The first thing you should do if you are charged with possession of drugs is call an experienced criminal defense attorney. Whether you are in Columbia, South Carolina or in any other state in the nation, only a lawyer with experience knows the current laws in that state pertaining to your charge, and can argue your case effectively to give you the best outcome possible. People sometimes think that if they only had a small amount of an illegal drug on his or her person at the time of arrest, they can probably beat the charges on their own. This is a foolish stance to take. Even if the laws seem straight forward, there are always nuances and issues that people probably not aware of unless they are experienced criminal defense attorneys themselves.
Another mistake that people make in regards to their criminal defense is to hide or change certain facts leading to or surrounding their arrest. You should always be honest with your criminal defense lawyer. When telling the facts surrounding your case, you need to give your attorney every little detail that you can think of because you don’t know what might be important to arguing in your defense. In addition, your attorney can’t plan a solid case for you if he ends up being surprised in the middle of the courtroom with new facts presented by the prosecution that you had hidden from him. Like the old adage says, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Being charged with drug possession tends to cause a lot of tension for you and those involved. The best way to set your mind at ease is to trust your criminal defense attorney. It is his job to take all the facts of the case and think through how to represent you in a way that will give you the best outcome possible. Even if it is impossible to beat the charge completely, your defense attorney knows how to argue to get a reduced sentence, reduced probation, and more so that the consequences of the conviction are not as steep. Your only job is to be honest with your lawyer so that she has all that she needs to argue against the charge of possession of drugs.
