An Experienced Criminal Lawyer Can Help With Your Drug Conviction

America's prisons are overcrowded and filled beyond capacity due to a combination of America's war on drug legislative that's imposes stricter and longer penalties for drug offenses in conjunction with a serious shortfall of money to support the wave of incoming offenders charged with drug offenses. Instead of offering drug addicts the opportunity for rehabilitation and addressing the problems that led to their criminal lifestyle in the first place, convicted offenders are housed in overcrowded conditions and re released without any real help being offered to break the cycle drug addiction that got them involved in the criminal justice system in the first place.

To address this major problem, prosecutors, criminal lawyers and judges worked together to create a program known as drug court. Drug court has been a successful intervention to help stop the influx of offenders into the criminal justice system by addressing the root causes of their criminal behavior and how it is often fueled by their drug addictions. Drug court is run without the adversary system that criminal courts utilize, so defendants do not need a lawyer in these courts. The purpose of drug court is to help the defendant and that can only be done with an honest assessment of information from the defendant.
It is unfortunate that drug court is not utilized more fully across the nation; it would likely help many current defendants in drug-related cases get the help they need and avoid prison time that they don't need.

If you have been arrested and charged with a drug offense such as possession it's important that you contact a criminal lawyer immediately. Don't make the mistake of filing your own fourth amendment rights by trying to argue your way out of the arrest with the police. Take it seriously when you are told, "everything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law." That warning starts the second you are placed under arrest. Which means once you have been read your Miranda rights if you choose to talk to the police without your lawyer presents those statements will be admitted into court as evidence against you.

Your best bet is to let your criminal lawyer do the talking for you. Your lawyer should be skilled and experienced in advocating for defendants charged with drug possession. If drug court is an option your lawyer will work hard to make it a reality for you. If this is not an option, your criminal lawyer will work equally hard to ensure the courts take into consideration that your drug addiction needs to be addressed with rehab and counseling.

Your criminal lawyer is your best hope to avoid becoming another number in an already overcrowded penal system. Hire the best lawyer you can, as soon as you can, and follow their advice. It may be your only chance to avoid a lengthy prison sentence or at the very least avoid a prison term that doesn't allow you the opportunity to participate in a rehabilitation program while incarcerated.