Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: Criminal possession

This looks like a bad search and whether the DA wins depends on whether 1) the cops lie and 2) the court believes them. Your case will be won or lost at the hearing, not at trial. If your lawyer can prove the search was bad at the suppression hearing, the evidence will be tossed and the case will be dismissed. If you lose the hearing, you go to trial and will likely lose unless your lawyer's a hero--but if he's a hero, he should win the hearing because that's your best shot.

Get a good lawyer, but off the cuff I'd tell you: Don't testify in the Grand Jury, as it's almost always a mistake to do so. And in your case you'd basically have to admit to possession. Your legal argument is NOT that you're innocent, but that the evidence can't be used against you because the stop and search was illegal. And that's not an argument for the Grand Jury but for the suppression court.

Also, don't lie to make the DA's case against your husband. That's just basic, a no-brainer. The case against him is tough. In car stops, contraband found inside the car can be imputed to everyone in the car (sometimes) but in this case the drugs were not in the trunk or glove compartment but in your possession, right? It makes it harder to pin that on your husband, I think, unless the cops lie and say they saw him hand it to you.

The DA may be holding off on taking this to the Grand Jury because they see the stop and search is weak. Who knows? They might want you to take a plea in order to clean up this mess for them. In other words, they may not want to press ahead on this case.

Re: Criminal possession

If you are indicted, Yes, they will arrest you on the indictment.

The DA has 6 months from the time of arrest to bring the case to a grand jury for indictment; then the case should be dismissed. NO, you probably should NOT testify in the grand jury, but you must discuss this with your lawyer.

You should definitely enroll in an outpatient or in-patient program; this will probably help your plea bargaining.

James S. Kats, Esq. [email protected]

Re: Criminal possession

Do not testify before the Grand Jury under any circumstances.Do retain separate competent criminal defense attorneys for each of you. You have 2 possibilities,1] suppression of the evidence due to a bad search or stop,2]a no jail for either of you plea bargain. You may contact my office for further discussion. Good luck.

Re: Criminal possession

I would suggest that you seek to hire attorneys for both of these cases, for each of you...

Overall, there must be a reason for approaching the vehicle and speaking to you... in this case the vehicle was double parked, now if they physically witness anything going on it would be cause for any further intrusion, if not then there is no further intrusion which is legally permissible. as a result, any further search would be legally invalid.

I would suggest hiring attorneys, as i stated... youre looking at major legal ramifications on these cases, both of you... and coping out and informing n your husband may not be a very good idea as standing by one another may end up being more beneficial to both of your cases...

if you have an yfurther question feel free to contact our office at 212.709.8303

Re: Criminal possession

There is no doubt that you need to retain an attorney to protect your rights and get you the best possible deal. I can refer you to an excellent lawyer whose rates are quite reasonable. If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint one for you. Feel free to call or email.

Re: Criminal possession

These are all questions you should discuss with your attorney. I agree with the above poster that both you and your husband should have your own attorney. Whether or not you should testify in the Grand Jury depends on a number of factors and is something you would have to discuss with an attorney in detail.