A man in New Jersey was recently accused of having a controlled substance in his possession following a police traffic stop. He therefore now faces drug charges. A strong criminal defense will likely be necessary to help him to combat this charge in the state’s criminal justice system.
At around 6:30 p.m. on a Monday, a police officer saw a car going south along Route 206 and decided to randomly check it. When the car’s registration came back as being unregistered, the police officer pulled over the car. At that time, the officer reportedly detected the smell of marijuana emanating from the car.
After the male driver, 47, was taken out of the car, the officer allegedly found some marijuana in the car. In addition, a device used to smoke marijuana — along with the drug itself — was reportedly found on the man. He now faces charges of possessing less than 50 grams of the drug, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing a drug in a car and having an unregistered automobile.
Anyone facing drug charges has the right to vigorously fight these criminal charges in an effort to protect his or her freedom and future job opportunities. At trial, the prosecution must prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt before any conviction can be handed down. This standard is in place with the goal of preventing innocent people from facing convictions for crimes they did not commit. A criminal defense attorney will search for holes in the prosecution’s argument in an effort to prove the defendant’s innocence in New Jersey.
The Attorney General just recommended a completely new series of consideration for the Municipal Prosecutor to consider when determining the proper disposition of a marijuana case in municipal court. Although plea bargaining is not permitted per se, these new criteria give expanded authority to the Municipal Prosecutor to resolve marijuana cases without requiring a guilty plea.