Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: criminal case

Most informants are under an operations contract with the agency they work for. There isn't enough information supplied by you, but drug use is usually off limits for informants, but every case and situation is different.

Re: criminal case

Informants do not have to be Catholic nuns. On the other hand, evidence of illicit drug and/or alcohol use by the informant could be useful in cross-examining the informant if he or she testifies. The purpose of such cross-examination would be to attempt to show that the informant's intoxication impaired his or her ability to perceive or recollect the events that were testified to by the informant. Or the defense attorney could attempt to show that the informant was or is an addict and the testimony was given in exchange for money (or even drugs) to support the informant's habit, thereby creating an incentive for him or her to testify falsely.