To be convicted under Florida Statute 893.13 (Possession of a Controlled Substance), the State must establish beyond a reasonable doubt which you owned and had understanding of the bud. To have ways to have personal charge of or exercise the right of possession, direction, or control over the thing possessed. Possession may be actual or constructive. Actual possession is an easy notion - on mind, in a container on your hands, in your person, or in ready reach and on your control. If a individual has exclusive possession of a controlled substance, knowledge is inferred. Problems of constructive ownership are more complex, however.

To establish constructive possession of marijuana, the State must demonstrate that you'd (1) dominion and control over the marijuana, (2) understanding that the bud was inside your existence, and (3) knowledge of the illicit nature of this bud. The most frequent difficulty in contention is if you'd dominion and control over the marijuana. In case the automobile where the bud is located is at joint (no pun intended), instead of your exclusive ownership (i.e. you are the passenger in a car ), understanding of the existence of the controlled substance from the automobile along with your ability to keep control over the controlled substance won't be inferred.

In laymen's terms, if you're foolish enough to be caught riding in a car where a bag of marijuana was put in plain view in the middle console, then the State would still need to verify that you had"control" within the bud, rather than just"understanding" of this bud. Though not specifically defined, management is the capability to shoot, use, have, (or smoke) the bud without getting permission from somebody else. Mere proximity to the bud isn't sufficient to establish control once the bud isn't in your control. Possession may be combined (at least two individuals can exercise control of this cannabis) but only if the two people have control over the bud.

To establish dominion and control, law enforcement might need to see you possessing, concealing, or inhaling the bud or whenever you create any incriminating statements announcing possession of the bud. Notwithstanding the above reasons, law enforcement can't impute the possession of the bud to you because you're in a car which includes marijuana. Thus, never make any incriminating statements to the authorities with respect to possession of the bud. Regardless of what the authorities claim you (i.e. we will not detain you in the event that you acknowledge ownership), don't disclose possession of the bud. Additionally, try to stay calm - do not earn any furtive or rapid movements that could lead the authorities that you're nervous or seeking to hide the bud. In addition, do not smoke the marijuana from the car. It's oftentimes tough to deny possession when you and the automobile reek of marijuana.

In an other hand, in case that you still decide to ride in a car which includes bud, be certain that the bud is concealed (out of plain opinion ), rather from the back or sealed compartment. At minimum, don't leave the bud in plain view in the middle console or ashtray. Furthermore, don't maintain any paraphernalia (pipe, rolling papers, etc.) in your own person.

In the end, even though the police should not arrest you for possession of a controlled substance if they can't show actual or constructive ownership, it does not signify that the authorities won't detain you . The authorities routinely detain car loads of faculty students where bud is situated inside a car, even if they can't pinpoint who exhibited dominion and management. At that stage, it's vital to get an encounter criminal defense lawyer to examine the particular facts of your situation and document the right Motions. Possession of 1 gram of marijuana is punishable by up to a year in prison or 12 months probation and a potential two year driver's license suspension. Don't plea your situation without talking to an experienced criminal defense lawyer.

The data within this informative article was designed by Lyons, Snyder & Collin, P.A. for informational purposes only and shouldn't be regarded as legal advice. The transmission and reception of advice from this article doesn't form or constitute a attorney-client connection with Lyons, Snyder & Collin. Individuals receiving the advice from this guide shouldn't act upon the information given without needing livelihood legal counsel.