Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

I was hit my a van while I was walking down the highway and was transported to the hospital in critical condition. I was unconscious with a head injury, broken ribs, a broken jaw, and several missing teeth.

When the highway patrol officer arrived at the hospital to further investigate the accident and get my side of the story, the doctor handed him a small, clear, plastic baggie that contained a white, powdery substance in it that he said he obtained from my wallet when he went to observe my identification card to notify my nearest kin. The officer then took possession of the baggie and sent it off to a lab to be tested and the results came back positive for cocaine.

I was just wondering if this is admissible in court since this so called "baggie" was not actually found on me or in any of my personal belongings by the officer himself. It was basically handed to him by someone who said they found it on me. When you think about it, that doctor could have handed that highway patrol officer ANYTHING and said that he found it on me. Does that make me guilty of being in "possession" of something?

I have no idea how any this even happened because I do not do cocaine. My drug test results in the hospital even came back negative for ALL substances. Something just seems really shady to me here.

Any help/advice/suggestions would be really appreciated! Thanks a lot.


Asked on 10/11/15, 6:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Craig Epifanio Craig Epifanio, P.A.

It is probably admissible. You say it wasn't found in your belongings, but you earlier said they found it in your wallet. There is a lot of good cross examination that a good attorney can use however. My best advice is to get an attorney immediately so that a possible motion to suppress or other motion may be filed.

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Answered on 10/12/15, 12:27 pm


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