Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: drug sales charge

Drug dealers do not always have drugs with them. What matters is whether the government can show that the suspect sold drugs in the past, not whether they find drugs on him at the time of his arrest. (If the police catch him with drugs they can add a charge of possession or possession for sale.)

This proof will usually come from the testimony of people who bought drugs from the defendant or who saw/heard a sale taking place. Sometimes the buyer will turn out to be an undercover police officer.

There are many other types of evidence that can be used to prove the defendant's guilt. Possession of a very sensitive scale or of large numbers of very small plastic bags is strong evidence unless the owner has some innocent reason for keeping such items. "Pay/owe sheets" containing records of past sales are also frequently used as evidence in such cases.