People's fascination with the downward spiral of serious drug addicts made A&E's "Intervention" an award-winning hit, but how do they end up safe from the law? Here are a few reasons why they walk free without having to hire a drug crime defense lawyer.
The black screen at the beginning of each episode of A&E's "Intervention" informs us that the addict has agreed to be in a documentary about addiction. They have no idea they are about to face an intervention.
A logical,
sober individual might wonder why anyone would allow their illegal drug activity to be documented in the first place. Any drug crime defense lawyer worth his weight would strongly advise drug users to not let themselves be filmed using illegal substances.
But drug addicts do a lot of things we don't understand. It has been said that the only compensation A&E offers the participants is the full-paid trip to a rehab facility for the addict — a gift worth thousands of dollars and priceless benefits. This specific can obviously not be divulged to the subject beforehand and wouldn't sound very appealing if it were. But to someone who is constantly searching for money and means to support their habit, any vague promise of compensation likely sounds appealing.
But how do these people have their homes, lives and explicit activities air nationally without having the cops beating down their door the next morning? Wouldn't such documentation be considered "probable cause," warranting a search and seizure?
The law is a bit more complex than that. There are a multitude of arguments a drug crime defense lawyer could use to defend such footage.
For instance, just because someone is seen snorting white powder or smoking something out of a pipe on film does not prove that the substances being consumed are, in fact, illegal drugs. For all we at home know, the documented abuse could be 100 percent fake reenactments filmed for entertainment.
This is a reason why police would rather put time and energy into investigating cases with which they have direct contact or specific information. It would be nonsensical for the LAPD to scan the streets of Los Angeles for a homeless guy who goes by the first name "Troy" just so they can search him for illegal substances because someone had seen him on "Intervention" the night before.
Also, they may be presently clean. The majority of the users agree to a stint in a rehabilitation clinic at the end of each episode. Some leave rehab and relapse, but many of them are living sober by the time the episode airs. Even though their past transgressions have been revealed, many of the subjects are now drug free.
Sadly, several of the people featured do end up in prison before or after their chance at rehab. However, it is getting caught in the act by their local law enforcement that sends them to the slammer, not their television appearance. In these cases, it would be wise to invest in a drug crime defense lawyer who could argue for a second chance at rehabilitation.
The purpose of the show, besides providing addictive entertainment, is to help people, not hurt them. If the footage proved to be incriminating, the series would probably discontinue production.
