Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Jeff Hampton Provides Aggressive Defense for You or Your Loved One Facing Stiff Penalties for Drug Crimes in Parker County
Penalties for drug offenses in Texas, especially in Parker County, are severe. People charged with drug crimes in Parker County face lengthy prison sentences, hefty fines, and potential collateral consequences like deportation. If law enforcement officers charged you or a loved one in Parker County with a drug offense, you need a Parker County criminal defense attorney who is aggressive, diligent, and experienced and aims to provide you with a vigorous defense.
Parker County Drug Crime Defense
Although each case is different, there are two primary strategies that Parker County defense attorneys can utilize. The first is defending the case on constitutional grounds. The second is defending the case at trial. These defenses are not mutually exclusive. However, if the first strategy proves to be successful, then the second is unnecessary.
The U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution each guarantee that every person shall be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. In other words, the judge will have no choice but to suppress or prevent the prosecution from using evidence that the police illegally obtained. That means if a police officer stopped your car and searched your vehicle unlawfully, then any evidence of drug crime the officer finds will be thrown out of court by the judge. The same standard applies when a law enforcement officer stops a person walking down the street: any illegal detention and seizure that yields evidence of a drug crime must be suppressed.
Searches pursuant to a warrant provide different challenges but can yield similar results. Police act reasonably when they obtain a search warrant from the court to search a person or property. However, a search warrant may issue only upon a showing of probable cause that a crime is being committed in the place the police intend to search. Drug officers use confidential informants to obtain the probable cause necessary to conduct a search. The reputation for the informant’s truthfulness and history with the police department will determine if the court properly issued the warrant. If not, the evidence must be suppressed.
If a motion to suppress the evidence fails, you can elect to have a trial. The government bears the burden of proving Parker County drug charges against you beyond a reasonable doubt. No person is guilty merely because the police arrested them for a drug crime. The prosecutor must prove possession of the drugs beyond a reasonable doubt. Possession can be actual or constructive. Actual possession is when the officer finds drugs in a person’s pocket, for example. Constructive possession is more difficult to prove. Constructive possession is like having your car keys in one room while you are in another place of your house.
Jeff Hampton, a thorough and experienced Parker County drug crime defense attorney, can call upon all of his experience defending drug cases to use every theory of defense to help you avoid criminal liability or design a sanction that will help you get over your drug habit rather than ruin your life.
Parker County Drug Crime Charges
The penalties for drug crimes in Texas vary depending on the relative danger of the drug. Texas law divides narcotics penalties into categories. They are:
- Group 1: heroin and its derivatives, cocaine, and methamphetamine;
- Group 1A: LSD;
- Group 2: Hallucinogenic drugs other than LSD;
- Group 3: Barbiturates, and
- Group 4: Other drugs, except marihuana which has its category.
The penalties for drug crimes in Parker County are severe. They depend on the category of drug, the weight of the drug, and the criminal history of the person charged as well as penalty enhancements like whether the illegal drug dealing activity took place near a school or park.
Contact Weatherford Criminal Defense Attorney Jeff Hampton Today
Every person charged with a crime in Parker County has a right guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution to competent legal counsel when facing a criminal charge. You need to have more than just competent counsel after your arrest on drug charges. You need to have a seasoned and experienced criminal defense attorney like Jeff Hampton to devise a defense for you. Parker County criminal defense attorney Jeff Hampton will scrutinize the facts of your case and work with you closely to come up with a defense strategy that is in your best interests.
Call Parker County drug crime defense attorney Jeff Hampton today at 817-877-5201 today for your free, confidential consultation. Attorney Hampton is a former state prosecutor who is adept at creating a successful defense given his knowledge of the law and extensive experience.
