Who is responsible if drugs are found in car

Absolutely.

This nightmare scenario happens all the time. You and some friends are getting a ride from another friend. That friend commits a traffic violation and gets pulled over. The officer claims he smells drugs or that he saw “furtive movements” (officer speak for people trying to hide something) as he was walking up to the car. He orders everyone outside the car and starts searching it. A baggie of drugs is found inside the car. No one claims it.

Someone’s going to get charged. Who gets charged depends on where the drugs were found. If they’re inside the center console, everyone might be charged with possession because the drugs were in reach of everyone. If they’re in the glove compartment, maybe just the front seat passenger. If they’re in the driver’s side door pocket, probably just the driver. Most of the time, the drugs really belong to the driver or whoever owns the car, but unless someone confesses, the police are going to arrest whoever is closest, and that person is often a passenger.

For more information on Drug Possession In A Vehicle, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (713) 936-4521 today.

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Drug Crimes Lawyers Providing Vigorous Defense Against Erroneous Drug Possession in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Throughout Michigan

As a motorist in Michigan, you are responsible for any property found in your vehicle, including drugs. You may be charged with possession due to the fact that it is presumed under Michigan law that you have control of any property which may be inside your vehicle. At Grabel & Associates, we understand your concern, and know that if you find yourself in this situation, you should contact our skilled and aggressive Michigan drug crime lawyers at once.

The best preventive measure is never to agree to allow police officers to search your vehicle, although they can without your permission in some instances. However, if the deed is already done and police have found a friend's drugs in your vehicle, it is important that you do not answer questions or make any statements without the presence of your attorney. When police have probable cause to believe you knew the drug(s) were in your car, it is usually because you admitted to knowing. Do not admit anything!

Remember that Police are NOT Your Friends

Police will often act like they are trying to help you, or even say things to make you believe that if you cooperate, it may benefit you in some way. Always remember that police are not your friends, and that admitting that you knew the drugs were there will not help your case. Even if the drugs in your vehicle really do belong to a friend and you have no involvement, police must "affirmatively link" them to you in some way.

Regardless of whether you were aware that a friend's drugs were in your vehicle or had no idea they were present, you can be arrested.

What You Should Do if Drugs are Found in Your Vehicle

The most important thing you can do if the police discovers a friend’s drugs is to gather all of the facts and discuss the situation with a capable Michigan criminal defense lawyer. Because the drugs were found in a vehicle that belongs to you, it is important that you take aggressive action to defend yourself.

Because individuals are often stopped by police and claim that any drugs found in their vehicles were not theirs even though they were, prosecutors often hear the excuse that "the drugs were someone else's." This makes proving your case even more difficult, which is why you must be extra diligent in proving your innocence. Your attorney can help disprove that the drugs belonged to you, but you must be willing to discuss every aspect of the situation.

The fact is, without probable cause or your permission; a police officer cannot search your vehicle. If an illegal search was performed, it may be that the evidence will be suppressed, which will work to your advantage and possibly even result in the drug case being thrown out.

Contact Our Michigan Drug Crime Attorneys Today

Regardless of the situation, your best defense is to have a skilled, experienced lawyer on your side who will work vigorously to protect your legal rights and freedom. At Grabel & Associates, we have a winning track record in obtaining positive results for our clients. Contact us now at 1-800-342-7896 for unparalleled legal representation.

Yes, it is possible for you to be arrested, charged and convicted of a drug charge for drugs found anywhere inside a car you are driving. Because of the concept of constructive possession, you can be charged even if the drugs don’t belong to you. Provided you have knowledge of the drugs, and the right to control them, you can be charged with possession of drugs that are not actually in your purse or pocket.  If there are enough drugs, and other “indicia of intent to sell” you can also be charged with delivery of drugs, a much more serious crime. This concept of constructive possession can be applied to marijuana, unlawful prescription drugs, drugs like heroin, cocaine, meth. and many other drugs.

It’s always good to remember that an arrest is not a conviction, and just because the police can charge you with a crime does not mean the prosecutor can prove it happened.  Once you’ve hired an experienced drug crime lawyer, he or she will be looking for various ways to defend and win your case.  If you encountered the police while driving a car, and during the encounter, drugs are found, your lawyer will first want to determine if there is a search and seizure issue. If the police violated your fourth amendment rights during the encounter, then this can result in the suppression of any evidence found.  Since a drug charge is dependent on evidence of drugs, suppression of the evidence will often lead to dismissal of the charges.

If your car was stopped by the police, then your lawyer will also want to examine the record to determine if the vehicle was lawfully stopped. This is a different kind of search and seizure issue, and just as with the drugs, if your fourth amendment rights were violated by the traffic stop, this can also lead to the dismissal of your case.  This is based on the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, which essentially stands for the proposition that any evidence found after the unlawful stop is inadmissible as evidence.

If the stop and the search are both lawful, then the next issue of an examination will focus on the issue of possession.  If the drugs were found on you then you probably won’t be able to argue they don’t belong to you.  But if they were found inside the vehicle, the prosecutor will need to prove both that you knew about them (and that they were illegal) and that you had the ability to control them.  Sometimes these are fact questions that must be resolved by juries and sometimes these are legal issues that the judge can rule on.  Either way, if it is found that you were not in the possession of the drugs found, then you cannot be found guilty of the crime charged.