One of the most common ways that people find themselves in criminal court and in need of a drugs and narcotics attorney in Grand Rapids, MI is through a routine traffic stop. During a traffic stop, if an officer suspects that someone is in possession of an illegal substance, he will likely ask to search the vehicle, and will do so whether or not he actually has the legal authority. If he finds drugs such as marijuana or narcotics such as prescription drugs or other substances, he will arrest the driver as well as others upon whose person illegal substances are discovered, and likely charge those who have been arrested with possession.
In fact, there are a plethora of criminal cases that originate from traffic stops. Drinking while under the influence of alcohol or drugs constitute many of them, but it’s likely that a typical drugs and narcotics attorney in Grand Rapids, MI would tell you that there are a large portion of criminal convictions for possession that begin with the search of a vehicle. A police officer can pull over a car for any number of reasons as dictated by Michigan law, whether one is weaving, ran a red light or failed to stop at a stop sign, outdated tags on the plates, failure to signal, speeding, and numerous other infractions. Once stopped, if the officer has any reason to suspect there are drugs in the vehicle, such as the faint scent of marijuana in the air, he can and probably will search the car.
Once arrested and charged with possession, a defendant who seeks the counsel of a drugs and narcotics attorney in Grand Rapids, MI will probably first seek to find out why the person driving the car was stopped, or why initial police contact was made in the first place. If there was anything unlawful about the stop itself, anything that happened after the stop, including the discovery of drugs in a defendant’s possession will be thrown out of court.
While it is incredibly important for the attorney to also question the search that was conducted on the defendant’s property, investigating the reason for the stop itself can prove to be very fruitful in throwing the entire incident out of court, especially if the officer looked for a reason to pull over a suspect based on a feeling in his gut. A drugs and narcotics attorney in Grand Rapids, MI can make a lot of headway by thoroughly investigating the reason for the stop itself before moving on to question the complicated laws surrounding illegal search and seizure.
