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Question
Two friends of mine, were pulled over in Bergen County, NJ for careless driving. They were charged with, 1 tiny empty bag/a small blunt of marijuana and 6 extesy pills/6 prescription pills under the passenger seat. The driver had prior history on his license for careless driving. The police officer made an assumption that they were "attempting to sale." The driver and passenger states that they had prescription pills with the prescribe bottle, but NO extesy pills. It is now the officer's word against both of the defendants' word. Thefore, my question is, can this case determine sentencing in prison or just rehabilitation with fines if proven guilty?....This case is taking action at the Grand Jury...
I would think that the officer would send the pills to a laboratory to have them tested to determine what they were. He has probably seen many exctasy pills before so that is most likely what he used as probable cause. The case would not be at the grand jury level if they were prescription pills. So its not exactly the officers word against "your friends" word.
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Answers by Expert:
Jack Toomey
Expertise
Please do NOT ask questions about potential jail sentences that you or your friends may receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer or a parole officer so questions about those subjects will be rejected. I am a police officer with 26 years experience. Can answer questions about crime, police procedure, investigations, criminal law, search and seizure, traffic offenses. Prefer not to answer questions on the death penalty. Please do not ask homework questions. Remember this. The law in every state is different so questions about laws that are specific to your state could be difficult to answer. I also cannot give you legal advice on what to do or not to do in court. I have worked with authors in the past and will be happy to review scenarios or plots with authors to check for believability or accuracy.
Experience
Police officer with 26 years experience. Ten years in patrol and sixteen years in the detective bureau investigating every type of crime including murder, rape, robbery, theft, fraud, missing persons, etc, etc. Also taught at the police academy in areas such as constitutional law, search and seizure, and lineups.
Education/Credentials
B.S. in Criminology from the University of Maryland.
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