Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

Re: possession of marijuana (less than 40grams) & paraphenalia

The mandatory appearance is for "arraignment." You can contact a lawyer to get a sense of what is going to happen at (and beyond) arraignment. Many criminal defense attorneys provide a free consultation to discuss your case.

Re: possession of marijuana (less than 40grams) & paraphenalia

The first thing you must do is appear at your arraignment if you have not hired an attorney. If you do not appear at the time, date and place specified, a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest and you do not want that to happen. These charges are serious enough because the maximum penalties on each for a first time offense if you are found guilty or plerad guilty are one day in jail plus $500 fine plus costs. You do need to speak with an attorney because there may be aspects of your case that will be helpful in dismissing one or both charges if the facts and circumstances allow for such action. Good Luck!

Re: possession of marijuana (less than 40grams) & paraphenalia

I am sorry to hear about your trouble with the police. The criminal system can be confusing and nerve wracking. The fact that you have no experience with it likely just makes things worse. The advice the other lawyers give is correct.

If the incident date was recent you will want to have a lawyer on board and ready to go on your case. The prosecutor may have made a mistake in filing your case so soon. The State lab is backed up on lab testing on marijuana and usually takes a few months. If you set the matter for trial immediately then the prosecutor may not have time to get the test results back in your case.

If the prosecutor sees this problem, they make NCF (no charges filed) or dismiss without prejudice to buy them more time. You'll want to lay the groundwork for a dismissal due to pre-accusatorial delay if they do so.

Contact me directly if you'd like more assistance.

At your service,