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Effective drug crime defense in California requires extensive experience with the state's drug laws. At the Law Offices of Jacqueline Goodman, you can work with an attorney with a reputation for success and a long history of challenging the prosecution in high-stakes cases, including drug crimes. Attorney Jacqueline Goodman can take a detailed approach to reviewing the evidence against you to protect your rights and help you avoid the serious consequences of a conviction. She knows a solid defense involves a great deal of work, like filing motions before the court and investigating sources of alleged evidence, but she never backs down from a case when things get complicated.
Jacqueline Goodman is an experienced Orange County drug crime lawyer who is not intimidated by the courtroom. She has an exceptional reputation for moving her cases towards the best outcome possible instead of accepting the first plea bargain offered by the prosecution. You can rest assured that your best interests are always the immediate and center focus when she is on the case.
Reasons to choose Attorney Jacqueline Goodman for your counsel:
The term "drug crime" is an umbrella term that can refer to a variety of criminal offenses. Drug possession is one of the most common drug crimes and occurs when an individual is found with a small amount of an illegal substance on their person. You may also be arrested for drug possession if the drug is found in your car, backpack, etc. In other words, you do not have to be in physical possession of the substance to face charges. Instead, you need to be in some form of physical control of the substance.
It is illegal to deliver drugs under both state and federal laws. The term "deliver" refers to the act of transferring drugs from one place (or person) to another. You can also be arrested for intending to deliver drugs. In order to convict you of delivery, prosecutors must only demonstrate that you intended to deliver the substance, not that you actually executed the delivery. Due to this legal loophole, it is important to have a strong legal representative like Attorney Jacqueline Goodman on your side as soon as your case begins.
Drug manufacturing is considered a more serious offense than possession, and it simply refers to the process by which drugs are produced or created. Common manufacturing charges involve growing marijuana outside of currently legal cultivation limits. Additionally, you may face manufacturing charges for possessing certain pharmaceuticals that can be altered to create a “designer” drug. If law enforcement believes that you possess certain items with the intention of manufacturing drugs, known as drug paraphernalia, you may be charged with drug manufacturing as well.
Much like PC 1000, Prop 36 is a legal tool that allows a defendant to escape incarceration on specified drug offenses, participate in treatment and rehabilitation, and, upon successful completion, obtain the dismissal of the case. Prop 36 is less advantageous to the defendant in a legal sense, but the treatment is more tailored to the needs of the defendant, and inpatient treatment is available. If you think utilizing Prop 36 could be a good resolution to your drug crimes case, let Attorney Goodman know. Likewise, she will let you know if that seems like a positive choice.
Any drug crime case can become complicated by or center on forfeiture proceedings and how the state carried them out. You may be forced to forfeit what the government perceives as ill-gotten possessions as your drug crime case develops, or right at the beginning of it. Even if there is no substantial evidence to validate the forfeiture of your property, it can still happen.
Possessions often seized in a drug crime case include:
Attorney Goodman is dedicated to protecting her clients’ rights to privacy and private possessions. If your property has been wrongfully forfeited by local or federal law enforcement, let her know right away by dialing (714) 879-5770.
If you are caught in the possession of a controlled substance, you can be charged with a crime even if you have not taken the drug. However, you will not necessarily go to jail. You might be able to avoid jail by paying fines, entering treatment for drug addiction, or going through drug rehabilitation.
Many people are surprised to learn that the answer to this question is yes. You can be charged with possession if you are caught with certain medications without a prescription. Even if you have medication such as Vicodin or codeine simply for personal use, you may still find yourself facing serious charges if they are not your own prescription.
DEJ stands for "Deferred Entry of Judgment." If you have been charged with a drug crime for the first time, this is a program that allows for your case to be dismissed as long as you complete a drug program and are not charged with any other crimes within a certain period of time following your original charges.
In 2000, California passed Proposition 36 to help drug offenders who are ineligible for the DEJ program. The purpose of Proposition 36 is to provide education and treatment for drug offenders rather than putting them in jail. If you qualify for Proposition 36, you may be able to get your case dismissed by completing a drug program and pleading guilty to the original drug charges.
Unfortunately, yes. There are certain household items that are also classified as drug paraphernalia, such as flashlights, highlighters, and pagers that are used to communicate drug trafficking efforts in some cases. You can be charged with possession of illegal paraphernalia if the prosecution can prove that the items in question were used in connection to a crime.
At The Law Offices of Jacqueline Goodman, Attorney Goodman knows how to scrutinize your case to identify areas where the police made mistakes or acted inappropriately. For example, law enforcement officers will often ignore the California rules of search and seizure when investigating the activities of suspects. In other situations, she may be able to prove that your arrest was the result of invalid "confidential police informants" or that you were set up in a way that violated California's entrapment laws.
If you are a noncitizen and are arrested for a drug crime in California, you may face deportation, exclusion, or loss of a visa or green card status, regardless of whether or not you are convicted. You need a lawyer who understands both criminal and immigration law if you are in this situation. The right attorney can fight to keep you from being deported from the United States and can keep you from losing your opportunity to gain citizenship.
Taking the case to trial is not always in the defendant's best interest, and if the prosecution does not dismiss your case, a plea agreement may be negotiated. Attorney Goodman has a record of being able to negotiate alternatives to jail such as rehabilitation and counseling for drug crime defense clients in Fullerton and throughout Orange County. For certain specified drug offenses, a defendant may be eligible to participate in a DEJ (PC 1000) program, in which criminal proceedings are suspended for a prescribed time on the condition that the defendant completes an outpatient drug treatment program. Upon completion of the program, the case is dismissed.
If you've been charged with a drug offense or with a crime relating to California's medical marijuana dispensary laws, contact Orange County drug crime defense Attorney Jacqueline Goodman right away. With her knowledge gained as a Certified Specialist in Criminal Law, she is more prepared to take your case than most criminal defense attorneys in the country can claim. After all, you deserve a fighter in your corner because sometimes bad things happen to good people, but they still deserve the right to defend themselves.
