My 19 yr old daughter was arrested today, need legal advice

My daughter was running late to get to a college class and was pulled over by the Border Patrol in northern NY. She had ~1gr of cocaine in the car that the dog smelled when they searched the car, not sure why they searched it.

She was arrested, fingerprinted, and released on her own recognisance. Has to appear in December in a small town court. She says they never read her her rights.

I looked on google and it says that possession of from .5 to 2 grams is a mandatory 1 year sentence. Is there any way that they can lower the offense? If convicted she wouldn't even be able to finish college because she would no longer be eligible for any assistance.

She 'says' she bought the stuff for a party she was at last Friday. If this is true then I doubt she is a daily user, she wouldn't have had any left. I want to get her into treatment over the Christmas break. Anybody have any idea what her chances are? First time offense. I am just sick over this. Trying to function here at work, not going well.

Unfortunately she has been living with my mother while attending college. She had to break the news to Grandma and Grandpa tonight.

But when I was younger, I got arrested for a bag of pot in my car in Florida. Down here, they have something called "constructive possession" -- where it's in your car, but not on your person -- vs. "actual possession" -- where it's in your pocket, sock or whatever.
Because it was such a small amount and they couldn't really prove it was mine (it was spring break in Daytona and the place was going wild), they dropped the charges.

Sorry, wish I could answer your questions.

Call a Lawyer NOW.........The charges will have to be dropped.....the authorities screwed up a big one here. I belive you must sign a Informed Miranda statement verifying you know your rights.


Good luck.

I know someone arrested on pot charges this past summer. No MIranda, didn't sign a thing. Talked to 3 lawyers. They all said it didn't make much difference that rights weren't read.

of their rights.
Who is the judge gonna believe?
Cop or coke-fiend?

Your daughter is in America pal. She is guilty until proven innocent.
especially in drug cases.
Get an attorney and hope to plea for the lightest sentence.

If all they do is book you, Miranda never even enters the equation. The one time I was arrested, I thought they messed up by not mirandizing me. I was wrong.

I want her to face consequences, but what I am afraid of is that this will totally deep six any chance she has of finishing college.

Yeah, she did something wrong. But it's also wrong that some kid who made a mistake gets screwed and the dealer gets away with it.

told her that good people make mistakes. They could have impounded the car and didn't. Could have kept her in jail and didn't. So I guess she didn't appear really dangerous. Think what would have happened if she had been a black male?

while you obviously want to protect her. She is young and hopefully she will learn something big here.

I don't know specifically about NY but most cases never go to trial. They get plead down to some lesser charge or the state agrees to recommend a lesser sentence for a plea but with a mandatory minimum I don't see how they can do that.

Please, get an attorney who has dealt with this issue a lot - not a friend's divorce (family law) attorney or an estate attorney.

You can speak to many attorneys. She doesn't have to hire the first one she talks to tomorrow.

Good luck.

If you want her to face consequences, then I suggest you say this to her:

"Honey, you know I'll always love you. You really goofed up big this time. If you have enough money to buy cocaine, then why do you need financial aid to go to college? After you get out of jail, you will go to back to college, and you will get a job to pay for it yourself."

I worked to pay for my college tuition. And I never had any money left over to pay for cocaine. Of course, even if I had a billion dollars, I would never use cocaine.

Oh, by the way, it's threads like this one that make be sooooooo glad that I voted a straight Libertarian ticket in the election. I will never vote for any politician who wants to put your daughter in jail for cocaine possession. Tell me again why most people on this board voted for Kerry?

throwing your vote away. But that is
a different discussion.

BTW, cocaine is not expensive to buy.
That is why it is sold so easily on the
streets.

do you have ANY idea of the cost today? Just buying books can cost over $400. Thanks for the Tough Love advice, but I in no way want to jeapardize her future with a drug conviction. It will follow her all of her life.

When you've started Sanctimonious Libertarian Underground, I promise not to post there.

Goodbye!

They only have to read you your rights if you are a suspect and they are interrogating you in an attempt to find out whether or not you actually did it. If they pull the illegal drug out of your car, they *know* you're guilty, and they don't have to Mirandize you *unless* they start asking you questions about the dealer or other questions that could potentially incriminate you. In this situation, she was not entitled to be read Miranda rights.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/mirandarights/a/mirandaqa.htm
Duckie

I notice cops all the time interrogate the suspect till they get all the information needed to arrest the suspect, then they read them their rights.

Don't say anything to anybody about this until she has retained a lawyer. Try to find a criminal attorney who has lots of dealings with the local DA. Maybe a plea can be arranged that includes dropping the charges down to a simple misdemeanor possession charge.

but that's better than a felony charge, thanks.

They will try and trap her into saying something that will incriminate her. Get a lawyer FAST. One of the greatest things about lawyers is their connections. One good connection to the DA is all you need to make it go away.

where first time offenders go to treatment and have clean u.a.'s for a while and they wipe it off your record. see if your state has something like this.

...they bring her in for questions/interrogation. That's a TV-based misconception.

If she has never been in any kind of trouble before, the best thing you can do is get her IMMEDIATELY to rehab. If your insurance won't cover it, or if you don't have insurance, RUN to Narcotics Anonymous, get her a sponsor, and document daily meeting attendance.

I *know* it's bullshit, and I *know* that 12-step programs are not palatable for people who aren't religious. BUT the court will look very favorably upon it. You can be principled (I won't send her; she's not an addict!) or you can be pragmatic.

It will help, when throwing oneself on the mercy of the court, if she can show evidence she's already working on redeeming herself.

As to the search, they can always come up with a legitimate reason to justify it. Working against it on that basis may work, but it may fail miserably and make her look bad. (I'm sorry; I'm speaking from experience of growing up in a law enforcement family. Just being practical here.)

Best of luck to you and her! :hug:

want to at least pull out the end of this semester without throwing it all away. Looking into NA but that is extremely scarce in Northern NY. We are very familiar with AA, my husband is in recovery, so he is checking with people who are familiar with what treatment is available up there. I am calling my healthcare provider in the morning. The website is useless as far as information on existing plans.

She can attend closed meetings if she has a desire to stop drinking. And if I had just been arrested for the possession of an illegal drug, I'd have a desire to stop drinking, too. I hope she does.

Meeting slips. Get them signed or make your own. Get a big long list of meetings she's attended, time and place, and get the meeting chairperson to sign them.

It might be worth it to miss the end of the semester if it keeps her out of jail. Or, look into deferring final exams. Most colleges have programs to help kids with a crisis who need exams re-scheduled or other accomodations.

I haven't looked up the laws in NY but I'm sure there is a first offender program. A first offender program will enable her to stay the conviction, let her do some probabtion and probably mandantory treatment while she is on probabtion. If she finishes clean they will null processes or dismiss her charge as if it didn't happen.

Do not panic. You do however need a PAID attorney not a public defender. When you get an attorney you definitely GET what you PAY for. Don't take the cheapest one you can find because this is serious, nor the most expensive because this isn't that hard either, but get a good attorney who does drug defense.

Not reading her rights isn't as damning as you might think. The fact that they didn't read her rights, means they can not use any statements she might have made to the police unless she made them solely of her own free will. Hopefully she didn't say anything to them.

Again, do not panic, this is NOT the end of the world. I'm not going to do any NY law research for you because I'm not suppose to be giving legal advice. But again, GET AN ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY. She will be ok.

Good luck, keep us posted. I'm going to post this on your thread and then send it to your email. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have, I'll do my best to answer without representing you.

TC

I really appreciate it. I knew I could find some info here, it's just filled with intelligent people (not mentioning the occasional idiot).

they should be able to scrub the record in a year... and i hope your daughter is scared staright. coke sucks!

There are more misconceptions about law in the general public than anything else. I am not talking about anyone in particular who is or will answer this thread, but PLEASE DO NOT ACT ON ANYONE'S ADVICE except an attorney in that state. That even goes for me. Find an attorney in that state. I can give you solid general advice but you want someone who is connected to the law enforcement of that state and the DA's office of the jurisdiction to be handling your daughter's future. Do not take anyone else's advice as more than good will. Lay advice is heartfelt and could be seriously wrong. Again, I am not disparaging anyone's advice here, I am simply making a blanket statement. Protect your daughter with good solid legal advice from a local attorney and NO ONE ELSE.

This is as serious as it gets. What you do here will either help her or damn her.

TC

I'm also a lawyer, but not in NY. I'm going to second all of Truman's advice. Pay for a decent lawyer, preferrably one that specializes in drug defense in upstate NY. Asking others for general advice is fine, but don't act on the suggestions. Good luck, and keep us posted!

and I highly doubt if my mother would know. I grew up in the area and the brother of a friend of mine is a judge up there, not a town justice (where she has to appear), but something he had to be elected to. Could he offer information or is that unethical?

Please contact me through the private mail system and I would be happy to do what I can.

TC

names of three experienced criminal lawyers. Your friend should not tell her judge/brother any details of the case. If he feels he can provide the names he will; if not, he can just say no.

First of all, it is not the end of the world. I personally believe everything happens for a reason. This could be the "wake up call" that keeps her from having a real problem with drugs or getting herself or someone else hurt.

As a former Florida attorney, I would say to try to hire the "local attorney" who handles these type of cases in the court where she will be processed.

DO NOT talk to anyone from the police or courts, until you have spoken to an attorney. It may not be cheap, but it should be worth every penny.

Good luck to you and your family.

Side note: Although I don't agree with the "sanctimonious libertarian", I do believe she/he should feel comfortable stating views here that are not the majority. Please don't let DU and/or the Democratic Party start standing for the same "my way, or the highway" mentality of the other side. Isn't that the whole idea of a Democracy?

You are a very kind person :hug:

Don't make any decisions before you do anything. I'm somewhat clueless about drugs, but 1 gram seems like quite a bit for a casual user. (But, what the heck do I know? Not much!)

If they didn't Maranda her, then she has a good chance of beating any and all charges. But, it may work differently with border patrol. They may be able to search and arrest without any sort of reading of the rights.

In many states, there are minimum sentences. I've known people to be arrested for drunk driving or being in possession of small amounts of pot, and they've been let off. Another friend of mine, however, wasn't so lucky. But, it was his third offense. He did a lot of time in jail. (We are no longer friends, but that's another whole long story of which his drug use was a huge symptom.)

Good luck to your daughter. Getting her treatment, regardless of her punishment is a good choice. And it might actually help in the sentencing!

By "good", I mean a lawyer who specializes in criminal law and is experienced - also, helps if he/she is familiar with that particular small town court. By "good", I do not mean a new lawyer, or a general practitioner, or your neighbor's nephew.

The most effective criminal lawyers are the ones who started out learning the ins and outs of crim. law as Assistant District Attorneys, and then went into private practise.

Don't look for a bargain - you get what you pay for, and there are tons of practically incompetent new lawyers out there who will take any case that walks in the door, whether they have experience in that area of law or not. Even if you go to a firm of criminal lawyers, you MUST INSIST that your daughter's case be handled by one of the more senior and experienced lawyers in the firm, and not be handed off to the "youngest" one.

There may be a "nolo contendere" plea available which will not saddle her with a criminal record as long as she keeps her nose clean and never gets arrested again. Or maybe the case can be dismissed on some technical ground.

Also, is she is convicted, the car can be confiscated as having been involved in a drug-related crime - doesn't matter if the convicted criminal had title to the car or not. Many job applications, loan applications of all kinds and college applications ask if one has been convicted of a felony. So it's not just a matter of a college loan, but of getting admitted or hired to begin with. I worked with a number of people who asked the governor of my state to expunge their records, and heard many sad stories of how a stupid action in their youth (late teens-early 20s) followed them for life And expungement is typically (unless you're a drunken honmicial driver with the initials Laura bush) reserved for older people who have led exemplary lives for about 20 years since their conviction. Maybe she can get a deal if she gives up her supplier - but that can have dangerous consequences too.

If she was foolish enough to tell the cops she had one gram left after her party, they are going to investigate how much she bought and whether she was dealing any of it. There is a chance she was selling it herself. (Don't answer this question or provide any more details about her situation on this website - you could repeat incriminating information and hurt her case.)

This experience should wake your daughter up to the realities of playing around with drugs under our legal system - I hope you can find an effective lawyer for her. I wish you strength, courage and luck. As a friend of mine who is also an older mother said of motherhood: "The delivery never ends."
PS - I am a lawyer, but not a criminal lawyer, and the above advice is what I would follow if one of my daughters was in the mess your daughter is in.

there might be an exception like a first time offender program, AND your lawyer will of course let you know if the mandatory sentence can include probation rather than actual time in prison.
I've no idea how it would affect her financial aid. However, for what it's worth - and I suggest this with respect - IF she does have any drug problem, then money used for college might be wasted until she gets clean. And you could say the same thing about her behaviour, ie, if she's playing around with cocaine, or with friends who do, then she probably won't be the best student until she changes her ways.
Good luck!

criminal law, ideally drug charges, ASAP.

Cocaine runs from about $60 to $80/gramme. It is not cheap. A college student wouldn't be able to afford a serious habit or anything more than occasional use.

And as far as I know, New York has no first-time offender programme. In fact, NY's mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offences are among the harshest in the nation. There's been talk of reforming them, but not much has been done. So when it says "mandatoy minimun sentence", it pretty much means it. The most your daughter can probably hope for is probation plus payment of the fine.

And conviction for a drug offence makes one ineligible for federal student aid, unfortunately.

we've got him now, thankfully! Hopefully he'll be able to overturn our draconian Rockefeller drug laws...I'm just sad it won't be in time to help her daughter..my best wishes and sympathy from a girl whose roommate was just "caught" selling alcohol to a minor with a fake ID in a sting....

i did some quick research and it looks like in your daughter's case (assuming she has no prior convictions) the 1-year sentence is not mandatory:

possession of 1 gram of cocaine is a class D felony according to NY CLS Penal § 220.06, and NY CLS Penal § 70.00 (4) appears to give the judge discretion to lower the sentence:

4. Alternative definite sentence for class D, E, and certain class C felonies.
When a person, other than a second or persistent felony offender, is sentenced for a class D or class E felony, or to a class C felony specified in article two hundred twenty or article two hundred twenty-one, and the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history and character of the defendant, is of the opinion that a sentence of imprisonment is necessary but that it would be unduly harsh to impose an indeterminate or determinate sentence, the court may impose a definite sentence of imprisonment and fix a term of one year or less.

also, it seems that the prosecutor would also have discretion to offer a plea.

best of luck to you and your daughter.

if you were arrested by the feds, but if caught by state/local law enforcement the sentencing is different.

FU#@ Reagan's War on Drugs and mandatory minumums. I saw too many friends locked up for YEARS for pot charges. Twisted.

A few things bug me about this situation:

<<My daughter was running late to get to a college class and was pulled over by the Border Patrol in northern NY. She had ~1gr of cocaine in the car that the dog smelled when they searched the car, not sure why they searched it.>>

Border Patrol, as in US/Canadian border? Carrying coke from one country to another? When the authorities are hassling old people bringing prescription drugs here from Canada, it goes without saying that they're going to be searching like fiends for anything remotely resembling drugs.

The greater concern is whether she was driving under the influence of the cocaine. She could kill herself or another innocent person, and if you care about her safety (as you obviously do), you should be thankful that she was only booked, instead of killed. This could be the swift kick in the ass she needs, to straighten her up before she does kill herself (accident or overdose) or someone else.

<<I looked on google and it says that possession of from .5 to 2 grams is a mandatory 1 year sentence. Is there any way that they can lower the offense? If convicted she wouldn't even be able to finish college because she would no longer be eligible for any assistance.>>

She may be your daughter, and it's often hard for a mother to grasp this, but...she's not 5 years old anymore. She knows coke is illegal, and she knows the risks to her college assistance. She made her bed, she's got to lie awake in it, and anything you do to make it more comfortable is only going to make her think Mommy will bail her out of any mess. It's one thing to offer support, but do it on the condition that she straightens her ass up, as of yesterday. Because if you "enable" her this time, she'll just think she doesn't have to face adult responsibility, and she can just go around getting into trouble, secure in the knowledge that Mommy will bail her out. You don't want to turn your offspring into a self-destructive waste...and where drugs are concerned, that's the only possible outcome if it's not addressed now.

<<She 'says' she bought the stuff for a party she was at last Friday. If this is true then I doubt she is a daily user, she wouldn't have had any left.>>

How does this statement bug me? Let me count the ways:

* Your daughter is hanging with drug dealers and drug users, or she wouldn't have known where to get the coke. I'm totally clean, not into drugs, and I wouldn't have the first clue of where to get coke. Wanna know why? Because dealers know I won't line their wallets, and users think I'm a stick-in-the-mud bore. Nobody wants to "party" with someone who's clean. You are the company you keep, and she admits to knowing a drug dealer (whom she bought the stuff from) and drug users (people at the party). Therefore, she's into drugs--period. It's time to stop playing Cleopatra, Queen of Denial, and face this harsh reality.

* Whether she's a "daily user" or just using coke when she's at a party, she's still doing cocaine. Why you don't think occasional use is a problem is truly baffling to me. Because there's still the very real possibility of eventual addiction, not to mention what I've already pointed out, about how drugs can lead to an accident involving herself or someone else.

* You don't really know how much coke this girl bought or used, so you can't logically conclude whether she's a daily user or not. You wouldn't even know about this coke, if she hadn't been busted for having it in her car.

* Your reaction bothers me, too. I know you have the best of intentions, and you're worried about her...but I'm sorry to say, she knows this too, and she's manipulating you. (Alcoholics and dopers do this all the time.) She knows she's up to her eyeballs in deep shit, but by batting her eyes and playing innocent, Mommy will come to her rescue, because Mommy wants to believe her baby is innocent. A perfectly normal reaction, but one you've got to fight if you want what's best for her.

If you call the lawyer, etc., you're going to reinforce her belief that Mommy will make everything all right, no matter how badly she screws up. Tell her you support her and want to help her through treatment (which is going to have to last a LOT longer than just the Xmas break!). Then tell her that she needs to deal with the consequences of her actions: SHE has to call the lawyer, SHE has to ask the questions, SHE has to make arrangements for the treatment plan, SHE has to face the consequences of whatever happens with her college assistance. Coke parties won't look so cute if her powder-snorting peers get to stay in school, while she has to work the drive-thru at McDonald's for a couple years, to finish her schooling. Oh, yeah...and make darling daughter pay for the lawyer. If she can't afford the fee up front, don't fret...most criminal attorneys offer a payment plan. That's the most important part, because if you do ANY of this stuff for her, she'll think you're always that crutch she can rely on. Don't let it happen, for her sake.

As I've mentioned before on this board, I'm bipolar, so I've definitely screwed up, and even gotten into some legal trouble in the past (nothing to do with drugs or alcohol, because even before I was diagnosed, I knew that stuff would mess with my head too much). But I paid for my own lawyer, handled my own affairs, and generally took full responsibility, and I'm proud of myself for having done so. I didn't even tell my aunt about it until recently, because I knew she would have wanted to intervene, and I didn't want that to happen--I wanted to stand on my own two feet. She tells me now, she knew of a lawyer who would've represented me, which makes me all the more certain that I made the right choice. I know she was well-intentioned, as you are, but there are times when the road to hell truly is paved with good intentions. Throw a few roadblocks up on that road for your daughter--give her support, but no crutch.

It's tough to do, but that's why they call it "tough love". Your daughter needs that right now. Good luck....

the fact that her mother loves her and supports her enough to help her through this should be enough to set her straight, though counseling would be apppropriate. I'm sorry, but where I go to school, a large public university, illegal drug use is the norm and not the exception. This is not to excuse her coke use, but just to point out that only a small majority who use, whether it be adderall abuse for studying, coke blowing at a party, or underage drinking enough booze to pass out, is actually ever caught. Now, I am a grad student and have lost whatever connections I used to have to get drugs, I don't buy the line that she is some druggie scumbag because she happens to know people who use/sell drugs. To cut off support now might cause her to permanently drop out of school and if she has a "chip" now, that might tip it off into a full fledged addiction. IMHO, if she was otherwise doing fine in school and seemed otherwise adjusted, I would stick behind her so that this incident does not ruin her life. If there were other warning signs, it is time to get her into a addiction program NOW. Paying a lawyer to help is not a "crutch", it is what any loving parent should do.

was speeding and got stopped. Border Patrol is all over in the area and have random roadblocks also. She was coming from her JOB where she waitresses/cooks in a small diner for less than minimum wage and very little tips (because the clientele don't have the extra money to be good tippers).

I am so very glad that you have set such a good example for all of us. She fucked up alright, I know that. But there is no way in hell that I will let this screw up her entire life. She has to get an education so that when she has a family she will be able to support them if the father decides to take off, I know all about that one.

<Tell her you support her and want to help her through treatment (which is going to have to last a LOT longer than just the Xmas break!).> Duh, really?? I meant do a few weeks of inpatient over break and then do outpatient/NA/AA. If she quits going to school she loses my health care coverage for her, so she won't be able to get treatment.

Your opinions weren't asked for and are better kept to yourself. The tough love that you need to focus on is the tough love of not offering your opinion where it wasn't asked for.

I can assure you that letting this 19 year old flounder in her serious mistake is hardly going to be beneficial to anyone. While you make some valid points, and ones for consideration, you are quite condescending to think that it took YOU for this mother to recognize any of this.

Go comment on politics or whatever, leave law and family advice to people who are asked for it.

TC

I have always told my son (now 23) that if he was ever arrested, HE would have to deal with getting the lawyers, making bail, etc. On the other hand, if he got good grades, was responsible, etc., then I would be more than happy to help him financially when needed. He's the shipping and receiving manager for the largest tile distributor in the 3rd largest city in the US, has never been arrested, and has lived on his own since he was 20 (college was offered, but he didn't want to go).

I have dealt with drug addicts/alcoholics in my family. I know that 'helping them out of trouble' only leads to more 'helping out', which also leads to them remaining addicted and not seeking help for themselves.

Do your daughter a favor and don't help her out of this mess. Make her do it herself.

was to have a friend who is a lawyer tell me (I am sure with my parent's aquiesence) that I got one 'get out of jail free' card in my life. one time, I could call him, any time of teh day or night, and he would come get me and help me, with no questions asked. Once. This let me know I had someone to call if I really screwed up and was too scared to call my parents. I never actually used this service, although I did once call my parents to come get me at a party where my ride had had a drink or two (as had I) as promised, they came and drove me home, no questions asked. We never spoke of it again, but the sheer terror of letting them down again was enough for me to avoid that situation.

You have to decide what to do for your own family, in your own situation.

You don't want to go there.

This is serious shit, and treatment is only for the court's benefit. If she was a coke user, that would have DIED in about two hours. She has a problem in that the border patrol got her. They have every right to use dogs or whatever. But clearly, this is not a criminal and you need a lawyer BAD for this one. Ask around for someone who specializes in this stuff. It is a VERY PARTICULAR case law thing...you need someone who really knows the subject and has been in court on these same charges. This is no joke, the feds will not back down. If this was local, they would say, oh, she is a good kid, but on the Fed level, they cannot back down because it would be seen as favoring white kids.

I am so sorry for you and your daughter. This is awful and more proof of what our horrible drug laws do to families. I was called for jury duty last year and they wanted me to evict a woman because her son, 17, had been caught with one vial of crack two miles away. I probably should have lied, but I was just so offended this would even be in court that when they asked me if I could vote for her eviction, I said, hell no. So they kicked me off the jury.

Get a GOOD lawyer and figure out how to pay later. Seriously.

I don't know what your child's career intentions are, but I hope you can find an attorney to help restore your child's good name, no matter how much hell she goes through in the restoration.

the problem may come later when she's looking for a job, applying for other financial instruments (car loan, mortgage, etc.) because drug use/arrest questions are being asked on applications.

I wish you the best as you weather this difficult period.

Seriously. Do these things -- as I'm sure others have recommended.

She made the decision to buy and use the cocaine. Now she has to suffer for her own bad decision.

The girl will pay for her folly, but her mother is trying to see that her life is not totally ruined.

I'm sorry that your life has turned you this way.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

and myself, namely McKenzie, are not one and the same poster. I feel shit sorry for the poor girl who has made an error that is a corollary to youth. If someone had been hurt directly by her actions my view might be different but even then I'd look at the circumstances before commenting.

Sigh, people get busted for cocaine use yet alcohol is destructive, addictive, life wrecking poison but is not only ok, it gets advertised where kids can see the ads. No doubt all those people who decry drug use are perfectly happy to get shit-faced on the booze every weekend. The word that comes to mind is hypocritical.

and you are a great example of a new poster who has found a home here. Welcome to DU.

Just pointing out that she is the one that screwed up, not the border patrol. The border patrol was only doing their job. They stopped a speeder and found coke in her possession. That she was speeding and in possession of coke was HER decision and HER problem.

Would you advise her to ignore the whole thing? Actually, the lady pointed out that her daughter is still on her medical plan. The legal & economic parental ties have not been cut. And there are other ties, although I realize that you may not recognize them.

Let's hope that a good lawyer is contacted ASAP & the girl doesn't lose everything. With her family's help, she needs to get her act together.

...twelve years ago. I was in the car with three other guys. One of them was a guy we just met and who knew where to get the coke for one of the others I was with who wanted it. There was one gram of coke in "common space" of the car, so we all got arrested for "criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree." The guy we just met also turned out to have a lot of pot on his person so his arrest was bumped up to the third degree.

Our day for the court appearance came up, and the guy we didn't know with all the pot never showed. I guess that meant he just had an "outstanding warrant" on him and would only get in trouble if he ever had another run-in with the cops. The rest of us showed, with a lawyer. It was our first offense, the amount of drugs was incredibly small, and our lawyer tried to plead down to an ACOD (adjournment with consideration of dismissal), which meant our records would have remained clean after a period of six months to a year or so of good behavior. However, the prosecutor was adamant that for a drug offense--even one as miniscule as ours--we should have to walk away with some blemish on our records. New York has those crazy Rockefeller laws after all, so there is a real self-righteous climate about this, even if the crime is not actually serious enough to be "Rockefeller-able." So, we walked away with a "disorderly person" conviction, a $50 dollar fine, and a sealed record.

If you want to have a completely scott-free escape from this, well, good luck. I was 25 and the guys I was with were in their late twenties, so youth wasn't really an excuse, anymore. Maybe your daughter will have better luck since she is 19 and maybe the prosecutor and judge will take pity on her for that. Definitely show up in court with her and interact with her and the lawyer, and try to have other family members there as well--it makes a good impression and lets the court see she is from a caring family and is probably a good girl who just made a silly mistake.

Take care.

That would be a really acceptable outcome for her, were that to come to pass. I plan on going to court with her, good thing I have vacation remaining for the year.

I am not a lawyer, so my only suggestion would be to cross post this in the New York forum here on DU, in case there are some DU attorneys that specialize in drug cases (perhaps even first time offender drug cases) that could recommend a list of potential attorneys. My best to you and your daughter. I am sure this is an incredibly frightening time for your family. :hug:

get a lawyer.

Call a "GOOD" lawyer...believe me it does make a difference in who you hire!

good luck.

I contacted the office of a judge that I know from the area, no not one where she is supposed to appear. He was in court, but when I gave my name to the woman who answered the phone, she said, "Hi, how have you been, this is Susie.....". I knew that this woman was a lawyer but didn't know that she worked with the judge.

Sue recommended a lawyer that she said she holds in the highest regard. I spoke to the lawyer and she suggested that since my daughter is only working part-time as a waitress that she would most probably qualify for a free attorney. I groaned over that, but she told me that since she isn't even going to be arraigned until mid-December to ask for the lawyer then. She said the village where the arraignment will be is the slowest court around, so there is no rush here, if after meeting with the free attorney we want to do something with her she is more than willing to represent her.

I know one of the judges in the town where she was arrested, he was a high school coach while I was in school there. The other judge has something like 10 adopted children and the lawyer said he is very understanding of the younger people who come before him.

We talked about AA/NA. She couldn't find a number for NA, but gave me the number for a treatment facility in the area where she can get info on NA and also get an evaluation which will be good to have before she goes to court.

So that is our first step, to get her evaluated and into whatever level of treatment that they think is called for. I'll post as time goes on to let you know how things are progressing.

Thank you so much for all of the positive comments, even for the negative ones because I know that you mean well in a warped sort of way. She has already had to do the hardest thing which was to tell her father whose new wife is a drug/alcohol counselor at a high school. Neither of my kids get along in the first place with their stepmother so this just adds to the fun.

:hug:

...sorry to make a joke in this situation.

I can only agree with the majority of the posters in that getting a good lawyer, and showing the court that she has started and plans on continuing a treatment program are the best steps.

Good luck with all of this, I was arrested for possesion of marijuana, but thankfully I'm a Canadian and our drug laws are not quite as crazy as they are south of the border.

Hope everything works out for your daughter.

let me qualify by stating that i'm retired from fed law enforcement & am an expert witness in addiction & substance abuse.


based on the facts as you've described them, you need to contact a lawyer and try to arrange a plea bargain. it's unlikely you can win this case (unless there are further facts we're unaware of). under the infamous "patriot act", border sekurity agents have very broad powers to ignore 4th amendment rights. unlawful searches used to be the reason many of these cases were won by defendants.

it's quite possible that a *nolle prosequi* plea (not an admission of guilt, but an agreement not to contest) wd be accepted w/treatment sub'd for incarceration. this is a "small" case that the prosecution won't want to expend much resources on. a *guilty* plea may be required, but if treatment is sub'd for jail-time, it's worth it. if lawyer's fees are problematic, *appointed* attorneys are usu adept @ plea bargaining, but useless for actual defense.

of note is that this is prbly a federal charge rather than a state charge, since they were federal agents. be sure your google turned up federal code rather than state statute.

if it is pursued as a federal case be forewarned: feds usu are VERY determined to use the defendant as an informant. they also may have the right to confiscate the vehicle in question, as it was used to "transport" the contraband.

my personal belief is that your daughter may *not* need treatment; unless she has some other history of alcohol or substance abuse, the amount involved is not a huge amount & cd very well represent an experiment. you shd be aware, though, that cocaine is *extremely* psychologically addictive, and that experimental use can freq snowball into a full-blown addiction very quickly. if there is *any* other reason to suspect substance abuse, get her into rehab (be careful of fundy-ambush in the rehab center though, xian extremists are using rehab, as well as jails, for recruitment purposes. supplanting a substance addiction w/ a jesus addiction only exacerbates the problem.)

please feel free to PM if you'd like further.

Good luck!


EDIT: just noticed she was remanded to municipal court. that usu means she will be pros'd on local or state charges, & state prosecutor's are much easier to deal w/; hence, that is in your favor.

Coke is mixed with various things before it is sold. If more than half of the gram was not coke then the actual quantity of cocaine would be less than half a gram but does that even matter in the sentencing guidelines? or in reality?

To the OP: An aquantance in college got hooked on coke. He told us all that the first time he did it, his body responded like this was the greatest thing on Earth and he knew on some level that he was headed for deep water. Many people have done coke and NOT had that reaction to it. This acquaintance also said "when you are doing coke, it doesn't matter where you are or what the rest of your life is like. You could be in a crack house covered with roaches and still the drug would put a blissful smile on your face." Scary as hell. My heart goes out to you and your daughter.

was sealed after probation. First offenders. Different state though.