Using crime lab analysis to defend against drug charges

On Behalf of | Apr 12, 2019 | Firm News |

These days, fighting drug possession charges is more important than ever, as different parts of the country use competing, often incompatible, approaches to drug law enforcement. Here in Texas, the punishments for drug possession are severe compared to other parts of the country. Simply receiving charges within these state lines can mean years behind bars.

If you face drug possession charges, you cannot afford to wait another day to begin building your defense. Police and prosecutors are already working on their case against you, and if you do not use all the defensive tools that you have available, your future may take a bad turn that you may never overcome.

One effective tool that many defendants use to challenge drug possession charges is demanding that the evidence undergo testing in a third-party lab. With a strong legal strategy, using lab testing can seriously weaken drug charges or undo them altogether.

Producing the evidence

America incarcerates an unbelievable number of its citizens and residents for non-violent offenses like drug possession, and the legal system does not have the capacity to thoroughly prosecute each and every defendant. In fact, police and prosecutors often do not keep track of all of the evidence in a given case.

By demanding that the evidence undergo laboratory testing, you force the prosecution to produce the drugs you allegedly possessed. If they cannot produce the evidence, you have much more clout when challenging the charges. While this does not always occur, it is a real possibility.

Verifying the composition of the evidence

Lab testing identifies the chemical composition of the substance you allegedly possessed, which may or may not match the charges against you. It is possible that the officer who arrested you misidentified a substance as an illegal drug when it is not, and your charges are erroneous.

It is also possible to challenge the validity of the results, or contest the results based on reliability. These courses of action are not always successful, but they do provide ways to fight back against charges that can easily result in unfairly lengthy jail time.

As you build your defense, you must consider every option. Of course, you only have a limited amount of time to do this, so you must act quickly to keep yourself and your rights protected. Your charges are not going to go away on their own, but you may beat them with a strong, smart defense using the strength of the law to your advantage.

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