Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In part 3 of this article, we looked at how merely staying out of Jail in a "Delivery" case was important, but by no means the only consideration in the proper handling of such a charge.

In this 4th and final installment, we'll conclude by briefly looking at the least common of the "Delivery" charges, those involving the "Manufacture" of a Controlled Substance. Then, we'll talk a bit about what a person should look for as they seek good Legal representation for one of these charges, and what they should keep in mind as they consider which Attorney to hire.

Technically speaking, a "Delivery" charge is called "Delivery/Manufacture" of a Controlled Substance. As we observed earlier, most actual "Delivery" charges involve hand-to-hand "buys" by an undercover Police Officer.

When "Manufacture" is involved in a "Delivery/Manufacture" charge, it almost always involves Marijuana plants. I have seen cases where the Police were at a residence for an unrelated reason, and saw a Pot plant growing in the house. Now I'm not some horticulturist, but even I know that the UV rays from sunlight, or at least from growing lights, are needed to create the active ingredient in Marijuana, THC.

Still, that single plant, even if it is "impotent" cannot be grown (absent certain, and still unclear "Medical Marijuana" situations) without violating the law. Even if a person is growing an impotent Weed plant indoors with no intention of ever "harvesting" it (because it is impotent anyway), the mere act of possessing that plant is enough to give rise to the "Manufacture" part of the "Delivery/Manufacture" Law. In other words, that plant, which might only weigh a few ounces, will create a ton of problems.

Of course, I have also seen cases where there has been cultivated growing, those cases ranging from a few plants for personal use to what can be described as a bumper-crop in a veritable indoor farm.

Once in a while, a person is found to be making something like Meth, or Ecstasy, but in truth, I see very few of those cases.

The point is that whether it's 1 impotent plant or 1000 high-grade, cultivated plants, merely possessing it or them can and will give rise to a "Delivery/Manufacture" charge.

Continue reading "Controlled Substance Delivery Charges in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne County - Part 4" »

In part 2 of this article, we began examine "Delivery" of a Controlled Substance charges. We concluded our examination by noting that, in most cases, and with some good Legal work, a person facing such a charge can be kept out of Jail (or Prison).

Beyond just staying out of Jail (or Prison), however, there are a host of other considerations that might escape the mind of a nervous person.

I have noted in other aricles on this Blog that when someone is really facing a Jail Sentence, they will often swear to do anything and everything they have to in order to avoid getting locked up. I have little doubt that at the time, as they look down the barrel of a real possibility of getting locked up, they mean it. However, in my 20 years of doing this, I also realize that once the Sentence has been passed down, and there is no Jail, it takes a matter or hours, and not even days or weeks, for the person to start wondering if they could have done any better.

In other words, even though "Probation from Hell" is a better outcome than Jail, that "Probation from Hell" gets real old, real quick.

Beyond, then, simply keeping a Client out of Jail, it becomes an equally important part of my focus to help the Client avoid that "Probation from Hell," meaning, in essence, Probation with too many conditions.

Exactly how that's done would take a series of articles in itself. In the end, it means I spend the necessary hours with my Client preparing them for their Probationary interview, part of what's known as the PSI, or Pre-Sentence Investigation.

By law, in any Felony case, and in any number of Misdemeanor cases, the Law requires that, before the Judge Sentences someone, they undergo a "Pre-Sentence Investigation," conducted by the Probation Department. The result of this process, which always includes an interview by a Probation Officer, and often involves the administration of a Substance Abuse Evaluation (a written test that ends up getting a numerical score, the higher of which is worse than a lower score), is a printed Recommendation to the Judge advising him or her what the Sentence should be, from Jail or Prison to Probation, Tether, Rehab, Classes, Testing, or whatever is felt necessary to help the person not become a repeat offender.

With proper preparation, the Client can avoid lots of Conditions. In other words, Rehab might be avoided in favor of a Drug Education Class. Tether might be avoided in favor of more frequent urine testing. The point is to not have to do anything that can be otherwise avoided. It's a long, involved process, but the few hours up front needed to do it right will pay huge dividends later, when Rehab, Classes, or whatever is NOT ordered, and lots more hours (and money) are saved.

Continue reading "Controlled Substance Delivery Charges in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne County - Part 3" »

In part 1 of this article, we observed that there are 2 kinds of Delivery charges: Those involving an actual "Delivery" (or "Manufacture") of a Controlled Substance, and those which allege "Possession with Intent to Deliver."

As we noted, someone facing an actual "Delivery" charge, especially one stemming from a hand-to-hand sale, or sales, is in particularly hot water. Let's talk about those actual Delivery charges.

Delivery and/or Possession of different Drugs carry different penalties. Delivery of Cocaine and Delivery of Ecstasy carry a much more severe penalty than Delivery of Marijuana. In addition, the amount, or quantity, of Drugs Delivered, Possessed, or Possessed with Intent to Deliver affects the severity of the potential penalty.

The majority of Delivery cases that I handle are in Macomb County, where my Office is located. Most of them involve the Delivery of a smaller (as opposed to a larger) quantity of Drugs. In Cocaine cases, this means under 50 grams. In Marijuana cases, it often involves a few pounds or less. In Ecstasy cases, it often involves 100 or fewer "hits."

Most often, by the time I am contacted, the person has already been approached about working with the Police. They'll have questions for me about whether or not they should do it. As a general rule, I do NOT advise "working" with the Police in most cases.

If a person, because of a combination of factors, such as their prior Record and/or the amount of Drugs involved in the new case, seems likely to be sent off to Prison, then we'll consider our options to avoid that.

In the majority of situations, no matter how dire it might seem at first glance, the case can be worked out for no Jail, and no Prison time That essentially means there's really no reason to march into harm's way by snitching.

Back in the mid-90's, when the Law was different, the Delivery of ANY amount of Cocaine required a MINIMUM of 1 year in Prison. And Prison meant Prison: the Big House, not some local County Jail.

In those cases where the evidence was rock-solid, and there was no way out, I'd structure a deal with the Prosecutor and the Detective in Charge whereby the Client would do a little "work" (as little as possible) in order to get the Delivery charge dropped to a simple Possession charge, thereby avoiding a trip to Jackson and all the fun that comes with a Prison term.

Continue reading "Controlled Substance Delivery Charges in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne County - Part 2" »

This subject will be broken into a series of articles. We'll examine both kinds of "Delivery" charges: Delivery or Manufacture of a Controlled Substance as well as Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance. In my Criminal practice, I see these charges made in cases involving all kinds of substances, so we'll also examine Delivery charges involving Narcotics and "Designer Drugs," like Ecstasy, to those involving the Delivery or Manufacture of Marijuana.

You don't have to be a Criminal Lawyer to realize that a Delivery charge is serious business. Very often, at the time of Arrest, a person is confronted by the Police and asked to "help" themselves by "working." In other words, the Police want the person to help bust other Dealers or Suppliers. Perhaps the biggest mistake anyone facing this situation makes is thinking the Police will just settle for getting names.

In my nearly 20 years of handling cases and dealing with Undercover Narcotics Officers and Detectives, I have learned, as they so often tell a person willing to give up some names, that they already know most of those names. They want buys, or introductions. In other words, "working" means working, not talking.

The Police will often try to impress on the person facing a Delivery charge how serious the matter is. Very often, they will remind the person of the maximum penalty under the law for such an offense. This, while technically true, ignores the fact that unless the person already has a really bad prior record, or there is a particularly large quantity of Drugs involved, they are unlikely to see much, if any, of that time behind bars.

And here is as good a place as any to point out that when Police, Prosecutors and Defense Lawyers talk about these kinds of cases, we often refer to them as a "Dope Case." The same term is NOT used when talking about simple Drug Possession charges

So, to set the stage, we can safely say that pretty much any charge involving Delivery is much more serious than any charge which involves simple Possession of a Controlled Substance.

With that as a backdrop, it is important to point out that there are really two "kinds" of Delivery charges. The first, and more serious, is that which involves an actual Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Most often, the person arrested has made a sale, or any number of sales, to an Undercover Narcotics Officer. These are called "hand-to-hand" buys, and really represent the "granddaddy" of all Drug charges.

Continue reading "Controlled Substance Delivery Charges in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne County - Part 1" »