Facing a drug charge can turn your world upside down, but there are a number of defenses that your Longview, Texas drug crime attorney can explore with you, including challenging intent.
How Intent Shapes Defenses
When prosecutors charge you with a drug crime, they have to prove more than that you had a controlled substance in your presence. They also have to show your state of mind. Texas law requires proof of a culpable mental state for almost every criminal offense. In other words, the state has to show that it was your conscious objective or desire to engage in illegal conduct or cause the result they’re charging you with.
With Drug Crimes
For simple possession of a controlled substance, the law says that a person commits an offense if he knowingly or intentionally possesses a controlled substance listed in a particular penalty group, unless it came from a valid prescription. Your mere presence near drugs is not enough. The state must show you exercised care, custody, control, or management of the substance and that you did so with knowledge or intent.
The Defense Your Drug Crime Attorney May Use
The knowledge requirement opens real opportunities in a defense, although it won’t apply in every situation. You must have been aware that you exercised control over the drugs you’re being charged over. If the evidence only shows your proximity to the drugs, and nothing more, the prosecution may not be able to make their case.
Possession with intent to deliver raises the stakes even higher for the prosecution because now they have to prove two mental states:
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You knowingly or intentionally possessed the substance
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You had the specific intent to deliver it to another person.
How Intent Is Proven
Obviously you might wonder how a jury or judge can ever actually know what’s going on inside your head. Most of these cases rely on circumstantial evidence, and the court looks at the total circumstances, including factors like:
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Where the drugs were found
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How they were packaged
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What statements you made when arrested
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What else was present at the scene
How It Falls Out in Longview, Texas Cases
In practice, attacking intent often leads to negotiations where you get your charges reduced or the prosecution is happy for you to enter a diversion program. Intent is frequently the weakest link in a drug case, so when your lawyer can offer a coherent alternative explanation for the facts, the case looks far less certain from the state’s perspective and they’re more likely to bargain. You should also understand that intent defenses usually work hand in hand with other strategies.
If you or a loved one are being charged with a drug crime, call the law office of Ryan Hill, Attorney at Law in Longview at 903-371-0095 for a free consultation. The sooner we can start on your defense, the stronger the case and the more likely it is we can be successful with challenges to intent and other defense.
