Victoria, TX asked in Criminal Law, Cannabis & Marijuana Law, Constitutional Law and Federal Crimes for Texas

Q: Is there a way to fight this?

The police arrested me for a burglary of an inhabitants charge while removing jointly owned property from a motel room. When they got me to the facility they found a tiny bit of pot on me that I had found in the room. Arresting me for burglary was erroneous. But can they drop the burglary charges and only hold me accountable for the pot? Isn't the pot something to be dismissed on the " evidence" rule?

2 Lawyer Answers

A: There are a bunch of rules regarding the admissibility of evidence. You should NOT post any more details about your case online but you SHOULD read about the "exclusionary rule" and the doctrine of "the fruit of the poisonous tree." Be sure to also read about the exceptions, like attenuation and good faith. Once you are firm on those points, have a private conversation with your criminal defense attorney about whether the arrest was an unreasonable seizure in violation of your rights.

A: Hello,

In some instances, there may be arguments to be made that roughly follow your line of logic. However, the actual law is quite a bit more complex than "if Charge A is bad, then Charge B is also bad".

You should contact a competent attorney as soon as possible to discuss your situation and any possible legal defenses you may have.

Sincerely,

Jim

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