What’s more terrifying than learning that your child is under criminal investigation? The last thing any parent wants to learn is that their child may face legal consequences for alleged misconduct. Unfortunately, police officers and related legal professionals can become overzealous when charging children with crimes like possession of prescription drugs.
These parties often believe that early and aggressive action may prevent children from committing crimes later in their lives. You don’t have to stand for this kind of unwarranted action, though. You can collaborate with the attorneys through Mary E. Conn & Associates to protect your child’s future in and out of court.
Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney ASAP
If you get a call from your child telling you that they’ve been charged with prescription drug possession, it’s difficult not to panic. As a parent, you are your child’s primary advocate. The more effectively you use the time following your child’s arrest, the more likely it is you can protect their future.
It’s in your best interest to connect with someone who knows how to navigate the criminal justice system with a minor’s needs in mind. A drug possession defense attorney can meet with you and your child to discuss the charges your child is dealing with and the defenses available to you both.
Before you contact an attorney, though, remind your child of their rights. Your child does not have to give an officer any information about their case until their attorney is on the scene. So long as your child cooperates with officers, they can protect themselves from additional charges while also enacting their right to remain silent.
Do Not Talk to Police Officers Without an Attorney
Officers may not coerce or intimidate your child into giving them information about their charges. Officers who use illicit methods to get information out of your child may invalidate the “evidence” that those tactics bring forward.
When you meet with your child, ask your child to tell an attending attorney about any instances of police misconduct they endured. An attorney may more effectively argue for the dismissal of your child’s prescription drug possession charges if officers violated your child’s rights.
Prescription Drug Possession Charges and Warrants
To prove prescription drug possession, officers must first search the property that your child controls as well as their person. This need can often cause officers to forget that they need warrants to engage with property that isn’t theirs. If officers make prescription drug possession charges against your child without using a warrant to search your child’s property, that oversight may invalidate their case.
Assess Your Child’s Charges
“Prescription drug possession,” as a charge, requires officers to prove that your child had medication that they did not have a prescription for in their possession. “Possession” here can mean “in their car,” “on their person,” or in property that your child controls.
When assessing the charges brought against your child, it’s in your best interest to determine what drugs police believe your child possesses and what your child was allegedly doing with those substances. The kind of medication your child allegedly possesses may impact the severity of the consequences they go on to face in juvenile court.
The prescription drug possession charges your child may specifically face can include the knowing possession of prescription drugs and the constructive possession of prescription drugs:
- “Known” possession describes instances wherein a child purposefully obtains prescription medication that they shouldn’t have access to.
- “Constructive” possession describes instances wherein a child controlled an area wherein officers found out-of-place prescription drugs, including lockers and cars.
Our attorneys can help clarify a child’s prescription drug possession charges after managing conversations with attending officers and related parties.
Assess the Possible Consequences of Your Child’s Drug Charges
The penalties your child faces if they fail to challenge the prescription drug charges brought against them may include the following:
- Fines
- Restitution
- Drug counseling
- Community service
- License suspension
- Detention
- Probation
- House arrest
Note that these consequences aren’t as severe as they may be for the possession or sale of substances like cocaine or heroin. That’s because your child will most likely face trial in juvenile court. Your child may only face charges as an adult if their alleged possession of prescription drugs accompanies accusations of more severe crimes, including manslaughter or grand theft auto.
Begin Developing a Defense
Once you determine what charges your child is facing, it’s time to start building a defense against the prosecution. You and your child can work with an experienced attorney to lay out the facts of the case to determine which defenses, from lack of knowledge and coercion to overzealous police conduct, may protect your child’s future.
You can count on the team of attorneys with Mary E. Conn & Associates to pull specific details from your child’s circumstances to create a strong defense on their behalf.
Mary E. Conn & Associates Fights Back Against Wrongful Prescription Drug Possession Charges
Every parent wants to protect their child from unwarranted consequences. Should you find your child facing accusations of prescription drug possession, use, or related criminal activity, don’t panic. You can connect with an experienced criminal defense attorney through Mary E. Conn & Associates.
Our team of attorneys can investigate the charges brought against your child and fight to have those charges reduced or dropped. You can count on the team’s decades of experience in Texas’s criminal courts to protect your child’s future. Contact us online or call (713) 357-4190 to book a case evaluation with the team.