detective that the "oregano" would then become weed again and they would have to charge her accordingly after the fact ... there are so many questions i worked law enforecement for 20 yrs so i know when it get to the court and lawyers things are handled differently ... guess what i am looking for is what is her outcome look like worst and best... she is currently in her last semester college taking criminal justice hopes to get into juvenile probation.. thank u in advance for any advise u can give....

sincerely - the mother


Asked on 4/25/12, 8:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Theresa Hofmeister Theresa Hofmeister, Attorney At Law

The best advice is to hire a good attorney who regularly practices in the court where the case will be heard. If this happened as you say, all charges should be dismissed on a successful motion to suppress; however, I doubt it happened this way (although you may honestly believe it did.)

The police had some reason to search her vehicle; it can't be as random as it sounds - it is very unlikely anyway. Was this "21 year old female" on probation with a 4th Amendment waiver?

This is missing some important facts (intentionally or otherwise) and in any case, there is always a large range of potential sentence or punishment on any criminal case. Therefore the best advice is to get a good lawyer, or, if you cannot afford to hire a private lawyer, your daughter can apply to have one appointed at the arraignment. Good luck!

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Answered on 4/25/12, 9:54 pm


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