Legal Question in Criminal Law in Maryland

possession and para

me and 2 of my friends were on our way to west virginia university and we were pulled over for speeding (82 in a 65). the officer told me to step out of the vehicle and that he was goin to search the car because of a strong odor of marijuana. none of the marijuauna was found on my person but both of my friends had it on them. 28.7 grams was the lab analysis. we were charged with possesion and para. we all tried to apply for a public defender and because of our income we were denied.they told me that u needed an income lower the $700 a month to obtain the lawyer. im approx 5 hrs away from friendsville, md where the arrest was made and its goin to be hard to get off of work again to try and find a lawyer. can u let me know what im facing and what i should do. thanks


Asked on 8/25/04, 3:57 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Ronald Aronds Law Office of Ronald Aronds, LLC

Re: possession and para

I am assuming that you got pulled over in New Jersey. You are facing both traffic and criminal charges. The speeding ticket is a four point ticket. I can most likely get this knocked down to a zero point ticket that won't have any effect on your automobile insurance rates if you hire me. The marijuana under fifty grams and the paraphernalia are both lower level criminal charges called Disorderly Persons Offenses. They are both violations of the New Jersey criminal code, but they are not felonies so you are not looking at state prison time. The potential penalties are very heavy fines, loss of driving priveleges, a criminal record that stays on your record for at least five years, and up to six months in the county jail on each charge. If you hire me I can most likely get this amended in such a way as to get you probation and no loss of license or criminal record. I would need to discuss this with you in person or at least on the phone. I have handled cases similar to yours in numerous different courts throughout New Jersey in the past. Please call me at 1-908-272-0111 to discuss the specifics of this and also my fee for representing you. We can handle most of our business by phone and mail so you won't have to keep coming up from West Virginia, but eventually you will have to come to New Jersey to go to court. There is no fee for calling and discussing your case, so please call me as soon as you can. Thank you.

Sincerely yours, -Ronald Aronds, Esq.

www.njworkerscompensationlaw.com

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Answered on 8/25/04, 5:34 pm

Re: possession and para

It appears you were pulled over in Maryland. If so you are facing up to a year in jail on the possession charges. On a first offense the chances of jail are slim, however you would have a record for the rest of your life. A criminal trial lawyer, like myself, would try to get Probation before Judgment, which means you would not have a conviction on your record. This is the type of case you should not to Court without a lawyer.

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Answered on 8/25/04, 11:31 pm


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