Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

There is a large range of what can happen, depending on the facts of this case and prior cases. Tell your friend to talk to a local criminal defense attorney in his/her area. Good luck!

Think of it from the point of view of the judge. The judge will want to know why it is Your Friend can't stop doing drugs. I would tell Your Friend to go to as many meetings as possible and bring proof of attendance to court, along with a lawyer.

You provided no way of guessing.

You�ll learn the actual charge[s] and enhancements filed and get copies of all the police reports and test results when appearing for arraignment at the first court hearing. The prosecutors can amend at any time they believe they can prove additional or different charges. The charges determine how much �time� and fines could potentially be imposed if convicted.

In California, if convicted of any felony, you potentially face one or more years in prison, plus fines; on any misdemeanor, you potentially face up to 6-12 months in jail, plus fines. Multiple counts and charges will multiply your problems. If you have priors and strikes, those will add �penalty �enhancements� under the 3-Strikes rules. If this constitutes a probation or parole violation, factor those new violation charge[s] and old deferred sentence[s] in as well.

When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any testimony or evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, and can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all possible defenses with whatever admissible and credible witnesses, evidence, facts and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or at trial. If you don't know how to represent yourself effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a dismissal, diversion program, reduction, or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.

If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me. I�ll be happy to help, using whatever defenses there may be.