drug case dismissalWhat better way to start off the week than with a victory?  Monday I was able to get a client charged with a Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) possession completely dismissed by the court.  As with my other cases, I wanted to take the time to share this with you because your success is my success.

The client (for ethical reasons I may not name) happens to be an old school rap artist who still performs.  As it happens, he was driving through New Jersey to a concert when the police pulled him over for a traffic infraction.  During the stop, they smelled CDS and searched his vehicle.  The police arrested him for possession.  At the time he was polite and cooperative, explaining that he was in rush for a show.  They processed him quickly out of courtesy and released him ROR (release own recognizance, meaning no bail money was necessary).

I immediately demanded to see discovery and prepared an Order with lists of demands—including the labs, chain of custody, etc.  The court promptly signed off for it and when the State failed to provide everything I demanded the Court granted my request to dismiss all the charges after I raised hell about my client’s rights being abused.  You see, it is my belief that the State should be held to the highest standards if they wish to search, seize, and arrest citizens.  I went  on and on about this and finally after I finished saying everything that I had to say, I pulled out the Order to show the Judge (who signed it only two months prior) and the case got dismissed—notwithstanding the prosecutor’s objection and pleas with the court to grant the State more time.

And this is the difference in hiring a seasoned defense attorney: I knew the State might get jammed up if I press an issue like this.  I also knew how to create the record I needed to in order to show the court a paper trail—in writing—from the arrest date to date I request discovery, the date I had the court sign the order, to the demand of dismissal court date.  This was necessary in order to make a successful argument to the court as to why the case must get dismissed.

So in other words, I was able to get this case tossed on procedural grounds, and this is just as effective a tool as getting a case dismissed on substantive legal grounds.  All that is available as effective tools to defense counsel, assuming one knows how to apply such tools in practice, which is exactly what I did in this case.  And to top it off: all this was accomplished in just under four months!  When results count, you want the best.

If you need an attorney who will work diligently on your case no matter the issue, give me, Leon Matchin, a call today at (732) 662-7658.  Whether it takes four months or two years, I will see things through to the end and be with you every step of the way.  With my proven history of success, why trust your freedom or/and reputation to anyone else?  The results speak for themselves.