Do I Need a Lawyer for My First Offense Marijuana Charge in Fairfax County?
As a practicing drug lawyer in Fairfax County, I get a lot of calls from people who have been caught with marijuana. They often have no previous records and aren’t sure how to proceed. They don’t even know whether or not they need an attorney. Like most of my clients, these are typically good, hard-working people who were caught with small levels of marijuana for personal use. They are concerned about what will happen in court, but they also realize that marijuana is legal a lot of places in the United States and is only a civil fine just a few miles up the street in the District of Columbia. They obviously don’t want to get taken advantage of in court, but they also don’t want to pay for a lawyer if they don’t need one.
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer on whether you should hire a lawyer or not for a first time marijuana charge. The decision will largely hinge on whether the individual would be comfortable with the 251 program. And to understand that you need to understand the way Possession of Marijuana cases are handled in Fairfax. ( All cases start in courtroom 2J)
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA PROCESS IN FAIRFAX
- RUNNING OF PRIOR RECORDS – before court your record will be run to see if you are eligible for the program. Anyone who has no drug charges on their record will be eligible.
- DECISION TO BE INTERVIEWED – early at the start of court, the judge will call everyone who is eligible for the program and ask if they want to be interviewed.
- INTERVIEW – the interview doesn’t oblige you to complete the program, so if you aren’t sure or are on the fence you should elect to be interviewed. It is really more of an information session, than an interview. They don’t ask about the facts of your case, they just tell you what the program will involve.
- NEGOTIATE WITH PROSECUTOR – if you have a lawyer your case will be placed on the prosecutor’s desk to determine what the government wants to do with the case. In some circumstances the government will agree to lessen the charge; other times, there may be some factual issue that your lawyer can use to get the case dismissed; regardless, your lawyer will talk to the prosecutor about the case and get the facts (this step only takes place if you have hired a lawyer; you cannot talk to the Prosecutor without a lawyer).
- RESOLVE THE CASE – if you find the program acceptable, you simply complete the paperwork, give it to the judge and enter the program
251 PROGRAM
The 251 program provides that your case will be dismissed after 6 months if you complete 24 hours of community service, drug awareness classes and stay out of trouble during that time. Additionally, like all drug charges in Virginia your license will be suspended for 6 months. At the conclusion of that period the case will be dismissed. Because of the way the program is structured you are never found guilty of a crime and can answer “no” on any applications that ask if you have ever been convicted. While the ticket will always show up on your criminal record and background checks it will also show that the case was dismissed. The ticket cannot be expunged, but it is a much better resolution than having a conviction. Under Virginia law, convictions stay on your record for life.
SO SHOULD YOU HIRE A LAWYER
Judges and Prosecutors typically think of the 251 program as a pretty favorable result for individuals charged with possession of marijuana. It can be very difficult to convince them to provide a more favorable resolution. So there will be times when you hire a great lawyer, they do brilliant work, continue the case several times to get the best judge and for all that effort you still end up in the exact same spot as if you had gone to court yourself. There is no way to know before going to court whether a good lawyer will be able to produce a better result for your case.
In deciding whether you should get a lawyer, you should make sure you really understand the 251 program and determine if that is a good resolution for you. You should talk to a number of lawyers who seem qualified and get their take on the case and an idea of how much they charge. You should also listen closely if the lawyer’s tell you there is an issue in your case that may result in a dismissal of the charge; particularly if it seems the officer did something wrong.
At the end of the day, you can’t make a wrong decision. Even if you have a winnable case and go in by yourself, the consequence is that you end up doing the program unnecessarily,. If you don’t have a winnable case and you hire a lawyer you end up paying a lawyers fee unnecessarily. Neither consequence is pleasant, but it certainly isn’t the end of the world. Take your time, do your research, talk to a number of lawyers and your family members and then make a decision that is best for you,.
