Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Charged with possession in NV

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FromBostonwLove

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My jurisdiction is: USA

My jurisdiction is: NV, United States

My jurisdiction is: Nevada

Hey guys thanks for looking. Heres my story:


A friend of mine was driving from California to Maine and i told him I would accompany him on his journey. Being habitual marijuana users, we bought a half ounce (14 grams) for the trip. We made it out of CA with no problems and were about 5 or so hours into Nevada before we needed to stop. We pulled off and got gas, as we were getting back on the highway I was pulled over.

The officer asked for both of our licenses and the car's registration. As we were pulling the documentation out, he then asked "So where's the weed?" The car smelled like pot, due to the fact we had smoke a joint on the highway prior to getting gas. Knowing my rights, I asked why he had pulled us over. His reasoning was this: "I ran your plates and the state of Maine (where the car is registered and insured) came back saying that it was invalid and did not exist. That is 100% false, the plates are valid and nothing was wrong with the registration. He even admitted later on that there was nothing wrong with the registration.

So anyway, we told him the weed was in the center console/glove box. We had it split in two bags. Now this is where it gets strange in my eyes. As we were standing outside the car he motioned to the gas station (right next door) for another gentleman to come over and aid in his search. The other guy was not in uniform or driving a marked police vehicle. Both of them searched the car and found the weed where we told them it was and nothing more. The officer in uniform informed us that the other guy was a cop, but we never saw a badge from either of the two. The guy not in uniform even continued to search the car while the officer wrote me the ticket. (I couldn't make my friend fly back to Nevada.)

I want to fight the ticket because I really don't want the charge on my record, nor do I want to pay the fine. My question is this: Do I have enough legal standing in which to fight? or am I just going to waste my time? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Knowing my rights, I asked why he had pulled us over. His reasoning was this: "I ran your plates and the state of Maine (where the car is registered and insured) came back saying that it was invalid and did not exist. That is 100% false, the plates are valid and nothing was wrong with the registration. He even admitted later on that there was nothing wrong with the registration.
Of course, "knowing" your rights has nothing to do with reasonable suspicion for a stop, and he did not have to tell you why he stopped you. If he ran the plates and his dispatcher came back stating they were invalid, that could be sufficient to make the stop ... the fact they might have later been found to be valid is beside the point. The moment he made contact in an effort to verify the registration, he smelled the pot. That's all that is required.

Now, if your attorney can get him to effectively admit he just stopped you at random and without cause, you'll win the suppression hearing ... good luck with that.

The officer in uniform informed us that the other guy was a cop, but we never saw a badge from either of the two. The guy not in uniform even continued to search the car while the officer wrote me the ticket. (I couldn't make my friend fly back to Nevada.)
You're lucky they agreed to cite only you. Most officers would have popped you both. This officer was a real peach!

I want to fight the ticket because I really don't want the charge on my record, nor do I want to pay the fine. My question is this: Do I have enough legal standing in which to fight? or am I just going to waste my time? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You'll have to speak with an attorney. However, your friend (a witness) might have to come back out to help in your defense as it was HIS car that was being stopped.

Consult local counsel in the county where you have to appear.

- Carl
 
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