Legal Question in Criminal Law in Mississippi

Re: turning in a drug dealer without incriminating others

Your brother cannot be convicted based solely on your word, but he and his property can be searched and he can be questioned depending on the reliability of your information. So how do you not tell them about your brother, not obstruct justice, protect your brother from his drug abuse, and protect your community.

Talk to a social worker or your physician about having your brother involuntarily committed to a treatment facility for drug adiction. The State Dept of Health is supposed to have a statewide plan for helping drug adicts. You can inform the police anonomously or as a confidential informant, either directly or thorough an intermediary, possibly an attorney who is required to keep your identity confidential. In any case, you must not make any misrepresentations to the police in order to protect your brother, but you can decline to answer questions that will incriminate your brother unless you are ordered by a judge to answer. Informing the police through an attorney is probably the most conservative approach.