Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Hello, thank you for taking time to read this and bear with me. I promise I am getting to questions.

I was recently charged with poss of MDMA and poss of LSD in the state of Florida. My buddy and I were approached by plain clothed cops at a music festival while sitting in a tinted vehicle at night with the door open and the light on (my buddy was sitting outside the passenger side door on a cooler facing me). At the time I had MDMA powder in my hand and was attempting to put it into a capsule for us to swallow.

Their reasoning for probable cause was that we were sitting with the light on and were by a main dirt road. To me, none of this is probable cause, especially at a music festival minding our own business at our camp. They could not see what we were doing from the road they had been walking down.

When they came up they towered over my buddy, shining a flashlight in our faces and blocked us from shutting the door. They then grabbed me by my wrist and I was pulled out of the car. We were then told to show them everything else we had because they were going to search us, our vehicle and our camp from top to bottom. They also said that if we gave up everything we would not get in as much trouble, which was not true. So we told them where all the MDMA powder was, I told them where the LSD was and they retrieved it from my pocket. We also told them where they could find a joint under the seat. After they looked through the car, they searched in our tent and under our canopy. They then proceeded to handcuff us and put us onto a golf cart. We were never read any of our rights or told what exactly we were being arrested for and charged with.

We were taken to an on site testing trailer and began to fill our paperwork until a van got there and transported us to the jail. After I had been at the jail about two hours and was given a phone call, I had to ask what I was being charged with so that I could tell my poor mother when I called (the first time I asked at the jail I was told that my paperwork was not yet in so they were not sure). Only then was I told I was being charged with poss of MDMA and poss of LSD. My buddy is being charged with poss of MDMA, poss of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia (not sure where the paraphernalia comes from).

We spent the night in jail and had an arraignment in the morning and were bailed out around noon.

We are both in our early twenties and first time offenders! We are scared to death and trying to decide if we should plead guilty and go for PTI, or pre-trial intervention?, and hope we are only on probation a year or two, OR if we have a strong enough case (for no probable cause, being cohersed into a search and seizure and not being read our rights or told what we were being charged with) to try and get the charges dropped. Also, if we were to try and fight the charges and failed, would we still be eligible for PTI? Also, if we decide to try and fight the charges, would we need to move to have the cases joined? Do we need to hire an actual lawyer? Not really sure how all of this works.

Lastly, I am up for a government job with USPS. I applied within the past 24 hours for a position. On the application, it asked if I had ever been convicted of a felony.. so I put no. It also asked about charges and arrests, but it wanted the trial date and or conviction date. Because I do not have any of this information at this point I answered no to all. Is this incorrect? What all will the background check show? ..I have until tonight to withdraw my application because that is when the position will be taken down. I currently am a highway contract in the post office running a mail route and am worried that if they find something I will not only not get the RCA position, but they would also notify my contractor and I would be completely unemployed.

Thank you so much for your time and help. Any advice or info would be much appreciated.


Asked on 3/08/16, 11:45 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jennifer Jacobs Law Offices of Jennifer A. Jacobs, LLC

Much of the answer to your questions regarding possible sentences are very specific to the county in which you are charged- without knowing that it is difficult to know what all of your options may be. That being said- it sounds like there may not have been probable cause in the beginning to remove you from your vehicle- if everything else stemmed from that you may have a decent case. Without reviewing the police reports no one will be able to give you a definitive answer on this. You absolutely need a lawyer. Whether you hire a private defense attorney or qualify for the public defender- you need someone to discuss the merits of the case with you and any defenses you may have. Also, someone who can explain diversion as opposed to PTI as opposed to probation- they are not all the same thing. It is unlikely that a background check will show much yet- but it all depends on what system they use. Because it's the USPS they may be able to see the arrest this early on- but I wouldn't withdraw your application- see what happens.

Read more
Answered on 3/08/16, 11:58 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in Florida