Is Your Drug Arrest a New Beginning?
It has become a favorite refrain online and offline that no one agrees about anything anymore, even though the difference is probably that the ubiquity of smartphones has given us unprecedented glimpses into the petty and uncharitable sides of everyone else’s inner monologue. One thing all the generations can agree about these days, though, is the music of Jelly Roll, whether you are among the age cohort that things of him as the guy who collaborated with Eminem or the guy who collaborated with Sonic the Hedgehog, as though your parents’ generation didn’t get to spend their childhood with Sonic the Hedgehog. His message, namely that addiction and the dominos that fell in your life before and after your first experience with drugs or alcohol are something that weighs on your soul even when you are ostensibly sober and staying on the right side of the law, resonates with everyone who is old enough to learn from their mistakes, whether they prefer the artistic expression of maturity to take the form of hip hop bravado, rock and roll bombast, or country heartbreak. Our autobiographical narratives, vulnerability and all, can unite us, but bonding with other people about the mistakes we learned from and the wounds we still feel is one type of discourse, and due process of law is another. When drugs are in the picture, these two discourses can overlap, and even though you might be a candidate for best storyteller in the penitentiary, it is in the interest of all the people on the outside who care about you if you say as little as possible unless and until a jury finds you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A drug arrest does not always lead to a conviction, and avoiding a conviction after your first drug-related arrest can help you avoid a scenario where the court decides that you are a habitual offender. Here, our Miami drug crimes defense lawyer explains how a long list of low-level offenses arising from substance use disorder can lead to major legal problems and how you can steer clear of this path.
How One Drug Problem Led to 16 Arrests
Everyone drives in Florida, since there is no other way to get to your destination when it is not within walking distance, and everyone makes mistakes behind the wheel. Therefore, traffic citations are mostly a conversation piece, a source of financial stress to complain about to great effect. When drugs are in your life, though, every traffic violation is worse. What if drugs are in your car? Do you keep driving after you see the blue lights? Throw the drugs out of the car and hope the police don’t notice them? Driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and driving with a suspended license go hand in hand.
The Tampa Free Press did not go into details about how a Flagler County woman got booked into jail 16 times between 2018 and 2026, but only said that the arrests were due to drug charges and traffic violations. A sheriff’s deputy quoted in the article made it sound like drug addiction was the root of the problem and that, with or without a criminal conviction after the deputy served the warrant about a probation violation, the defendant’s next destination was an inpatient addiction treatment facility.
Drug Court Can Help You Avoid a Criminal Record If You Get Arrested on Drug Charges
The news report made it sound like the defendant fully expected the arrest and everything that came after it. Going in and out of jail, court, and probation appointments does not have to become your new normal, though. If you do not have a prior criminal record, then you are eligible for drug court. Many of Florida’s most populous counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, have drug courts and other so-called “problem courts” that aim to address underlying problems such as drug addiction, family violence, and mental health struggles. Drug court is a pretrial intervention program. This means that you enter a provisional plea of no contest and then begin a program of addiction treatment and probation-like monitoring. If you successfully complete the program, which lasts about a year, then the court will drop the charges.
Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys
A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing charges for drug possession, and serving a probation sentence and then not getting convicted would be better than ostensibly getting away with a light punishment but getting a criminal conviction on your record. Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.
Source:
msn.com/en-us/news/other/wanted-florida-woman-arrested-in-palm-coast-after-15-prior-bookings/ar-AA2e9a3z?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=6acf64e47e03447eb68cb80e504a5353&ei=19
