So my friend and I planned on smoking one night and we decided to meet up at a parking lot close to both of our houses. He was about to get off work in 15 minutes and the library I was just at was closing so I decided to go the parking lot early to wait for him. I was sitting in my car waiting and then the cop drove up. He asked me if I had seen anyone walking around wearing a red hoodie and I replied no. Then he asked what I was doing out here and I told him I was finishing my homework, which I was while I was waiting for my friend. Then the look on his face changed and he asked if I was smoking marijuana because he could smell it. I told him no and he kept asking questions like if I smoke or ever smoked and I replied no to all of them. Then he said he would have to search my car because he could smell it and if I gave him the marijuana he might be able to help me. I knew he was bullshitting about the help but I thought if he searched my car he would find the weed anyway so I handed it to him and he asked how much it was and I said I wasn't sure, but it was about a gram i just didn't tell him because I didn't know the amounts you could be charged for. He told me he would still have to search my car so he told me to step out and I did then he said he would have to pat me down and I allowed him then he told me to wait on the curb until another cop came to watch me while he searched the car. He searched the car and didn't find anything else but he told me I was under arrest for the possession of marijuana. I was charged with a class B misdemeanor for possession of <2oz of marijuana and released on a pre-trial release program. I am 18 years old in Texas with no prior convictions and I'm wondering if there is anyway to get this case dismissed and later expunged because I want to work in a career that requires a state license. I learned my lesson and I do not plan on smoking again but ever since this has happened I find it hard to try in school or even care about going to college knowing I am at risk of having no financial aid and not being able to get my dream. All responses are appreciated and after the trial I will come back and write the outcome, thank you!
1. Its 18 years or older to be on here so edit fast or youre getting banned. 2.i have no idea about american laws but ive had a few run-ins as a minor and i still pass police checks. Take this as a learning experience, never self incriminate. Put the gram down your crotch and make them work for it lol
yeah Spottythedog I know that was a dumb mistake I made by just handing it to him and thanks for the heads up about the age lol
I don't know what else to say but cross your fingers they remove previous charges when it's legalized (one day). Once when I was like 16 I had a half oz on me, cop searched me because someone matching my description had a sword in the park. He found my pipe and the weed and just laughed. Didn't even ask for my name just told me not to do it again. I later found the guy with the sword at my dealers house LOL I told him what happened and he gave me a half ounce! Unbelievable
Pre-trial diversion IS essentially a deferred disposition...complete the program and the case is dismissed. Expunction is going to be a different animal, although one that may or may not be worth pursuing. The reality is that even the Bar admits people who have had felony probations for drug-related charges. And if a felony probation is not an absolute bounce on a C&F component of being able to practice, few other licensed professions in the State are going to worry about a single arrest for pot at the misdemeanor level. The tendency has been to reduce some obstacles, especially after it was demonstrated that TDCJ was training barbers despite the fact that the felony was precluding their licensure post-release...and Whitmire among others decried the waste of financial resources and placement of obstacles to people being able to make a living. Reviews are still going to be case-by-case, but this shouldn't be something that precludes you from working in the future... NEVER consent to a search, especially when they don't have enough to get a warrant in the first place. With what is described, unless there had been a complaint by the property owner that you were loitering and thus a suspicious person, the warrant would very likely not have survived a suppression hearing. If you were parked on a public street, the sandbox rules change somewhat but you still give up many pre-trial motions when you consent to a search. Put another way, by analogy, smell of alcohol by iteself is NOT enough to get a warrant for a blood draw in a DWI case. There has to be other factors that are observed. Granted, some LEO's are not above testilying by phone to get the warrant (DWI blood draws are often telephonic in submission except for the agencies that have the BAT vans).
Never give up. You're not doing anything morally wrong by smoking marijuana. Hell, you're not even doing anything wrong by growing it.. perhaps even less so. It's one of the world's biggest cash crops, like it or not. It's only up to us to allow it to benefit our economy.. or benefit the murderous, thieving cartels.