Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

This past weekend a friend and I were pulled over by cops b/c they said we peeled off when they rolled past us. We had like .2grams of marijuana on us. As the cops approached us, I stuffed an empty baggie into my pants. The cop on the passenger side where I was sitting saw this. My friend did not have is license on him so they told him to get out of the car. They asked me to do the same. They searched the car. They searched the car and found the small amount of weed in the car. They asked me if I had any drugs on me, I said no. They asked me what I put down my pants, and I gave them the empty bag.
They came back with two tickets, one for each. We both got a ticket for "unlawful possession of marijuana" which is in section 221.05 of NYS penal code.
I have gotten conflicting information from a number of resources. I have no record what so ever. Never been any trouble. I was told if this is your first ticket for possession, I will have to pay a $25 fine and it will be dismissed. Is that true?
I have also been told that it will not go on any record of mine since its a first possession ticket. But if there is no record, how will they know hypothetically the next time I get caught with marijuana if it's my first or second time.
I have been also told that I need a lawyer and he will have it dismissed at a cost. I am a student, I can not afford to pay a lawyer $500. On the other hand, I can't afford to have a record and lose my financial aide and be barred from certain jobs.
There is an article I read which said that it will be dismissed as soon as I step inside the court. I want to know if that article has any truth to it. I can't copy and paste the link but all you have to do is copy and paste this in google:
"Possession of Marihuana (Marijuana) In New York, including Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan"
-is the queensdefense.com link
I would like to know what to expect and what will happen. Any help will be appreciated.

Asked on 7/28/10, 9:55 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

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The outcome may depend on what Court/Judge you are before. If you have never been convicted of a crime, you should receive a marijuana ACD, which means that the case will be adjourned for 1 year and then dismissed and sealed, assuming that you don't get re-arrested. You can only get this once in a lifetime so if you ever had it before, you are not elligible. Now, if you end up in a summons part at 346 Broadway where there is a JHO (judicial hearing officer), the JHO may not offer it because he/she doesn't know about it or is more concerned about raising revenue. The $500 quote for an attorney is fair for this case and I recommend that you retain an attorney if you can afford it. First, the attorney will protect your rights and second, cases with a private attorney get called first and if you don't have an attorney you could wait hours to see the judge. The last time I was in the summons part, some people who had 9:30 am appearances had to come back after lunch despite having waited all morning.

I am a former State and federal prosecutor and now handle criminal defense. Please feel free to check out my web site and contact me if you wish to retain counsel.

Answered on 8/02/10, 10:08 am

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Steve Brodsky Esq. CheapNewYorkLLC.com

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If not having a record is that important to you, you should really hire an attorney. Don't try this alone. Besides, not all lawyers charge $500. We may be able to help you for less (email for info). It is in your best interests to gather the money and get this taken care of the right way.

Answered on 8/02/10, 10:11 am

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