Drug charges
Drug cases are usually decided by the search
What the police found matters less than how they found it. Most of our work on a drug charge goes into the stop, the search and the paperwork behind them.
- 01
Read the warrant, or find there wasn't one
We check whether a warrant existed, what it allowed, and whether the search stayed inside it.
- 02
Test the weight and the lab
The charge often turns on the amount. We ask for the lab report, the scale's records and how the evidence was stored.
- 03
Move to suppress
If the search broke the rules, we ask the court to throw out what it found. Without the evidence, many cases end.
- 04
Look at diversion
For many first charges, treatment or a deferred judgment keeps a conviction off your record. We'll tell you if you qualify.
The fee
Possession is the misdemeanor fee; intent to distribute is a felony
The felony fee covers the preliminary hearing and suppression motions.
Felony drug charge, up to trial
One felony case in district court, from the first appearance through the preliminary hearing, motions and plea talks. Paid in four parts over 90 days.
A written case plan after the first review
Preliminary hearing prepared and argued
Motions to suppress written and argued
An investigator for one scene visit and two interviews
Simple possession
Charged as a misdemeanor, it takes the misdemeanor fee: every court date up to a plea or dismissal, with the discovery requested and read.
Our fees pay for legal work. Court filing fees, lab retests, expert witnesses, transcripts and bond are costs paid to others, and we name each one with its amount before it's spent. A trial is quoted as its own flat fee once a trial date is set.
What people ask about drug charges
The drugs weren't mine. Does that matter?
Yes. Being near something isn't the same as possessing it, and the prosecution has to prove you knew about it and controlled it.
Will this affect my job or my school aid?
It can. We'll talk through what a conviction, a deferred judgment or a dismissal would each mean for you, before you decide anything.
I was charged in Wyoming but live in Colorado.
That's common, and it's why we have a line for each state. We can meet by video, and appear with you in the Wyoming court.
Send us the charging papers
Have them in front of you on the call, and we'll go through them line by line.