America’s War on Drugs probably had its most surreal moment in 1970, when Elvis met Nixon. Even more surreal than the 1980’s Reagan era “Just Say NO” movement. The King of Rock and Roll wanted President Nixon to make him an undercover federal marshall, since according to Elvis, he was familiar with “the drug culture” as well as “Communist brainwashing techniques.” We’re not sure how these things are related. Anyway, a befuddled Richard Nixon gave Elvis a badge and a pair of White House cufflinks. In return, Elvis gave Nixon a Colt .45 and an impromptu hug. 

Over fifty years later, the War on Drugs continues to rage. The number of drug arrests has tripled since 2007. However, the conflict has shifted to drug possession. Almost 90 percent of drug arrests are for simple possession. If you are arrested for drug possession in Montgomery or Robertson counties Tennessee, contact Fizer Bonding Company to get your tail outta jail FAST. Officers are so aggressive in this area mostly because possession cases are easier to prove than trafficking, manufacturing, and other such cases. However, possession cases still have a number of moving parts.

Punishment issues come into play as well. Usually, drug possession is a low-level felony or even a misdemeanor. An incarcerated defendant might be tempted to plead guilty and receive a brief jail sentence just to “get it over with.” The bail bondsmen near you at Fizer Bonding Company address this issue. SInce drug possession is a nonviolent crime, our Clarksville bondsmen usually have a full range of jail release options. We do more than legally open the cell doors. We also provide resources to help you through the criminal law process and the lowest price of a bail bond, typically for only a 10% premium.

Police officers and other witnesses may give testimonial evidence about the things they saw and heard. Physical evidence is different. Normally, prosecutors must produce the drugs or other substance in court. 

Frequently, physical evidence has chain of custody issues. For example, most drugs go from the scene of a crime to a police evidence locker. Then, they go to a laboratory (more on that below) before they go back to a police evidence locker. Finally, someone delivers the evidence from the locker to the courtroom. Any gap in the chain of custody taints this evidence. This taint might or might not make it inadmissible.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. In order to seize physical evidence, officers must have a warrant based on probable cause, or a narrow search warrant exception must apply. Officers rarely have warrants in drug possession cases. Some common search warrant exceptions include:

Furthermore, a police officer must authenticate the substance in court ( i.e. “yeah, that’s it.”) Authentication is often straightforward, unless there were extenuating circumstances which made it difficult to physically identify the substance, like advanced darkness.

Somewhat similarly, it’s usually easy to prove the substance was illegal. Laboratory tests are generally accurate.

Field tests, on the other hand, are often inaccurate. In the early 2000s, a drug informant gave Dallas police officers about 700 pounds of a white powdery substance he claimed was cocaine. The informant said Mexican immigrants were running a drug trafficking ring. Dallas police paid him about $200,000, said the substance “field tested” positive as cocaine, and arrested over two dozen people. Subsequent chemical tests revealed that the “cocaine” was sheetrock material.

Marijuana is especially problematic in this area. This substance is illegal for all purposes in Tennessee. However, hemp is legal for all purposes. Physically, hemp and marijuana are virtually indistinguishable. They look alike and smell alike. Only a specific, and expensive test, a THC content test, can tell them apart.

Prosecutors have the burden of proof on this point. They must establish, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the substance was illegal. Field tests don’t hold up in court. That means a chemical test or nothing.

Unless a Fizer Clarksville, TN bail bondsman arranges for jail release, this key defense is probably unavailable. It’s simply too time consuming, and as mentioned above, incarcerated defendants don’t want to wait.

Finally, prosecutors must establish all three components of legal possession (proximity, control, and knowledge).

Assume Winston is at a house party. He doesn’t know anyone at the party very well, but it looked like a good time. He’s sitting in an armchair when officers bust up the party and order everyone to stay put. The home’s owner gives them consent to search the house. Officers find a stash of drugs under Winston’s chair and arrest him for possession.

The stash satisfies the proximity requirement as well as the control requirement. However, it probably doesn’t satisfy the knowledge requirement. Winston probably didn’t know what he was sitting on.

Or assume Winston, who apparently is a poor judge of character, gets a ride home with some friends who he knows use drugs. He gets in the back seat. Officers pull over the driver for speeding, she gives them consent to search the car, and officers find drugs under the passenger seat. 

Prosecutors can almost definitely establish proximity, and most likely knowledge as well. However, it would be almost impossible to establish control. That’s especially true if someone else was in the passenger seat prior to Winston sitting there. This is just one of many real life examples that prosecutors have a difficult time proving while getting out of jail fast helps a defendant build a strong defense with their attorney, for their day in court!

For more information about fast bail bond release, contact the bail bondsman near you at Fizer Bonding Company. We have the lowest bail bond fees around and get your tail outta jail FAST and have over 35 years of bail bonding experience in Montgomery and Robertson counties. We offer fast, respectful, and courteous 24/7 bail bond service!  More value added FREE information can be found in our online articles. Fizer Bonding Company is a proud member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Bail Agents.

Fizer Bonding Company Montgomery County Tennessee

(931) 449-9351

Fizer Bonding Company Robertson County Tennessee

(615) 667-1109

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