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Caught by the Fuzz - Advice

R

Ritalin_boy

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 27, 2004
Messages
55
Location
Brisbane, australia
Yeah so im in brisbane. and I'm 18, and have no criminal record or previous offences.

A couple of saturdays ago, at 3am, i'm on my way to the car to go home, im pretty chopped (three weeks since my pill, longest break in 7 or 8 months) and i decide, 50 metres from, and in view of the car, to steal a bus station poster. (for those who care - it wasnt even a good poster - in the bus stop in the side street near the camping stores )

In the middle of the valley, this is clearly the most ridiculous idea ive ever had. i clearly suffer from brain damage from my abuse if im making desicions like this.

anyway, the inevitable happens, a D car rolls up ( fruad squad from what i gathered... how whacked) and i get done with 12 in my wallet (brain damage duly noted.)

Anyway, it was 8 butterflys, 2 white smileys, the good ones, one no logo orange K pill and a white @. a rather nice collection if i do say so myself, a stash i intend to bury for needy times. i dont mind munching the local circulation crap on weekends and wanted this good shit for a festival of some description.

Anyway, now to my point. "Caught by the fuzz, Well I was still on a buzz"

And now i'm after any advice people here can offer with regards to my court date next monday - ESP brisbane young ones - im 18...

i told them that it was a stash, (didnt say that the k pill was K, didnt want 2 substances) and that i drop every weekend, almost without fail, for about 6 - 8 months, and need a good 3 or 4 to get through a night (i'm on tape saying that). heres for hoping i get away with personal use, though 12 is certainly pushing it. it IS, however, my first offence.

anyway, does Anyone have anything related to the trial, im not sure what im after but just tips or anything. i wasnt dealing and i dont want to go down as such.

--- I was curious, i was so chopped it HAD to be obvious to the arresting officers at the time, yet they asked me, and took my word for it, about my being straight and OK to answer questions on tape. Is this cause for having my statements recanted (im pretty certain it is), and is this worth doing anyway?

--- Someone suggested no sleep or food and a huge binge the prior few days, so i look like troubled addicted type. sounds loony, but likely to prove my personal use story, and probably land me in rehab... im not planning on doing this but if anyone has done this i'd like to hear about it. Rehab is bettter than a record, im hoping against hope for drug diversion.

--- What is the court process going to be like? do i have any real input, a chance to speak (im not thinking so...)??

--- I plan on having my mum there. havent told her yet but i figure it will look good?

--- Will looking sad and dressing like my mum dressed me and having my mum there make an effective impression on the judge?

i've also since then layed off the drugs, . Its really impressed upon me the realisation that i was sinking myself and made me realise how much my drug use is possibly about to cost me in terms of future prospects if i went down for dealing. i have no intentions to stop completely, but have slowed by about 90% in the last almost 3 weeks and been clean for about 1 and a half weeks leading up to the court appearance.

Dont feel sorry for me, i dont deserve it. i do deserve (and probably needed) this to happen - Theres things ive realised i wanted to do with myself that i'd put aside, and might be about to have crossed out for good. but i'd like any help you can offer to possibly stop that.

Peece.
 
Go to the doctor and get your Blood test (if after 7days of amphet consumption, and u dont smoke pot) You can go to your GP and get a personal blood test... Take the findings to the judge...

The whole sob story boooohooo, Im trying to clean up my act, I realise how stupid this was, bal bla bla.... Ohhh and take ur mum for sure!

SpecTBK=D
 
You might want to post this in Legal Q&A as well. The only recommendation which most people will give you is hire a VERY DECENT lawyer. They should be able to get you off without a record, maybe do some community work/rehab, however, this isn't guarenteed. 12 is quite a few pills no matter HOW you look at it. The 'trafficking' quantity of MDMA is like 50mg or something rediculously low like that, you'll have to go to the customs website to double check that though. I am positive it's a miniscule amount though.
 
I am not a lawyer so take this with a grain of salt. The amount of pills that is classified as possession compared to supplying is defined by the law of the state you live in, and therefore I would drop the addict/I much lots of pills routine. It is too late now but you have the right to remain silent, and you shouldn't answer any questions without a lawyer present as the initial recordings will be used as evidence against you in court. I suspect the police knew you were high but wanted to gather initial evidence.

You will need a lawyer, and tell your parents because you will probably need them to help you front the cash for this saga. A lawyer will be able to give you sound advice and will assist in getting the best result possible. Anyone who has any contact with drugs should know their rights, for those in Victoria (possibly other states) you can read them here.
 
trafficking starts supposedly at 2 grams for both MDA and MDMA, according to queensland legislation last time i checked, recently. BUT since they weigh the PILLS themselves, 12 would have come out to around (roughly) 3 grams.

the legislation is at
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/D/DrugsMisuseR87.pdf

its in schedule 3.

this is fairly arbitrary though, ive seen mates caught with a lot of weed and several bongs and still get drug diversion.

cheers
 
Do get a lawyer, they will help you, the money you spend will be money saved in court. Having a lawyer not only helps you through the court process it also shows the judge that you appreciate the gravity of your crime (VERY IMPORTANT!).

Do take your Mum, wear a suit or at the very least black pants, a shirt and tie, all very clean cut of course.

Get character references from anyone you know who is "of standing in the community" doctors, priests, executives, carers, nurses etc, stating how well they know you, how out of character this is, how sorry you are and that it won't happen again.

Good luck please let us know how you go.
 
A good lawyer is most important, the advice so far has been good, i did the blood test, family and suit thing for my possession case but i would also add you really want to prove your doing something with your life esp. if they are trying to get you for dealing. If you're employed a payslip to prove this will really help also if you're at school/uni/tafe you'll probably want to bring in your latest report/results just to prove you're not a loser who sits around using and selling drugs all day.
 
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^^ What they say! - Lawyer and references.

This is your life man - a lawyer is essential. It will cost about $500 but in all honesty getting off on a lower or no sentence is worth every cent. Think of all the countries that you might not be able to travel to if you have a criminal record or even organisations.

Get the matter pushed back a week or 2 if you require more time to get the references. (the Lawyer will do this for you or tell you what to do)

A lawyer will tell you to get a stack of references and it's even an excellent idea write a letter of your own to the magistrate stating how it's been a bad period in your life and how it is out of character from your normal self. This event has made you realise the severity of your actions and you will never do this again as you have realised how much this could affect your future.

Show Contrition - show them you realise it was a stupid thing and that it is illegal and this has been a kick in the arse for you. Get at least 6 references from people with standing in the community and family etc.

NEVER EVER BE CAUGHT IN POSESSION AGAIN. If you have to take gear leave it in the car or somewhere else. Don't carry stuff on you. If you get off on this charge you have used your one and only chance.

Getting around the fact you had 12 in your wallet is the main factor here. I think for that reason alone you need a lawyers help to present the best case possible.

Good luck with it. I can dig up a reference guide a friend sent me if you want it. Just PM me if you do.

Edit - Also, what does the charge sheet show? What do the police statements show? Have you been charges for possession only or suppy as well?
 
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A similar thing happened to a friend if mine, with almost an identical sized bust as you.

Get a lawyer, plead guilty to all counts (you've got no choice), apologise profusely if given the chance calling it youthful naivety and a mistake you'll never make again and show emotion while at court. Blame heavy use on personal problems (a relationship falling out or something) that spiralled out of control and you're in some senses glad you were caught because this has finally allowed you to wake up and see the wrong you were doing to others and yourself.

If the judge has any compassion you'll get off with some community service, possibly counseling and a fine, and because of your age and the fact that it's your first offence there's a chance that if you have a decent lawyer and a judge that is not on a vendetta against users that you'll escape without having a conviction recorded too, as the rest of your life is in front of you at 18.

Good luck dude, let us all know how it goes.

Wake up calls like this suck, but it lets you put things back into perspective :)
 
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PS: Did you have lots of money in your wallet? And were all the pills in the one satty?

If they were broken up into single satties or you had lots of cash on you then that could change the case from possession to dealing.

However, if you didn't have lots of cash on you or the pills were in one bag then you can definitely push that it was for personal use.
 
QUOTE]Edit - Also, what does the charge sheet show? What do the police statements show? Have you been charges for possession only or suppy as well?[/QUOTE]

i dont have a "charge sheet"... i have a notice to appear and a feild property receipt. i was not told that i was "under arrest" in those words at ANY time, however i was read my rights. im not sure what that means though.

i had 10 in one bag and 2 in another, and 300 dollars on me for shoes that i decided i didnt need... but i know that means jack shit; it looks bad.

Reading other advice i see i really fucked myself over by saying stuff and not calling someone right there and then... but i was far too chopped to realise such a thing.

The most obvious one is - asking their reason for searching me. though i was tampering with a bus station, is this grounds for search? i wouldnt have thought so...

anyway, thanks so far again.
 
im pretty sure you will get court diversion. You have no priors and that is not that many pills. Claim they were all for pesonel use and stick buy it.

they hand out lots of court diversion these day even multiple times!!!!

i know ppl who have had it 4 and 5 times so im sure you should get it. i am in brisbane too. I have the court diversion book it doesnt say how many pills you can have but it does say you can have up to a gram of smack/coke/meth or 52 grams of pot and still get court diversion.

good luck :)
 
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same thing kinda happened to me in the valley 2 years ago...ok try and claim perso i don't think u can with 12...yea say ur cleaning up your act and so forth your probally looking at a $1200 fine with no criminal record ;)
 
Should be sweet mate

Ritalin Boy, really feel for ya man. I'm a little older than one (try 13 yrs!) but had a very similar experience 3 yrs ago. Believe this, got busted by a sniffer dog on Oxford St, Sydney at 8pm ready for a night out -and it was my birthday! I had less pills, but also had speed and weed. the undercover coppers were actually quite cool, i was relatively straight at that time (some speed, a smoke or two and a few beers before leaving the house). I co-operated fully with boys in blue and they issued me with a summons for court - 3 counts of 'possess prohibited drug', I was freakin' out (never been in trouble with the law before) and they let me go for the night, even told me to have a good one! Anyways, the following Monday (yes, I still had a GREAT weekend) I lawyered up - my lawyer put me on to a great barrister to represent me in court. I gathered 5 personal references and typed out a fact sheet of EVERY thing worth putting on there. This was way more important than the references - you gotta remember that these magistrates see TONS of people like us, every day, and they quickly bore of reading the same old shit... I do strongly suggest that you suit up big time, remove any body jewelry, shave, get a haircut, anything that makes you look as good as you can be - believe me, the way you look is the first thing the magistrate will notice, and first impressions are so important mate. By all means try the druggie/fucked up look, however ny thoughts are if you do, you are setting the scene for the magistrate to go hard on you... And your Mum? Well, it depends on how cool she is with your lifestyle - do you really want her to know what you've been doing. The only thing she can do in court is be there for you. Surely you have mates that can perform that role for you. Now, I'm not going to give you any stick about talking TOO much to the cops, what's been done has been done, they would have issued you a summons - what does that say on it? If it's possession you'll be sweet, if it's supply things might not go so well - I suggest talking to your lawyer about lessening the charges to supply, he may be able to convince the police prosecutor that you really are a good boy and was just having a big weekend. It's worth a shot. In court, you have NO INPUT whatsoever. You'll go in with your lawyer/barrister, the police prosecutor will hand his fact and charge sheet to the magistrate, he'll flick through these and any supporting your material (ie references) you supplied. Then you'll be asked to stand and you'll be asked your plea. Mate, there is one right answer here - GUILTY. No ifs or buts. Plead guilty and look scared, speak quietly, try and look directly at him and he'll see you're shit scared. He'll be wanting to scare you anyways, he doesn't wanna see young fellas in court for drug charges, screwing up their lifes. I mean, the first thing the magistrate told me was "I can send you to court for 3 yrs on these charges (one yr for each drug)". I was lucky mate - he scared ther crap outta me but because of my clean sheet, solid work history and the fact I'm uni-educated, he let me off - no conviction. Thank god... you'll have to pay court costs and you may have to front up at your local coppers for fingerprinting. Anyway mate, I'm thinking of you and I do feel sorry for you, I know what you're going thru and it's not real cool. If you need anyhting else mate, more than happy to help. Chin up and keep on truckin' my friend. Peace.
 
Dude, good advice, but please use paragraphs!

As for what you should do, number one...get a bloody good lawyer.

I'd also suggest enrolling yourself in a drug counselling program (or something similar) - proves you're making the effort, before you're told to.
 
Ritalin_boy said:
The most obvious one is - asking their reason for searching me. though i was tampering with a bus station, is this grounds for search? i wouldnt have thought so...
Click to expand...
I know in Victoria all a police officer needs is reasonable suspicion. This could mean you were coming from a club at a late hour, wearing rave gear, etc. Although it is true they probably wouldn't have bothered if you didn't do anything to the bus station signage they were legally able to search you.
 
On the issue of grounds for search:

I'll post up some relevant chunks from this site. Note that this is NSW legislation, but by the sounds of it is similar to Victoria, and probably Queensland. But throw some keywords into Google and see if you come up with anything specific to Qld...it might be a bit late now that they've already got you, but see if they were right in doing so...

What kind of searches may be conducted before arrest? --It has been noted that under section 28A of the Summary Offences Act 1988 (the knife laws) certain restrictions are placed on the power of police to search for knives and other dangerous implements. For instance, police cannot ask a person 'to remove any item of clothing' other than a hat, gloves, coat or jacket. In conducting a search, police may either use a metal detector or search 'by quickly running the hands over the person's outer garments'. If something is found, police may require the person to produce the object, but must warn 'that failure to produce any thing detected or seen by the police officer during the search may be an offence'.
Comparable safeguards and restrictions are not found under the general stop and search provisions. This raises the question as to what limits, if any, are set on the power to search suspects before arrest in these circumstances, or indeed where a person may 'consent' to be searched without any formal authority being invoked? The Code of Practice for CRIME advises that usually only frisk searches should be conducted: 'Generally, conduct a frisk search only. A strip search cannot be conducted unless clearly justified'. Likewise, the now superseded Commissioner's Instructions stated:

Personal searches of the body in the absence of an arrest are confined to 'frisk' type searches unless the seriousness and urgency of the circumstances require and justify a more intrusive search of the surface of the body.

The fact remains, however, that sections 357E of the Crimes Act and section 37 (4) of the Drugs Misuse and Trafficking Act are not made subject to explicit statutory safeguards or restrictions.
Click to expand...

Among the most significant of these powers are sections 357E of the Crimes Act and section 37 (4) of the Drugs Misuse and Trafficking Act which give police a wide discretion to search without a warrant or before arrest. In both cases a search can only be conducted where a police officer 'reasonably suspects' that there are relevant grounds for it to be conducted.


What are reasonable grounds for suspicion to stop and search? As to the issue of 'reasonable grounds for suspicion' this is said to involve both an objective and a subjective element. The case law suggests that 'reasonable grounds can only be determined by objectively judging the reasonableness of the facts subjectively identified and assessed by the police officer prior to conducting a search in light of all the circumstances in play at the time'. Reasonable grounds involves less than a reasonable belief but more than a reasonable possibility. According to the Code of Practice for CRIME, reasonable suspicion means 'More than mere imagination or conjecture'. The Code advises officers, 'In determining whether you have reasonable suspicion consider all the circumstances of each situation', adding 'Your decision must be objective...'. The issue was also discussed in the April 1999 issue of Policing Issues and Practice Journal which commented:

It is extremely difficult to explain what is meant by the term 'reasonable suspicion' beyond that the suspicion must be reasonable in all the circumstances of the particular case. Case law provides some guidance but courts tend to make their assessment on a number of factors rather than any single issue. Suffice to say that you should be prepared to explain why and how you developed your suspicion that the person should be subjected to a search and what you were searching for...Whether your suspicion is reasonable or not is a matter for the court to decide.
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-Reasonable suspicion is a bit of a bitch...it means there is quite a significant risk of getting busted if you venture out with drugs on your person, because police have extensive power to search with (often) little cause, and so are willing to frequently conduct searches. If you choose to carry a stash, my numero uno tip would be to always carry your stash in your underwear - they can search your pocket, wallet etc, but there is no way they will dip into your undies, the laws get stricter there. Just make sure you aren't wearing boxers hehe it'll sting when you realise three hours after safely putting away your goods :). Oh, and don't go around with a ridiculous amount like half a pound of mj sitting in your underwear, because if they frisk over a bundle that seems somewhat unrealistic, they can ask you to 'produce it'.

Also, if police ask you to empty your pockets or open your wallet, tell them you do not wish to be searched and refuse. If they say they are going to search you, tell them you do not give them permission and that you object; ask that they note your objection somewhere, eg on a record of the search, but NEVER RESIST because then they may use force. If they are in the wrong and you object, then the courts will deal with the issue, most likely in your favour. The cops can be intimidating, they are trained to be, but never agree to a search and avoid answering obscure questions like "Is there anything in your pockets that shouldn't be there?" because you aren't obliged to, unless you've decided that ultimately you are willing to co-operate and deal with any negative outcome. Refusing is easier in theory than in practice though....
 
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Cheers all. Talking to a lawyer and getting a haircut this arvo.

This is my fourth or fifth year collecting for red cross, i'll take in the certificates and that should bode well.

Cheers TheBeastMaster, i'll take all that on board... i'm getting some references but i'll e sure to write that personal sheet.
 
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