Waynesville, NC asked in Criminal Law for North Carolina

Q: was driving I get pulled over the passenger had drug's on her but they charged her an I bouth with scl2 can I beat

I had nothing on me but they changed me to it was her but she try saying it was my I think

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: The short answer is yes, you can definitely beat these charges. But it's not a slam dunk and you should get competent legal representation.

"Possession" has multiple meanings in the law. There is actual possession, meaning you had something in your hand or pocket. There's constructive possession, meaning that you were aware of something and had the power and intent to control it. For example, you may *actually* possess your car keys, but you *constructively* possess your actual car.

Then there is sole possession and joint possession. It sounds like in your question, you definitely did not have sole possession of any drugs, nor did you have actual possession of any drugs. But the police and the DA may argue you had joint possession of the drugs with the passenger in that the drugs belonged to both of you. Or they may argue you once had actual possession of the drugs but gave them to her to hold. It may be that's what she has told them and that they intend to use her against you. She may testify against you to help herself, since if she has the drugs on her person she is in a tough spot to argue they aren't hers.

It's a pretty common tactic for law enforcement to find contraband in a car with multiple people and just say "we're charging everybody and let the DA sort it out later." A lot of times people in your situation will end up having their case dismissed. But if your passenger is pointing the finger at you, or if the police have other information that raises their suspicion against you (fingerprints, another informant who says they gave/sold the drugs to you and not her, etc.) you may still have a fight on your hands.

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