San Diego Criminal Defense Lawyer

Narcotic Cases

Narcotic cases are huge here, in Southern California and as long as the Government continues it's misguided "War on Drugs" the cases are going to keep coming.  Narcotic Sales, Possession for Sale, Transportation and Drug Trafficking Rings are the most serious offenses, and I handle each of these types.

Sales cases can be the small "hand to hand" transactions involving a twenty dollar piece of rock cocaine or sales of kilo quantities of cocaine, meth or marijuana.  Hand to hand transactions are tough because they involve the word of the police officer against that of the defendant.  However, many police agencies have access to sophisticated technology such as recording devices and camera, but never seem to use them on these cases.  Thus, there can be issues an attorney can evaluate which may call into question the memory of the undercover cop or chain of custody of the evidence. 

For large quantity transactions, there are often other defendants involved, so the question is what role the client played if any.  Also, use of Confidential Informants is widespread in this area which can present many opportunities for a defense lawyer.  Most confidential informants are shady lowlifes that are trying to make their situation better by ratting out others.  The more a CI produces the better it gets for him and his own criminal case.  This can make CI's highly unreliable ensnaring innocent people and impeaching them at trial can be a lot easier than most other types of witnesses.

Possession for Sale is a highly contestable area, the main issue being are the drugs possessed for sale or for personal use.  The amount of drugs seized, and the presence (or absence) of items such as scales, baggies, pay / owe sheets, large quantities of cash and other "indicia of sales" will play a large role and assist the attorney in defending these cases. 

Drug Trafficking rings involve the sale and transportation of large quantities of drugs and cash across the borders of the United States and throughout the country.  Prior to 9/11 these cases were typically prosecuted in Federal Court, but we are seeing more and more of them in State Court while the Federal Courts are busy handling immigration violations and alien smuggling rings. 

These can be interesting cases to work from a Defense perspective because they often involve the use of wiretaps and federal law enforcement officers cross-deputized to enforce state laws.  Wiretaps are supposed to be used as a last resort and Federal Law as well as the individual States' Law governs their usage.  What is important to know is that California Law governing the use of wiretaps is more restrictive than the Federal Law.  Which means it is more difficult for law enforcement to obtain wiretaps under California Law.  Since many of these cases involve Federal Agents (used to the Federal Standard) the affidavits in support of the wiretap order can be flawed.  Thus, giving the experienced Defense Attorney ammunition with which to attack these cases.