Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

unlawful drug possession charges
My seventeen year old sister was at a party with friends. She was sober while the rest of her friends were drinking. She decides to drive them home in her friends car so that they are not driving drunk themselves. However, on the ride home, she is pulled over on the charge that the muffler is too loud. The cops give her a breathalizer which proves that she has no alchohol in her system but ask to search the car anyways. She says that it is not her car and explains the situation to the police about driving her friends home drunk, but they ask if they can search the vehicle. They search the vehicle and find a bag of marijuana in the back seat. This was not her marijuana, it belonged to the friend that owned the vehicle. However, the police arrested her and are charging her with possession of marijuana. My sister is completely innocent of this crime. However, she has had received MIP of alchohol tickets in the past (nothing in relation to drugs), and is currently on probation after receiving the ticket for underaged drinking. What is the chances of the charges being dismissed for the possession of marijuana?
thank you

Asked on 9/10/05, 2:57 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

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Re: unlawful drug possession charges

The police and prosecution are probably using a theory of "constructive possession" to prove that your sister (the driver) possessed the marijuana. Constructive possession basically means that items that are within your reach -- even if not in your hands/pockets -- are yours. Essentially, it's a circumstantial evidence argument, and it's used a lot against the driver of a car because that person is essentially the "captain of the ship".

But that doesn't mean that a jury will buy it (beyond a reasonable doubt). Here, the car isn't hers (which cuts against the prosecution's case and might, in and of itself, create reasonable doubt). I just hope that your sister's finger prints are not found on the bag the weed was found in because that would be a clincher for the prosecution.

Answered on 9/19/05, 11:08 am

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