Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Possession of Marijuana

Thanks for your posting. The responses you received were good. I should also add that it depends on what happens to the container... if they find the cocaine, they can always amend the ticket to allege the cocaine, and depending upon the quantity, require a mandatory appearance if a felony, as Mr. Hobbs stated.

If they dispose of the marijuana without inspecting the entire countainer, then there might not be a problem.

If the police have your friend's correct address, then they will send a notice with the fine amount, or the exact charges filed and whether or not he has to come to California. If the police do not have your friend's correct address, then he should call the court to see what charges have been filed and if he needs to appear.

Best of luck, and feel free to email back if you have ANY other questions.

Re: Possession of Marijuana

Your case is contingent on what the crime lab finds or loses. If they find it, they will probably notify the District Attorney who will probably file a felony charge for possession of a narcotic. If they do not find it, they may just file a state court misdemeanor charge if it is less than an ounce for Health and Safety code 11357(b), which is merely possession of a controlled substance. This can usually be resolved with paying a fine if you want to merely give up and not fight for your constitutional rights.

However, they may also charge your friend with transportation since the friend was in an airport. This can be more serious and carry a stiffer penalty and fine.

Further, your case may even be filed in federal court as opposed to state court since it took place in an airport.

If you ignore the charges the case will result in a warrant being issued for your friend's arrest. They will most likely not serve it in the state your friend resides. However, if the friend comes back to California and gets stopped they will be arrested. Further, if they are arrested or detained in another state, they may be sent to California for prosecution. This can be really inconvenient.

There are many ways to defend yourself on this case if you do not want to hire an attorney to make one court appearance just to plead you out after they have taken your money. If you just want to plead out go do it yourself, it is free, or have the public defender appointed. They will definitely plead you out and it is free as well.

Most important is to continue to seek information and to continue to ask questions like the one you posted above. Your friend will benefit from educating theirself on the particulars and it will help find them an attorney who will do a thorough analysis of the case and find some way to fight for your constitutional rights and insure that any defenses that may be available to you, such as illegal search and seizure and violation of 5th amendment rights, have not been sacrificed.

Re: Possession of Marijuana

It frequently happens that lab results do not come back before the arraignment. Therefore, the DA may not know about the coke when filing the complaint. Under California procedure, all crimes that could be charged from a single course of conduct must be prosecuted in one proceeding. The DA is not allowed to bring successive prosecutions based on the same facts. You should seriously consider a speedy plea to the pot charge before the DA can amend the complaint to add the coke charge. This may prevent the DA from ever filing for the coke. Once you plead guilty, you have been placed in jeopardy. Both the California and federal constitutions would bar a later prosecution for the coke even if the DA didn't know about it when you were charged for the pot.

Re: Possession of Marijuana

Not much to add to the previous responses, except that if the occurence happened in San Diego, call me directly at (619) 222-3504.

Re: Possession of Marijuana

There is a very good liklihood that the coke will be discovered by the police criminalist when s/he analyses the weed. S/he will make a report which may or may not be picked up by the District Attorney, and it may or may not be filed. If the DA files additional charges, they will notify him by mail, since they have his address on the citation. Then he will need to come to California, or there can be consequences. But if that happens, you'll want to have a consultation with a California criminal lawyer. The marijuana ticket is just a maximum fine of $270, and should be handled through the mail promptly.

Re: Possession of Marijuana

I've read Steve M's reply and will only suppliment it. If the matter of the cocain is found and the complaint changed to one for the cocain it may either be filed as a felony of a misdemeanor. In a felony the person charged has to make all the court appearances, which may be as few as one. If the matter is filed as a misdemeanor then an attorney may make all the appearances for him.