As a criminal law legal professional in Fort Lauderdale, I have lots of friends that ask me, "Can the police arrest me in case I am driving in a car that consists of marijuana?" Although you should not ride in an automobile that contains marijuana, you can reduce your chances of being arrested by understanding the significance of the authorized idea "constructive possession." The 4th D.C.A. of Florida recently wrote a great evaluation on positive possession of Brinkley v. State, 12 So.3d 311 (Fla. 4th D.C.A., 2009).
To be convicted under Florida Statute 893.13 (Possession of a Controlled Substance), the State should demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that you possessed and had knowledge of the marijuana. to be able to have means to obtain personal charge of or maybe exercising the appropriate of ownership, management, and control with the thing possessed. Possession might be constructive or actual. Actual possession is a concept - in the hand of yours, in a pot inside your hand, on the person of yours, or inside prepared reach and in the control of yours. If an individual has exclusive possession of a controlled substance, knowledge is inferred. Issues of constructive possession tend to be more complicated, however.
To establish constructive possession of marijuana, the State should confirm you had (1) dominion as well as command with the marijuana, (2) understanding that the marijuana was inside the existence of yours, in addition to (three) familiarity with the illicit nature of the marijuana. A typical issue in contention is whether you'd control and dominion with the marijuana. If the automobile in which the marijuana is found is in joint (no pun intended), cbd gummies covid (Read the Full Report) rather than your exclusive possession (i.e. you're the passenger in a vehicle), knowledge of the existence of the controlled substance in the vehicle and your ability to maintain control over the controlled substance will not be inferred.
In laymen's terms, in case you had been foolish enough being seen using in a car or truck in which a bag of marijuana was placed in plain view of the core console, the State would still be forced to prove that you'd "control" over the marijuana, moreover not just "knowledge" of the marijuana. Although not specifically defined, control is the capability to take, own, use, (or maybe smoke) the marijuana without getting authorization from someone else. Simple proximity to the marijuana is not adequate to establish control when the marijuana isn't in your extraordinary control. Possession might be joint (two or perhaps more people may exercise control of the cannabis) but just if both users have command over the marijuana.
to be able to confirm influence and dominion, the police will have to observe you possessing, concealing, or perhaps breathing in the marijuana and in case you are making any incriminating statements admitting ownership of the marijuana. Notwithstanding the above mentioned reasons, the authorities can't impute the ownership of the marijuana for you just because you are in a vehicle which consists of marijuana. So, never make any incriminating statements to the authorities with respect to ownership of the marijuana. No matter what the police guarantee you (i.e. we won't arrest you if you admit ownership), don't acknowledge ownership of the marijuana. Also, try to stay peaceful - don't make some furtive or quick actions that would lead the police that you are stressed or maybe attempting to conceal the marijuana. Also, don't smoke the marijuana in the automobile. It's frequently challenging to deny ownership whenever you and the vehicle reek of marijuana.
On an aside, in the event you still choose to ride in a car or truck that contains marijuana, make sure the marijuana is hidden (outside of plain view), ideally in the trunk or locked compartment. At a minimum, don't leave the marijuana in plain view of the middle console or even ashtray. Furthermore, do not continue any paraphernalia (pipe, rolling papers, etc.) on your person.
Last but not least, though the authorities should not arrest you for possession of a controlled substance if they can't show constructive or actual possession, it does not mean that the authorities won't arrest you anyways. The police routinely arrest automobile loads of college pupils where marijuana is located within a vehicle, regardless if they can't pinpoint who exhibited dominion and control. At that point, it's crucial to contact an event criminal defense attorney to examine the specific facts of the case of yours and file the proper Motions. Possession of even 1 gram of marijuana is punishable by up to one year in jail or twelve months probation along with a possible two season driver's license suspension. Do not plea through your case without speaking to a seasoned criminal defense attorney.
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