Our drug defense attorneys recently handled a case for a client who had been charged with several distribution charges related to a large amount of marijuana that was seized by police during a search warrant raid of his house including second degree intent to distribute within 500 feet of public park, third degree distribution within a school zone, and third degree possession with intent to distribute. The second degree distribution charge by itself carried 5 – 10 years in state prison – more importantly its assumed you will go to prison if convicted even if you have no prior record. To make matters more complicated, our client had a prior arrest for drug charges.
When our client hired us he was adamant that he could not get convicted of felony charge and was petrified about the possibility of long term incarceration. As part of our defense, we applied our client for the Pre-Trial Intervention “PTI” program which would lead to a dismissal upon successful completion. However, PTI is typically only reserved for first time offenders and for people facing third and fourth degree charges and our client arguably did not fit into either. That’s why it was no surprise when the county probation department denied our client’s admittance into PTI. After the probation officer’s denial, our attorneys went back to court to argue our client’s case be re-considered by the prosecutor’s office. After considerable back and forth on the issues, the prosecutor agreed to override probation’s initial denial and our client was placed into PTI. Now our client’s case will result in a complete dismissal at the completion of the PTI term. If you or your loved has been charged with drug distribution, then contact an Elizabeth NJ Marijuana Distribution Attorney to learn more about how we may be able to help.
State v. R.S. decided May 4, 2016
