Q: My daughter was pulled over the police searched her car and found a tiny bag that contained crack .

A: She is likely facing an indictable crime (aka felony), 3rd degree punishable by 3-5 years incarceration. Loss of drivers license. It is not unheard of for a first time offender to be given probation. There may be issues on the search and miranda. Unable to know for sure without access to the reports and evidence. It would be extremely advisable to retain private criminal defense counsel.

A: You need to hire the best lawyer you can find if you want her to have the best chance of getting this case thrown out. Even if an attorney could not get the case thrown out it is possible that the case can at least be downgraded. Unfortunately in New Jersey possession of crack cocaine is considered a serious offense with the general sentence being between 3 to 5 years in jail. When you are the driver of a car you're considered to be in possession of everything that is within that car. However many defenses exist to drug charges and a good lawyer will look at every defense and turn over every leaf to make sure she has the best chance of winning. This includes having the state test the substance to make sure that it is crack as many police departments fail to do this and just make an assumption based on the look of the item. Most of us criminal lawyers offer free in office consultation that is always the best place to start

A: It won't be thrown out for not reading her rights. It may be thrown out with help of an attorney who would file a motion to suppress the search and seizure on her behalf. If the car is hers and she's only one in it your defense of no knowledge therefore no possession will likely fail. However, if the officer didn't have probable cause to search to begin with then you have a shot.