A Drug Crime Defense Lawyer Can Help in 3 Areas of Your Case

If you have been accused of possessing or intending to sell drugs, you will need an attorney. Such crimes often come with long jail sentences, high fines, and a criminal record that does not look good to employers. Fortunately, though, a good drug crime defense lawyer could keep you from dealing with these issues, which is why hiring one is crucial. 

One of the biggest consequences of crimes involving drugs is time in jail or prison. If you were caught possessing a small amount of an illegal substance, and it is your first offense, you will probably not be incarcerated, especially if you have an attorney. Repeat offenses, large amount of drugs, and drug dealing are all more serious, though, and usually result in anywhere from months to years in prison. Clearly, this type of sentence is not desirable since it involves leaving family, a job, and friends while serving the time. If you want to avoid this consequence, a drug crime defense lawyer is your best bet since they can usually get the judge to reduce your sentence or even avoid is altogether. 

Hefty fines are to be expected when you break any law, but especially when it involves drugs. Even some of the most minor cases require that you pay hundreds of dollars to the court, while more serious convictions carry fines of thousands of dollars. Lawyers are allowed some leeway when it comes to getting the fines reduced, but you should still expect to pay at least some fees to the court since some are not flexible. As long as you have an experienced attorney, though, you should be able to make up at least some of their hiring fee just by the reductions in fines that you will get. Therefore, it is worth the money to hire legal help. 

Many crimes involving drugs are felonies. For example, some states classify possession of a certain amount of an illegal substance as a felony, even if it is a small amount that would classify as a misdemeanor somewhere else. Of course, intent to distribute is typically always a felony. Either way, you can expect to get a criminal record once you are convicted, and having crimes involving illegal substances on your record can look bad to employers. In fact, some refuse to hire anyone with a felony, which means that you will want to get the charges reduced if possible. A drug crime defense lawyer can help with this since they can look at all possible angles of your case, meaning that if the prosecution has any holes in their accusation, your legal representative will find and expose them. 

Some people are hesitant to get an attorney due to the cost involved, but you could end up better off financially when you get one since your fees may be greatly reduced. Of course, keeping crimes off your record and staying out of jail can also be desirable outcomes that you are likely to get with legal help. If you want the best chances of reducing or entirely eliminating your punishment, find an attorney.