Of the 38 courts in Los Angeles County, downtown LA has the most drug case sales by far. There are so many sales of drug cases that they've got a significant narcotics unit that only handles major drug cases in downtown Los Angeles.
The prosecutors in that unit are not housed in the downtown court, but their office building is within a mile of the courthouse.
I've handled many major narcotics cases in the downtown LA area, such as run-of-the-mill possession for sales cases, sales cases, and straight possession cases. Thousands of drug cases are prosecuted in the downtown Los Angeles court every year, and it is the central hub court.
So, if you have a case there and need to defend it, and I mean either defendant by way of a jury trial or try to have me get a dismissal for you or negotiate a good resolution, you've come to the right place.
Review of Discovery and Develop a Defense Strategy
In these drug sales cases, you are to come into the office. We'll go over everything step by step, and then I will appear in court.
We will pick up all of the discovery and paperwork that the prosecutors have. Then, the case will be continued for three to four weeks to give you and me both an opportunity to review the evidence.
Then, we can do any necessary investigation and decide how we will proceed moving forward.
In a drug sales case, the prosecutors are going to look at the amount of drugs, whether or not there was any weapon used, and what happened in the sales case in determining what they think the punishment should be.
Usually, when it comes to drug sales cases, as far as if it's a negotiation case where the prosecutors do have good evidence to show that you were involved in the sales of drugs, it's going to be a negotiation between the prosecutor and your criminal defense attorney.
They're going to take into account your:
- prior criminal record,
- how many drugs have you had,
- what the drug weight was, and
- how much money you had in your possession,
- whether or not you had a gun.
A host of other factors also determine precisely what your punishment will be.
How Can I Fight HS 11351 Drug Sales Case?
One viable defense that I've seen in these sales cases is to be able to argue either that you were not the person that was involved in the sales or that whatever drugs you may have been caught with were possessed for your personal use.
The type of factors they're going to look at for a straight possession case would be if you have any paraphernalia associated with drug use, and they're going to look at the amount of drugs that you had.
The smaller the amount, the better argument that you were possessing it for your personal use.
The factors that will weigh against you as far as drug sales versus possession for your personal use would be if you had a significant amount of drugs. If you had a:
- scale to weigh the drugs,
- if you had cash,
- if you had baggies,
- If you have paid and owed, which is documentation of sales transactions on paper or phone.
That's another big thing they do in these sales cases is trying to get into the person's phone to be able to corroborate and prove that the person is involved with the sales of drugs.
So, your best strategy if you're arrested for drug sales is to hire somebody like me. Pick up the phone, call Ron Hedding, and set up a face-to-face meeting. We'll get a good strategy together based on all the factors related to you and your circumstances.
That's what's so important. Instead of just listening to what various people say on the internet or over the phone, you've got to meet with an attorney like me.
One who's been doing it for 26 years, worked for the District Attorney's office, worked for a Superior Court judge, and has been a criminal defense attorney since the early 1990s.
That's experience. That's a complete package of an attorney who will be able to help you and give you the best advice moving forward. So, pick up the phone.
If you're charged with a drug sales case in the downtown Los Angeles court, Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, and have to appear in Department 30, I am ready and committed to help you navigate the legal process.
