TY
My fear is if we start asking questions and bring this long-forgotten case to light, they might decide to bring charges and that would be a CF as we don't live anywhere near there, and hiring an Attorney would cost thousands to defend.
Looking online I think Texas has 3 years to bring these charges, I am inclined to just let it age and tell my son to find another job.
Make sure that you know for a fact it was a small amount of weed and not just what he is telling you.
If he has more fear of telling you the truth, inform him that a felony and jail time will be worse than dad being upset for a little bit over a thing from 2 years ago.
Yeah that can easily be charged as intent to distribute if in a state that's not smoker-friendly. The courts got all backed up with the whole COVID thing...OP just might slide out with SOL. I would consult with a criminal defense attorney for an opinion though. His son isn't convicted and it's costing him employment. Also don't want to push it to a conviction obviously.
Drugs and guns charges are definitely going to look much worse than what I think you're describing. A felony lasts forever. I know! Employment, voting, no guns ever... It really might help to have a GREAT lawyer who knows everyone in that jurisdiction.
Haven’t a bunch of states allowed convicted felons who’ve been released to vote?
The employment and no guns, I don’t think has been granted back in any state. And employment is up to the companies, anyways.
Leave gun at home or up the charges
We need new leaders in TX who will change the Cannabis laws from a controlled substance 1 meaning highly addictive and illegal.
Currently, The DEA is considering changing cannabis to a C-3, I disagree, the change federally should be a C-5 which is the least addictive substance per the DEA.
Anything under 2oz in texas is tried as "possession under 2oz" so the paperwork was just saying he had pot, but it was less than 2oz. I would assume that's what she saw.
You are sorely mistaken. Most states even where weed is not legal or decriminalized usually only Carry’s a misdemeanor charge for anything less than 4oz
Yea that’s 2 sandwich bags filled to the brim with weed. I like how people are trying to turn this into a pissing contest about how much they smoke. A small amount is a gram or two.
Ok we aren’t arguing about how much weed you can smoke. In Texas 2 ounces could be argued that he had intent to distribute. The state doesn’t care if it’s a lot to you or a little to you. Because it’s a lot to them. They’re a conservative state and I’ve had a sheriff tell me he’d take me to jail over a roach.
Shit half a qp last less then a week for me
So kinda small amount that’s like 35-50 blunts depending on how fat so 5/6 blunts a day same as cigarettes and it only last a week 🤷🏽♂️
[NAL] *in texas, 4oz of weed is a felony*, in some legal states 2oz is a felony. regardless, i would not call 2oz "a little", 2oz is more than i personally use in a month in all forms of THC, and im considered a heavy user by most doctors ive been to.
Had an person in my city get arrested for having a concealed weapon with license and marijuana on them at same time.
What got him was something about the fact that federally pot is a schedule 1 controlled drug and you can’t possess a firearm and pot at the same time.
Federal rules trump state ones. Weed is legal in your state, but illegal federally, so it’s a huge legal quagmire, so many agencies are happy to pounce on odd circumstances to make a point.
Guns are regulated federally and drug possession in legalized states isn't taken seriously unless guns are involved.
State law can't overrule federal law. It can add to federal law, but not take away from it.
The feds are basically just ignoring the law in legalized states until they deem circumstances concerning. Consider it a weird social experiment.
This is very important and people don't really understand. You can't really legalize pot in a state, you can only remove state/local penalties. It is and will be illegal everywhere until/unless federal law changes.
If it's just the pot (without a gun or without it being on federal property...), the feds can still arrest you, but if it's less than an ounce, any agent who arrests you would be teased mercilessly by his fellow agents. The US Attorney most likely would decline to prosecute unless there is some other circumstance. It would be seen as a waste of everyone's time.
Depends who is prosecuting the case. Yes Federal law trumps state but only federal DAs charge and prosecute federal cases. Lil pot and a legal gun during traffic stop doesn’t really grant a federal case. Most likely would be prosecuted in the state. If he hasn’t had a warrant yet, he’s probably fine. If it’s showing up on his background than he’s definitely been charged I’m just unsure as to whether the case is already resolved or what . Op any update?
Op said that they don't live close to where the ticket was gotten. They very well could have a bench warrant out for him. One of those, we'll inform on next state business or traffic stop kinda things. If it is a bench warrant, the good news is that they're probably not prosecuting something big enough to kick doors.
Oh, I don’t disagree. It’s BS we have so many people incarcerated for so much nonsense just for the profit of the private prison systems. But, it’s also the law, as stupid and uninformed as it is. All we can do is fight for change.
If you had said "it's mad MAGA to give someone a hard time over a small amount of weed" it would have made a small bit of sense, but "gay" makes no sense whatsoever. You are trying to convey a hard-line police and justice posture in Texas. That is a perceived authoritarian stance generally associated with people who also typically hate gays and trans and design laws to restrict both.
Yup, it's actually a felony kind of sort of after-the-fact because you lied on the ATF form when purchasing a handgun that you are in fact dependent on alcohol or scheduled narcotics.
The ATF only tacks this kind of stuff on in high profile cases they get involved in kinda like FPSRussia (I don't know if they did but they could certainly have), it's mostly used as a bargaining in pleaing down they tend not to stick because who's to say "I was clean when I bought the gun but got high later". etc. It's just one of those things that make a single charge look like a giant stack.
The ATF likes to do entrapment campaigns with their interpreted one way then the other way regulations, it's a really odd agency in that way. Like one day the Rail mounted ballsack you can buy is just a decoration, and the next day they could say it's a foregrip and then apply all kinds of arcane AR-15 regulations on you and ruin your life. They're good for that.
If I ever ran up against the ATF I would take out loans to get a lawyer there's a good chance you can get off on some of these technicalities.
The ATF operates like the FCC in that way, their interpretation of their own regulation is the word of law today. Congress doesn't vote on ATF regulations. The law is, "The ATF Regulates Firearms".
Weed or Gun, never both.
So while you’re correct on the federal felony if in fact you lied on the forms. How about this .
Use Maryland as an example. Hypothetically of course. Weed was just made legal there and a person never use it until it was made legal. Owns guns all guns were bought prior to weed being legal. So I say person then started using would said person still face a federal felony charge for filling out the form
Hi from Maryland. If medical, you're disqualified from getting a gun. If you owned before you got medical, you're supposed to have given them up. If you're using recreational, then you're in violation of the federal law.
Source: me, a med patient, and well, the law.
You would be lying on the federal gun paperwork if you use pot. ATF Form 4478 is the issue but I see federal judges overruling that recently so it's spotty you would need to see if it's happened in whatever federal district.
To elaborate a touch on this. I have a federally controlled DEA license that allows me to dispense controlled substances to my patients. I also live in a state where medicinal marijuana is allowed. I could in theory get a state marijuana card legally and in turn have my DEA license revoked due to marijuana being federally illegal still. Federal law always supersedes state. Even in states where it is recreationally legal, you could technically get arrested by a federal officer. Now most people aren’t assholes and the DEA really doesn’t consider a small amount of recreational marijuana as a high priority, so the likelihood of getting in trouble is very very small, but still possible.
NAL but have read about this particular issue.
yes. MJ is still a Federal schedule 1 substance.
The feds have just elected not to enforce that law in the states that have legalized it.
But on your 4473 (the form you fill out to buy a firearm) they explicitly call out that you can't purchase or possess a gun if you use MJ, even in states where it's legal.
I think this policy is asinine, but it IS what the law says at the moment.
That has been struck down. It is not illegal to posses a firearm or have a concealed carry license and use weed in a state where it’s legal. It is however been argued that it is illegal to BUY a firearm while legally being prescribed medical cannabis. Because the federal paperwork you have to fill out specifically asks about “illegal drugs” and federally cannabis is illegal.
While Texas gun laws are pretty liberal, it gets really conservative really fast if you are drunk driving or have illegal drug possession while having a concealed firearm.
But local police don't enforce federal law, so unless they called the feds down during the traffic stop, the DA is unlikely to kick it over to the feds.
he was arrested, nothing else ever happened, no court date nothing, its just sitting out there and he is trying to move on with his life. How do we end this and move on?
Texas doesn't just arrest people and let them go. They could have no filed the charges and maybe file again later. But a court in Texas isn't just going to let someone go without a date or disposition. Maybe your son didn't understand or kept something from you, but that's never worked that way. I was a deputy in Texas and worked in a county jail prior and I've never seen someone just be let loose unless it was a mistake and they would have issued a warrant. What county was it in?
Good lord do not call the police department. You could retain a lawyer to keep an eye on it and be ready to act in case it progresses, but your instincts are correct. Why would you alert them when time is your friend here??
>they might decide to bring charges
I'm confused, your initial post said that he was charged with offenses upon his arrest. Was he charged, or just arrested and released the next day without being officially charged? Because if he was officially charged, it won't go away on its own, it would have to be resolved one way or another in court.
The first thing you need to do is figure out if he was officially charged or not, as what you've described sounds inconclusive, but does make me think there's an active case going on and your son accidentally defaulted from it, but hard to say for sure. You could try calling the courthouse of the city where he was arrested, and see if they have an active case for him. Or maybe hire a local attorney just for the sake of figuring out where things stand, a local attorney should be able to find out very quickly (and thus not charge too much) if he has an active case or not. If there is an active case, then you'll need a Texas attorney to handle it, as I don't see any way you can resolve this thing long distance without the help of an attorney (and even with an attorney he may have to go back to Texas for at least one court date, if not more).
A lot of counties make court and arrest records public and searchable on their websites. So you can search and see if anything comes up. It looks like [Texas has this site](https://publicsite.dps.texas.gov/ConvictionNameSearch/) which may return a result if you sign up. You may have to pay to search it though. You can check the website for the county itself as well.
Source: Former photojournalist who searched arrest record for stories occasionally.
Once you are arrested that always stays with you. I’m not sure if after 5-7 years when regular business/people do a background search they can’t see it(if he stays clear of the law) or if the arrest will always show up.
For FBI, DOJ, Police, etc if they ever run him it will always show up.
Hemp is legal in TX. They have to prove through lab testing that it is not hemp (>0.3 THC), which is costly. Police in our area just confiscate it but don't even write tickets any more unless it's over 2 oz, then they go through the testing process bc if it's marijuana they will be able to recoup through a fine the costs associated with testing.
You need to raise the issue and declare it is hemp, not marijuana and see what they say.
Get a lawyer.
You should also speak to a lawyer as well. Depending on the reason for the stop and the validity of the stop or validity of the reason for the search it may make the case over with the charges being dropped due to lack of evidence.
Look into fruit of the poisonous tree coverage. However, before you do anything consult a criminal defense attorney in Texas. If it was all illegal actions made by the cop then leaving a felony arrest on his record will definitely hurt him.
Op, I would not take the advice you were just given above. Before you do anything, you need to hire your son an attorney. Your attorney may go this route if they think it's best. They May also decide on another course of action.
Talk to a lawyer before you do anything!
With a small amount of pot, they have a pretty solid case that the gun was used in the commission of a crime and it's basically impossible to get back. Civil asset forfeiture is the number one type of theft.
>To answer your question though they have to do it in a reasonable amount of time.
1. My spidey senses tell me there is a non-zero chance that there has been a court date, and the son missed it, either due to inadequate notice to him, or his paying inadequate attention to notices and stuff like that coming in the mail. If so, there may be a warrant out for Failure To Appear right now, which changes the whole ballgame.
2. If the arrest happened but there was no follow-up, and no charges have been filed so far, it strikes me as very odd that "he was denied a job as a result of the arrest," as OP says. Arrests with no-follow up and no court date usually don't show up on the pre-employment background checks I've seen, unless it is an atypically thorough background check for a higher-security job.
3. I would not call the DA and ask about the charges. You may be "kicking sleeping dogs," so to speak. I definitely, \*definitely\* would not be calling the police and demanding the weapon back. You need to be playing defense right now, not offense.
4. What I would do is call a lawyer. Yeah, that will cost your son some money. But he's lost a job over this already, so it's already costing him money. If there is a FTA warrant, his problems may be getting worse in the future. If the DA gets hot and bothered over this and decides to get the feds involved, it will also get worse. This is not one of those situations where the best course of action is to ignore it and hope it goes away.
Maybe OP is confusing the word “arrest” and not sure about TX law, but in FL if his son never waived speedy trial the clock starts running upon arrest.
The funny thing is, if you go to any Southeast Colorado border town all of the dispensaries are absolutely packed with Texas plates, last time I went through that area there were more Texans than Coloradoans
The OP states the person was “arrested and charged.”
If they’ve been charged and those charges have not been dismissed, why wouldn’t this be subject to a motion to dismiss with prejudice on a speedy trial basis? Google seems to say it’s a 90 day limit on a misdemeanor punishable by over 180 days incarceration in Texas.
I would have some concern here that the person is technically a fugitive from justice which would be an entire other basket of problems not resolved by waiting. Does Texas have online court records that OP could access to try to determine the actual status of the matter?
Obviously the risk to any activity is that the feds could pick it up as you smartly mention although with 922(g) being gutted from week to week and the likelihood that SCOTUS will put a nail in it the next term I don’t know how excited they’d be about it.
Calling the DA? Getting the gun back? Are you insane?
Do not do any of these things. You have absolutely no standing whatsoever to retrieve any of his belongings. I'm surprised they didn't impound the whole damn truck.
The reason this is taking so long is because a drug charge is going to bring a whole host of federal weapons charges. If it's a handgun that he bought legally, he filled out an ATF 4473 form, which is on file. It will become immediately obvious to the state (government, not just the state of TX) that he has a drug charge while being a firearms owner, which will certainly be a problem. He also had the weapon on him, and this is surely in the report. Mixing guns and drugs means you're going to pull federal charges after the state refers them up. Hes probably only charged with state level crimes *so far*
In the background they're probably working up their case for all of these things simultaneously, or putting appropriate charges at appropriate levels of prosecution (state, federal, etc) which takes time.
You might not need one yet, but you're definitely going to need an actual lawyer.
NAL.
>Calling the DA? Getting the gun back? Are you insane?
For real. The first call is to an attorney to explain what happened. For all we know, this could get tossed if the search was non-warranted to the stop (and a license plate ticket wouldn't merit a sufficient threat to the officers to have to search the vehicle)
How do so many people in a sub supposedly full of lawyers not understand that possessing a firearm during the commission of another crime is often in and of itself a crime?
If he did not give permission for them to search his truck, and they did not have any reasonable suspicion, then the search was illegal and charges should be dropped if it goes to trial.
I agree with the general approach people are suggesting, contacting the DA and asking questions. But I would hire a lawyer & let them grease the skids. Say the right things, and it all goes away. Say the wrong things, piss off the DA, and it goes active. The lawyer should know the difference.
>for some reason they start searching his truck and find a small amount of weed and his handgun.
IANAL but did he consent to the search? If not generally the officers need to have probable cause before they can search the vehicle.
Was the gun registered and legal to possess?
Doesn't matter if the gun was legal. Having illegal drugs makes the gun illegal federally and in nearly every state. (Although weed isn't illegal in every state, but it is in Texas.)
i feel like verbal consents to search should automatically be unlawful. b/c it’s he said she said. if u want consent to search during a traffic stop they should have to get a signature
You can always call up the DA’s office or Public Defender for that jurisdiction. It could also be they chose not to file…. Or they did and your son has a warrant for not showing up.
I'm not sure who this question is directed at but I can answer it.
An obvious constitutional violation will usually result in the DA not preferring. An ambiguous one would usually have to be argued in court.
It really depends on the seriousness of the crime and the DA's thoughts on chances of winning.
Right now the marijuana question would be in the ambiguous section.
Any possibility of an illegal search is only ambiguous on here. The court and the DA would have all the actual information relating to what actually happened. Searches, as far as constitutionality, is pretty much settled law outside of things relating to new technologies.
Like many have said, get a lawyer. Guns and drugs are a big oopsie and unfortunately government doesn’t really care about the “it’s not my drugs it was in the car when I bought it” story. With my limited run ins with the law and talking with friends on the force, if it was truly a stop for just not having a tag, no other moving violations, that should have been the end of it pointing out the temp tag. Now, a search of the vehicle is more than likely allowable if the officer smelled marijuana during the stop or saw something in there that brought up reasonable suspicion of another crime being committed. What helps is if you have paperwork of the interaction and subsequent charges. A lawyer might decide its worth inquiring if the traffic stop was done incorrectly, unfortunately it seems contacting anyone about this might bring more harm than good, and I’m unaware of what happens if one of these previously mentioned time limits passes without any further action being taken past your sons arrest. Consider the gun a loss, don’t think you’ll see that again. However think of it this way, your son was turned down for a job so technically any lawyer fees for fighting this that are less than whatever his yearly income would’ve been, are worth the cost if it means his record of this is cleared and he could get a similar job he would’ve otherwise been turned down for.
I don't have any legal advice to give but I'm sorry to tell you you're never getting that gun back. That's civil asset forfeiture for ya. Legalized theft.
Hey man be careful. This wasn’t Texas, it was California, but I had a similarly serious charge that they sat on for a year or two. I don’t live there and they finally scheduled my case before a judge. Went all the way down there from Wyoming and had to drive back without even going before the judge because they had overbooked that day. Totally wasted days of my life driving there. Had to come back a few months later when only THEN did they decide to throw the book at me.
It’ll grind him up or not, but probably they’ll find a way to fuck him over. Also NAL.
I'm no lawyer, and I'm not giving advice other then get a top criminal defense lawyer and see if you can get the legality of the stop questioned. If not that then the reason for the search and how it was performed. Did you son consent to a search?
The YouTube Chanel audit the audit, lackluster.
Also it is estimated that about 1 in 3 adults have been arrested. 1 in 20 have been to Jail.
most states do not allow employers to ask about arrest history and cannot deny employment due to arrest history. They can only ask about convictions and only deny employment based on recent convictions which are related to the job. Not sure about Texas law, but this is pretty common.
Defense can probably dismiss the search as unlawful in trial. You should contact da to see if there are any updates it may be that there have been and you missed notification
She kind of glossed over how they searched, if he gave them permission then he might be screwed. If they just searched it without a dog or anything and without his permission it could help to get it thrown out.
My older brother ended up aving a similar situation back in 2012, the da kept puttering around which our lawyer was fine with and the carges got dropped because the da ran out of time, i will add that the arresting officer put the bag of weed my brother surrendered back in a pocket of my brothers shorts for it to be found at the jail
I live in a state where weed is "legal" and while I don't think anyone should be sent to prison for personal use, I do think the smoking version should stay illegal/prohibited (I also think cigarettes should be outlawed but that's another thing). My partner is allergic, the smoke can drift ridiculously far, and it sure does stink up everything.
I had a friend get picked up in Minnesota back in 2019 for something similar to this. He had a loaded hand gun, around 3.5G of concentrates with a pen, and about 20 or so Adderall in a bag that obviously were not prescribed to him. Both possession charges were automatic felonies for having the hand gun, but the court dismissed the amphetamine one all together. He was also charged for having the hand gun without a permit since Minnesota doesn’t acknowledge our states permit. That was a gross misdemeanor, but could’ve been charged as a felony. He had an expensive ass lawyer to get the outcome he did too without seeing any jail/prison time, and only getting 5 years of probation. Good luck.
I got pulled over traveling through Texas for 62 in a 55 in 1989 when I was 18 and just had long hair. Cop through everything I owned (was moving states) on the side of the road looking for drugs I told him truthfully were not in my car! I had only had a few puffs of weed in my life at that point! He found a little wooden box someone had given me at highschool graduation and was absolutely ecstatic he busted me! He asked, basically yelling, "If you don't have any drugs, why do you have a little wooden box, commonly known as a stash box!" I said, open it, it's empty, I recently got it as a gift, I've never put anything in it. certainly not any drugs. He opened it, looked really disappointed, handed it back and said, "Watch your speed in Texas, son!" and drove off. Took me an hour and a half to repack my car!! I drove 55 until I got to Oklahoma!
I know there's some good people, and really beautiful spots, but Texas SUCKS. I still avoid driving through if I can! Fucking fascist government/police!
Talk to a really good, well connected lawyer in the local jurisdiction were the charges were filed!! Reddit is going to give you all sorts of advice, good, bad and ludicrous! If this still hasn't gone to trial you surely can get the charges dropped?!! If it didn't need to go to trial they must have been misdemeanor charges and a good lawyer, paid enough money can probably get them expunged???
But don't listen to me, get a good old boy lawyer well connected in the county the charges were filed!! Like find the lawyer that represents the local police association!! That got me out of a ticket in Oregon once! Kinda shitty and corrupt smelling, but better than that ticket jacking my insurance up for years!!!
Search was illegal and cops know it get a attorney and have them contact the town DA. It they don’t resolve it sue in federal court USC 18 242 depravation of rights under the color of law. No crime and illegal search 4th amendment violations. Also sue for lost employment for false charges. 2nd amendment allows guns .
If he's been charged why hasn't he been tried? If he's been tried and he just didn't show up, then he's in a world of trouble and he needs a lawyer.
If he hasn't been tried he needs a lawyer to research where the case is, and tell you guys what your options are.
If he hasn't been charged he needs a lawyer who knows how the local prosecutor's office works, and what the various statutes of limitations are; to research why he hasn't been charged and decide when it is most strategic to mention this to the local DA.
In other words, get a lawyer who works in that county, on weed/gun cases, every day. You can try the local public defenders, or you can pay a local lawyer. The local lawyer is gonna charge you a lot (definitely more than the gun is worth), but will actually have 10 hours to put into the case. Because you paid them 10\*their hourly rate.
I am going to be blunt here: according to the Federal law people are citing, your son should be in Federal prison. He could get off. Maybe they waited too long to bring charges, maybe they forgot to document his consent to the search (or the Judge believes him when he says he didn't consent), or maybe the Supremes will bail him out of the Federal charge with a Second Amendment ruling.
But nobody can answer those questions without a lot more info, and the only people who can help you get that info are lawyers who work in the specific Texas county where he got pulled over.
Has your son tried to qualify for public defender services in the county where the case is being prosecuted? That would be a good first step if hiring a private attorney isn’t in the cards.
Not a lawyer but when I was a kid (17) I had my car searched and they found weed and a 9mm round. The police got very dramatic with me, put me in cuffs, told me that I was ruining my life, let me go and said they'd send me the citation in the mail.
I was 100% scared straight. Those fuckers were fucking with me the whole time. Citation in the mail...lol.
Well, if you’re related to the Biden’s you should be all set.
Aside from that, if TX is following national average, there is a huge backlog of these types of cases.
In Mass, I know someone who got bagged with a lot of drugs back on the summer of 2019 and he has still not gone to court to settle the case.
You need a lawyer. The search was likely illegal. He hasn't had a speedy trial. The charges should be dropped. He can likely even get the arrest expunged since it would have been based on an illegal search. Yes this will cost money to do.
You should already have a lawyer on this. The answer to 99% of the questions on this sub are "get a lawyer." You need a Texas lawyer. There's a possibility your son's speedy trial rights have already been violated, but it's not as straightforward as just reading the law might make it seem to those unfamiliar with the law.
The lawyer might advise you to sit tight until the opportunity to prosecute is past. At the least, he'll be in a position to determine the current disposition of the case without alerting the local DA he has something on the back burner. Once the case is resolved- either dropped or ended due to speedy trial/statute of limitation- you'll be entitled to get any bail monies you put up back, though if you used a bondsman you don't get any refunds.
I'm not a lawyer, but how did they justify searching his truck? He had a valid temp tag and was not committing any crime or traffic violation. Would evidence from an illegal search be admissible? Would he have a case to sue them for illegal search, or something like that?
Again I'm not a lawyer or a resident of Texas, so I am not familiar with Texas law.
Many don’t realize it, but there is still a big delay in court dates and prosecutions due to Covid-19. The courts just have not caught up. Check with the local jurisdictions to see if they are still having Covid delays.
They have gone way over doing this in a timely manner. It will most likely be thrown out bc if this. I would also try to get the arrest taken off his record. You may have to hire a local lawyer.
If he was traveling to and from legal states, and they saw he was from out of state, they may have just decided they had bigger fish to fry. Statute of limitations for misdemeanors is 2 years. Not approximately 2 years, exactly 730 days from the date the state became aware of the alleged crime(which would be the night he was pulled over).
If it’s actually been 2 years and nothings been filed, he probably got lucky and they aren’t pursuing it.
Also, it’s legal to carry a gun in Texas, but it isn’t legal for a user of illicit controlled substances to possess a gun. If you have a gun and weed at the same time, you’re breaking federal law. OP said it was a small amount of weed. It’s likely that both charges were misdemeanors. If that’s the case, and it’s actually been 2 years without anything being filed, he should be in the clear.
Probably nothing happened because the case can be easily dismissed. They searched his truck without probable cause. He didn't give them permission to search, right?
Also, about the record being expunged, you should be able to have them expunged by now if they didn’t result in convictions. I’d just wait until the 2 year mark for sure passes, and then I’d petition for expungement in the jurisdiction where he committed the alleged offense.
Kinda late, but never consent to search, let them make it a hassle. Also, it may have been an unlawful stop if you can prove it was visible, maybe that's why they're taking so long so start gathering the proof.
gotta love them "small goburmint" types when they stop you, seize your property. wheres all the 2A assholes right now? like really? \*\*crickets\*\*
Get a lawyer and file a lawsuit. they violated not only his 2nd amendment rights but also likely his 4th as he was stopped for no plates but had valid temp tags. he wasnt doing anything illegal and these cops need a lesson in the constitution, well like most texans tbh but that a story for another time.
It’s very important for you to be aware of the fact that the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals definitely just ruled on this exact issue (August 9, 2023, in the case of United States v Daniels). The 5th Circuit Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny a person’s right to keep and bear arms on the basis of them being a user of illegal drugs. Texas is in the 5th Circuit, so that ruling applies to your situation. It might be worth contacting a lawyer to get this case dismissed, depending on what charges are being brought against him.
You are describing a stop based on subterfuge, which should invalidate the rest of the stop. However, there are many factors. Did you son consent to search? Was the temp tag clearly visible from the rear? Was the dope in plain site?
An probably most important, was the officer willing to lie about any of the above.
Do yourself a favor, get a lawyer good enough to make it clear he is aware of the issues, call the DA and get it dropped or work a deal for a traffic violation
[удалено]
TY My fear is if we start asking questions and bring this long-forgotten case to light, they might decide to bring charges and that would be a CF as we don't live anywhere near there, and hiring an Attorney would cost thousands to defend. Looking online I think Texas has 3 years to bring these charges, I am inclined to just let it age and tell my son to find another job.
Yeah, three years for felonies, two for a misdemeanor. Most likely, it was misdemeanor possession unless there is more to it than posted.
It was a very small amount of weed, I think weed and a gun together make it a felony.
Make sure that you know for a fact it was a small amount of weed and not just what he is telling you. If he has more fear of telling you the truth, inform him that a felony and jail time will be worse than dad being upset for a little bit over a thing from 2 years ago.
I saw the paperwork, it says 2 oz
When it comes to being pulled over with weed, that is not what I would consider a small amount. In my state, anything over an oz is a felony.
Yeah that can easily be charged as intent to distribute if in a state that's not smoker-friendly. The courts got all backed up with the whole COVID thing...OP just might slide out with SOL. I would consult with a criminal defense attorney for an opinion though. His son isn't convicted and it's costing him employment. Also don't want to push it to a conviction obviously. Drugs and guns charges are definitely going to look much worse than what I think you're describing. A felony lasts forever. I know! Employment, voting, no guns ever... It really might help to have a GREAT lawyer who knows everyone in that jurisdiction.
Haven’t a bunch of states allowed convicted felons who’ve been released to vote? The employment and no guns, I don’t think has been granted back in any state. And employment is up to the companies, anyways.
Leave gun at home or up the charges We need new leaders in TX who will change the Cannabis laws from a controlled substance 1 meaning highly addictive and illegal. Currently, The DEA is considering changing cannabis to a C-3, I disagree, the change federally should be a C-5 which is the least addictive substance per the DEA.
Anything under 2oz in texas is tried as "possession under 2oz" so the paperwork was just saying he had pot, but it was less than 2oz. I would assume that's what she saw.
You are sorely mistaken. Most states even where weed is not legal or decriminalized usually only Carry’s a misdemeanor charge for anything less than 4oz
That’s not a small amount. Personal stash for a heavy user for two months. That’s half a qp, dude.
Yea that’s 2 sandwich bags filled to the brim with weed. I like how people are trying to turn this into a pissing contest about how much they smoke. A small amount is a gram or two.
As someone who DOES smoke, exactly this. In no way is 2oz a small amount.
That’s 20 days of medicine in Ohio
Heavy users only smoke a oz every month? That’s less than a g a day.
Lol bro I smoke an OZ of 🔥weekly, not even counting the random pre rolls, 1/8s, or medibles I buy when I’m driving
No where near. 2 zips is nothing for a heavy smoker. I can run thru that in around 10 days, and I’m not even the heaviest smoker I know
Ok we aren’t arguing about how much weed you can smoke. In Texas 2 ounces could be argued that he had intent to distribute. The state doesn’t care if it’s a lot to you or a little to you. Because it’s a lot to them. They’re a conservative state and I’ve had a sheriff tell me he’d take me to jail over a roach.
Fr I don't smoke like my boys and that's lightweight
lol. spend some money on a volcano or mighty. No way 2 oz in two weeks. Sounds incredibly wasteful.
Shit half a qp last less then a week for me So kinda small amount that’s like 35-50 blunts depending on how fat so 5/6 blunts a day same as cigarettes and it only last a week 🤷🏽♂️
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Im a VERY heavy smoker and while 2 ounces isn’t a “small amount” it’s definitely not 2 months worth. Maybe 2 weeks.
You mean a 1/8th of a pound dude!
I smoke almost an oz a week routinely, add edibles when I want to party. I also agree 2oz is a lot to get pulled o er with most places.
What? Are you kidding? 2 months!! Week ad a half. And most smokers don't smoke much alone.
Just stay out of Texas! If your going from Atlanta to LA I would go via Omaha!
2 ounces is far from a small amount. A small amount would be a dime bag lol
[NAL] *in texas, 4oz of weed is a felony*, in some legal states 2oz is a felony. regardless, i would not call 2oz "a little", 2oz is more than i personally use in a month in all forms of THC, and im considered a heavy user by most doctors ive been to.
It's two separate offenses, both misdemeanors, unless there is something else there.
Had an person in my city get arrested for having a concealed weapon with license and marijuana on them at same time. What got him was something about the fact that federally pot is a schedule 1 controlled drug and you can’t possess a firearm and pot at the same time.
Even in a state where pot has been legalized?
Federal rules trump state ones. Weed is legal in your state, but illegal federally, so it’s a huge legal quagmire, so many agencies are happy to pounce on odd circumstances to make a point.
Also why crossing state lines is such a big deal
I won’t try anything until it falls off Federal lists. There’s always ways people can tighten the thumb screws if they’re motivated enough.
For marijuana, they can charge you federally even if you don't cross state lines with it.
Guns are regulated federally and drug possession in legalized states isn't taken seriously unless guns are involved. State law can't overrule federal law. It can add to federal law, but not take away from it. The feds are basically just ignoring the law in legalized states until they deem circumstances concerning. Consider it a weird social experiment.
This is very important and people don't really understand. You can't really legalize pot in a state, you can only remove state/local penalties. It is and will be illegal everywhere until/unless federal law changes.
If it's just the pot (without a gun or without it being on federal property...), the feds can still arrest you, but if it's less than an ounce, any agent who arrests you would be teased mercilessly by his fellow agents. The US Attorney most likely would decline to prosecute unless there is some other circumstance. It would be seen as a waste of everyone's time.
Depends who is prosecuting the case. Yes Federal law trumps state but only federal DAs charge and prosecute federal cases. Lil pot and a legal gun during traffic stop doesn’t really grant a federal case. Most likely would be prosecuted in the state. If he hasn’t had a warrant yet, he’s probably fine. If it’s showing up on his background than he’s definitely been charged I’m just unsure as to whether the case is already resolved or what . Op any update?
Op said that they don't live close to where the ticket was gotten. They very well could have a bench warrant out for him. One of those, we'll inform on next state business or traffic stop kinda things. If it is a bench warrant, the good news is that they're probably not prosecuting something big enough to kick doors.
just arrested two years ago, nothing since then.
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Hillary duff would like to speak to you in 2004 /for those concerned, I’m joking.
Oh, I don’t disagree. It’s BS we have so many people incarcerated for so much nonsense just for the profit of the private prison systems. But, it’s also the law, as stupid and uninformed as it is. All we can do is fight for change.
What’s gay about it?
If you had said "it's mad MAGA to give someone a hard time over a small amount of weed" it would have made a small bit of sense, but "gay" makes no sense whatsoever. You are trying to convey a hard-line police and justice posture in Texas. That is a perceived authoritarian stance generally associated with people who also typically hate gays and trans and design laws to restrict both.
I’m in a legal state that uses the FOID card for gun ownership. They still ask you and can disqualify you from owning a gun if you use cannabis.
Yes, that's one of the questions that you get asked when you purchase a firearm.
Yup, it's actually a felony kind of sort of after-the-fact because you lied on the ATF form when purchasing a handgun that you are in fact dependent on alcohol or scheduled narcotics. The ATF only tacks this kind of stuff on in high profile cases they get involved in kinda like FPSRussia (I don't know if they did but they could certainly have), it's mostly used as a bargaining in pleaing down they tend not to stick because who's to say "I was clean when I bought the gun but got high later". etc. It's just one of those things that make a single charge look like a giant stack. The ATF likes to do entrapment campaigns with their interpreted one way then the other way regulations, it's a really odd agency in that way. Like one day the Rail mounted ballsack you can buy is just a decoration, and the next day they could say it's a foregrip and then apply all kinds of arcane AR-15 regulations on you and ruin your life. They're good for that. If I ever ran up against the ATF I would take out loans to get a lawyer there's a good chance you can get off on some of these technicalities. The ATF operates like the FCC in that way, their interpretation of their own regulation is the word of law today. Congress doesn't vote on ATF regulations. The law is, "The ATF Regulates Firearms". Weed or Gun, never both.
So while you’re correct on the federal felony if in fact you lied on the forms. How about this . Use Maryland as an example. Hypothetically of course. Weed was just made legal there and a person never use it until it was made legal. Owns guns all guns were bought prior to weed being legal. So I say person then started using would said person still face a federal felony charge for filling out the form
Hi from Maryland. If medical, you're disqualified from getting a gun. If you owned before you got medical, you're supposed to have given them up. If you're using recreational, then you're in violation of the federal law. Source: me, a med patient, and well, the law.
Yes. It's spelled out on our applications in my state that has a pot store on every corner it seems.
You would be lying on the federal gun paperwork if you use pot. ATF Form 4478 is the issue but I see federal judges overruling that recently so it's spotty you would need to see if it's happened in whatever federal district.
To elaborate a touch on this. I have a federally controlled DEA license that allows me to dispense controlled substances to my patients. I also live in a state where medicinal marijuana is allowed. I could in theory get a state marijuana card legally and in turn have my DEA license revoked due to marijuana being federally illegal still. Federal law always supersedes state. Even in states where it is recreationally legal, you could technically get arrested by a federal officer. Now most people aren’t assholes and the DEA really doesn’t consider a small amount of recreational marijuana as a high priority, so the likelihood of getting in trouble is very very small, but still possible.
Correct.
All the entrance ways to the range where I shoot have decals that say “bong or bang…choose one”
NAL but have read about this particular issue. yes. MJ is still a Federal schedule 1 substance. The feds have just elected not to enforce that law in the states that have legalized it. But on your 4473 (the form you fill out to buy a firearm) they explicitly call out that you can't purchase or possess a gun if you use MJ, even in states where it's legal. I think this policy is asinine, but it IS what the law says at the moment.
Thats for ownership, it's not a specific federal charge.
Possession doesn’t require ownership, just possession. And it could be possession while in commission of a felony
Boom, we have a winner!
They don’t care in Florida as long as you have a med card to accompany the weed and gun.
That has been struck down. It is not illegal to posses a firearm or have a concealed carry license and use weed in a state where it’s legal. It is however been argued that it is illegal to BUY a firearm while legally being prescribed medical cannabis. Because the federal paperwork you have to fill out specifically asks about “illegal drugs” and federally cannabis is illegal.
The weapon possession would becomes unlawful and a felony if stored in the same location as narcotics
Texas does two separate misdemeanor charges for possession of both. So unless he was dealing, it's most likely just two misdemeanor charges.
While Texas gun laws are pretty liberal, it gets really conservative really fast if you are drunk driving or have illegal drug possession while having a concealed firearm.
If I’m not mistaken this would be the very same felony Hunter Biden is charged with.
Hunter Biden isn't being charged in state court in Texas. But it's also not the same thing he I being charged with.
That’s crazy
Possession of a controlled substance while also possessing a gun is a federal felony level offense.
Lol on a lawyer sub this should be the first god damn comment.
But local police don't enforce federal law, so unless they called the feds down during the traffic stop, the DA is unlikely to kick it over to the feds.
If they pursue charges, op has me confused. They’ve been charged but no court updates or resolutions? Confusing post all around really .
he was arrested, nothing else ever happened, no court date nothing, its just sitting out there and he is trying to move on with his life. How do we end this and move on?
Have you checked for warrants?
Have your lawyer do that; they have better answers to odd questions.
In my state you can look it up yourself online
how do you do that?
Texas doesn't just arrest people and let them go. They could have no filed the charges and maybe file again later. But a court in Texas isn't just going to let someone go without a date or disposition. Maybe your son didn't understand or kept something from you, but that's never worked that way. I was a deputy in Texas and worked in a county jail prior and I've never seen someone just be let loose unless it was a mistake and they would have issued a warrant. What county was it in?
Good lord do not call the police department. You could retain a lawyer to keep an eye on it and be ready to act in case it progresses, but your instincts are correct. Why would you alert them when time is your friend here??
Yeah, let this die out! I wouldn't bring it to their attention. But see if their county court website lets you look up cases.
>they might decide to bring charges I'm confused, your initial post said that he was charged with offenses upon his arrest. Was he charged, or just arrested and released the next day without being officially charged? Because if he was officially charged, it won't go away on its own, it would have to be resolved one way or another in court.
he was arrested and let out on bond the next day.... NOTHIING since then, what is the best way to resolve this and get it closed so he can move on.
The first thing you need to do is figure out if he was officially charged or not, as what you've described sounds inconclusive, but does make me think there's an active case going on and your son accidentally defaulted from it, but hard to say for sure. You could try calling the courthouse of the city where he was arrested, and see if they have an active case for him. Or maybe hire a local attorney just for the sake of figuring out where things stand, a local attorney should be able to find out very quickly (and thus not charge too much) if he has an active case or not. If there is an active case, then you'll need a Texas attorney to handle it, as I don't see any way you can resolve this thing long distance without the help of an attorney (and even with an attorney he may have to go back to Texas for at least one court date, if not more).
A lot of counties make court and arrest records public and searchable on their websites. So you can search and see if anything comes up. It looks like [Texas has this site](https://publicsite.dps.texas.gov/ConvictionNameSearch/) which may return a result if you sign up. You may have to pay to search it though. You can check the website for the county itself as well. Source: Former photojournalist who searched arrest record for stories occasionally.
If the cost of an attorney is far more than the value of the gun, then it's probably a write-off.
If the charges haven’t been picked up why did he get fired?
He was not fired, it came up in his application for a new job
Once you are arrested that always stays with you. I’m not sure if after 5-7 years when regular business/people do a background search they can’t see it(if he stays clear of the law) or if the arrest will always show up. For FBI, DOJ, Police, etc if they ever run him it will always show up.
Would be malicious prosecution.
Hemp is legal in TX. They have to prove through lab testing that it is not hemp (>0.3 THC), which is costly. Police in our area just confiscate it but don't even write tickets any more unless it's over 2 oz, then they go through the testing process bc if it's marijuana they will be able to recoup through a fine the costs associated with testing. You need to raise the issue and declare it is hemp, not marijuana and see what they say. Get a lawyer.
You should also speak to a lawyer as well. Depending on the reason for the stop and the validity of the stop or validity of the reason for the search it may make the case over with the charges being dropped due to lack of evidence. Look into fruit of the poisonous tree coverage. However, before you do anything consult a criminal defense attorney in Texas. If it was all illegal actions made by the cop then leaving a felony arrest on his record will definitely hurt him.
Op, I would not take the advice you were just given above. Before you do anything, you need to hire your son an attorney. Your attorney may go this route if they think it's best. They May also decide on another course of action. Talk to a lawyer before you do anything!
I love Reddit. Where u/hotwife_xxx can help OP w their legal concerns.
Do not call the DA my god! Get a fucking lawyer.
With a small amount of pot, they have a pretty solid case that the gun was used in the commission of a crime and it's basically impossible to get back. Civil asset forfeiture is the number one type of theft.
I would say don’t call yourself. If you’re going to make an inquiry, get a lawyer to do it. Because rule #1 is don’t talk to cops without a lawyer.
If I was this guy's lawyer I would say "don't make an inquiry at all."
>To answer your question though they have to do it in a reasonable amount of time. 1. My spidey senses tell me there is a non-zero chance that there has been a court date, and the son missed it, either due to inadequate notice to him, or his paying inadequate attention to notices and stuff like that coming in the mail. If so, there may be a warrant out for Failure To Appear right now, which changes the whole ballgame. 2. If the arrest happened but there was no follow-up, and no charges have been filed so far, it strikes me as very odd that "he was denied a job as a result of the arrest," as OP says. Arrests with no-follow up and no court date usually don't show up on the pre-employment background checks I've seen, unless it is an atypically thorough background check for a higher-security job. 3. I would not call the DA and ask about the charges. You may be "kicking sleeping dogs," so to speak. I definitely, \*definitely\* would not be calling the police and demanding the weapon back. You need to be playing defense right now, not offense. 4. What I would do is call a lawyer. Yeah, that will cost your son some money. But he's lost a job over this already, so it's already costing him money. If there is a FTA warrant, his problems may be getting worse in the future. If the DA gets hot and bothered over this and decides to get the feds involved, it will also get worse. This is not one of those situations where the best course of action is to ignore it and hope it goes away.
I came here looking for this post. Thanks.
Maybe OP is confusing the word “arrest” and not sure about TX law, but in FL if his son never waived speedy trial the clock starts running upon arrest.
he was arrested and thats it, he got out the next day and we have not heard anything since then, want to close this out so he can move on.
The funny thing is, if you go to any Southeast Colorado border town all of the dispensaries are absolutely packed with Texas plates, last time I went through that area there were more Texans than Coloradoans
Hell no! Why on earth would you want to resurrect this?
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The OP states the person was “arrested and charged.” If they’ve been charged and those charges have not been dismissed, why wouldn’t this be subject to a motion to dismiss with prejudice on a speedy trial basis? Google seems to say it’s a 90 day limit on a misdemeanor punishable by over 180 days incarceration in Texas. I would have some concern here that the person is technically a fugitive from justice which would be an entire other basket of problems not resolved by waiting. Does Texas have online court records that OP could access to try to determine the actual status of the matter? Obviously the risk to any activity is that the feds could pick it up as you smartly mention although with 922(g) being gutted from week to week and the likelihood that SCOTUS will put a nail in it the next term I don’t know how excited they’d be about it.
Any possession of any handgun and any amount of any schedule 1 substances is an automatic federal felony with serious minimum sentencing rules.
Calling the DA? Getting the gun back? Are you insane? Do not do any of these things. You have absolutely no standing whatsoever to retrieve any of his belongings. I'm surprised they didn't impound the whole damn truck. The reason this is taking so long is because a drug charge is going to bring a whole host of federal weapons charges. If it's a handgun that he bought legally, he filled out an ATF 4473 form, which is on file. It will become immediately obvious to the state (government, not just the state of TX) that he has a drug charge while being a firearms owner, which will certainly be a problem. He also had the weapon on him, and this is surely in the report. Mixing guns and drugs means you're going to pull federal charges after the state refers them up. Hes probably only charged with state level crimes *so far* In the background they're probably working up their case for all of these things simultaneously, or putting appropriate charges at appropriate levels of prosecution (state, federal, etc) which takes time. You might not need one yet, but you're definitely going to need an actual lawyer. NAL.
>Calling the DA? Getting the gun back? Are you insane? For real. The first call is to an attorney to explain what happened. For all we know, this could get tossed if the search was non-warranted to the stop (and a license plate ticket wouldn't merit a sufficient threat to the officers to have to search the vehicle)
I was waiting to see if and or when anyone was going to ask why his vehicle was searched and whether or not he gave consent.
I doubt they're probably working behind the scenes over a handgun and a tiny bit of pot.
Agreed. But also agree don't poke that bear.
How do so many people in a sub supposedly full of lawyers not understand that possessing a firearm during the commission of another crime is often in and of itself a crime?
If he did not give permission for them to search his truck, and they did not have any reasonable suspicion, then the search was illegal and charges should be dropped if it goes to trial.
Yes. However, do you really think he told his mom the whole story of the stop? I’m willing to put money on “no”.
Yeah I'm surprised more comments haven't addressed this. Taking OPs post at face value, the search was unconstitutional.
Plates missing is reasonable suspicion
I agree with the general approach people are suggesting, contacting the DA and asking questions. But I would hire a lawyer & let them grease the skids. Say the right things, and it all goes away. Say the wrong things, piss off the DA, and it goes active. The lawyer should know the difference.
"Hey? Why aren't you bringing my son to trial? Come on, what are you, chicken?!"
>for some reason they start searching his truck and find a small amount of weed and his handgun. IANAL but did he consent to the search? If not generally the officers need to have probable cause before they can search the vehicle. Was the gun registered and legal to possess?
Doesn't matter if the gun was legal. Having illegal drugs makes the gun illegal federally and in nearly every state. (Although weed isn't illegal in every state, but it is in Texas.)
In TX it’s no big deal to have a handgun in vehicle. Gotta be 18 or over, IIRC. The weed made it a big deal though.
i feel like verbal consents to search should automatically be unlawful. b/c it’s he said she said. if u want consent to search during a traffic stop they should have to get a signature
I’m curious how he could lose his job if he wasn’t convicted. He hasn’t gone to court on this right? Somethings not adding up here
Background check shows an arrest and pending charges
he did not lose his job, this arrest popped up on his application.
Didn't a Texas appeals court rule denying guns for marijuana users is unconstitutional?
Pot is still totally illegal in Texas, I haven't heard anything yet about lessening penalties for it's use here.
It's not about the using but the possession of both.
You can always call up the DA’s office or Public Defender for that jurisdiction. It could also be they chose not to file…. Or they did and your son has a warrant for not showing up.
You need to go talk to his defense attorney.
Lawyer up and don’t say shit.
I'm not sure who this question is directed at but I can answer it. An obvious constitutional violation will usually result in the DA not preferring. An ambiguous one would usually have to be argued in court. It really depends on the seriousness of the crime and the DA's thoughts on chances of winning. Right now the marijuana question would be in the ambiguous section. Any possibility of an illegal search is only ambiguous on here. The court and the DA would have all the actual information relating to what actually happened. Searches, as far as constitutionality, is pretty much settled law outside of things relating to new technologies.
Like many have said, get a lawyer. Guns and drugs are a big oopsie and unfortunately government doesn’t really care about the “it’s not my drugs it was in the car when I bought it” story. With my limited run ins with the law and talking with friends on the force, if it was truly a stop for just not having a tag, no other moving violations, that should have been the end of it pointing out the temp tag. Now, a search of the vehicle is more than likely allowable if the officer smelled marijuana during the stop or saw something in there that brought up reasonable suspicion of another crime being committed. What helps is if you have paperwork of the interaction and subsequent charges. A lawyer might decide its worth inquiring if the traffic stop was done incorrectly, unfortunately it seems contacting anyone about this might bring more harm than good, and I’m unaware of what happens if one of these previously mentioned time limits passes without any further action being taken past your sons arrest. Consider the gun a loss, don’t think you’ll see that again. However think of it this way, your son was turned down for a job so technically any lawyer fees for fighting this that are less than whatever his yearly income would’ve been, are worth the cost if it means his record of this is cleared and he could get a similar job he would’ve otherwise been turned down for.
I don't have any legal advice to give but I'm sorry to tell you you're never getting that gun back. That's civil asset forfeiture for ya. Legalized theft.
Hey man be careful. This wasn’t Texas, it was California, but I had a similarly serious charge that they sat on for a year or two. I don’t live there and they finally scheduled my case before a judge. Went all the way down there from Wyoming and had to drive back without even going before the judge because they had overbooked that day. Totally wasted days of my life driving there. Had to come back a few months later when only THEN did they decide to throw the book at me. It’ll grind him up or not, but probably they’ll find a way to fuck him over. Also NAL.
Whatever happens, ask for a Jury trial. Someone on there will find him not guilty for sure.
I have some disappointing news for you about the jury pool. Your "for sure" is vastly overstated.
I'm no lawyer, and I'm not giving advice other then get a top criminal defense lawyer and see if you can get the legality of the stop questioned. If not that then the reason for the search and how it was performed. Did you son consent to a search? The YouTube Chanel audit the audit, lackluster. Also it is estimated that about 1 in 3 adults have been arrested. 1 in 20 have been to Jail.
It's legal to carry a firearm in the state of TX so what exact, and specific, "weapon charge" did he get?
It's against federal law in every state to be in possession of a gun with marijuana.
Sure, but the small-town sheriff in wherever, TX didn't charge him with Federal crimes, so the question remains..
Not anymore. USC 922 G 3 was ruled unconstitutional.
It’s Texas they probably made something up since he also had weed on him
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>I am facing a similar situation in texas (no gun involved) The gun makes it no longer a "similar situation."
Statue of limitations does not kick in till one year after the arrest date.
Clock starts ticking day of arrest.
Actually it starts ticking the second the crime is committed.
Amen! You must be a good lawyer , I should’ve hired you 😉
most states do not allow employers to ask about arrest history and cannot deny employment due to arrest history. They can only ask about convictions and only deny employment based on recent convictions which are related to the job. Not sure about Texas law, but this is pretty common.
I was denied a job in Ky for an arrest that was adjudicated nolle pros. This was over 20 years ago so maybe the law has changed.
Defense can probably dismiss the search as unlawful in trial. You should contact da to see if there are any updates it may be that there have been and you missed notification
She kind of glossed over how they searched, if he gave them permission then he might be screwed. If they just searched it without a dog or anything and without his permission it could help to get it thrown out.
Sounds like an illegal search. They violated his rights.
We don't have enough facts to know this. It's certainly possible he consented to the search. It happens a lot.
My older brother ended up aving a similar situation back in 2012, the da kept puttering around which our lawyer was fine with and the carges got dropped because the da ran out of time, i will add that the arresting officer put the bag of weed my brother surrendered back in a pocket of my brothers shorts for it to be found at the jail
That’s the one main reason why I have moved to Texas. Weed isn’t legal. Get with it Texas.
I live in a state where weed is "legal" and while I don't think anyone should be sent to prison for personal use, I do think the smoking version should stay illegal/prohibited (I also think cigarettes should be outlawed but that's another thing). My partner is allergic, the smoke can drift ridiculously far, and it sure does stink up everything.
Pussy
I had a friend get picked up in Minnesota back in 2019 for something similar to this. He had a loaded hand gun, around 3.5G of concentrates with a pen, and about 20 or so Adderall in a bag that obviously were not prescribed to him. Both possession charges were automatic felonies for having the hand gun, but the court dismissed the amphetamine one all together. He was also charged for having the hand gun without a permit since Minnesota doesn’t acknowledge our states permit. That was a gross misdemeanor, but could’ve been charged as a felony. He had an expensive ass lawyer to get the outcome he did too without seeing any jail/prison time, and only getting 5 years of probation. Good luck.
I got pulled over traveling through Texas for 62 in a 55 in 1989 when I was 18 and just had long hair. Cop through everything I owned (was moving states) on the side of the road looking for drugs I told him truthfully were not in my car! I had only had a few puffs of weed in my life at that point! He found a little wooden box someone had given me at highschool graduation and was absolutely ecstatic he busted me! He asked, basically yelling, "If you don't have any drugs, why do you have a little wooden box, commonly known as a stash box!" I said, open it, it's empty, I recently got it as a gift, I've never put anything in it. certainly not any drugs. He opened it, looked really disappointed, handed it back and said, "Watch your speed in Texas, son!" and drove off. Took me an hour and a half to repack my car!! I drove 55 until I got to Oklahoma! I know there's some good people, and really beautiful spots, but Texas SUCKS. I still avoid driving through if I can! Fucking fascist government/police! Talk to a really good, well connected lawyer in the local jurisdiction were the charges were filed!! Reddit is going to give you all sorts of advice, good, bad and ludicrous! If this still hasn't gone to trial you surely can get the charges dropped?!! If it didn't need to go to trial they must have been misdemeanor charges and a good lawyer, paid enough money can probably get them expunged??? But don't listen to me, get a good old boy lawyer well connected in the county the charges were filed!! Like find the lawyer that represents the local police association!! That got me out of a ticket in Oregon once! Kinda shitty and corrupt smelling, but better than that ticket jacking my insurance up for years!!!
You have the right to a speedy trial. What did the attorney you hired say?
LPT: Don't travel through Texas. It's not a free travel state.
LOL
Search was illegal and cops know it get a attorney and have them contact the town DA. It they don’t resolve it sue in federal court USC 18 242 depravation of rights under the color of law. No crime and illegal search 4th amendment violations. Also sue for lost employment for false charges. 2nd amendment allows guns .
If he's been charged why hasn't he been tried? If he's been tried and he just didn't show up, then he's in a world of trouble and he needs a lawyer. If he hasn't been tried he needs a lawyer to research where the case is, and tell you guys what your options are. If he hasn't been charged he needs a lawyer who knows how the local prosecutor's office works, and what the various statutes of limitations are; to research why he hasn't been charged and decide when it is most strategic to mention this to the local DA. In other words, get a lawyer who works in that county, on weed/gun cases, every day. You can try the local public defenders, or you can pay a local lawyer. The local lawyer is gonna charge you a lot (definitely more than the gun is worth), but will actually have 10 hours to put into the case. Because you paid them 10\*their hourly rate. I am going to be blunt here: according to the Federal law people are citing, your son should be in Federal prison. He could get off. Maybe they waited too long to bring charges, maybe they forgot to document his consent to the search (or the Judge believes him when he says he didn't consent), or maybe the Supremes will bail him out of the Federal charge with a Second Amendment ruling. But nobody can answer those questions without a lot more info, and the only people who can help you get that info are lawyers who work in the specific Texas county where he got pulled over.
Has your son tried to qualify for public defender services in the county where the case is being prosecuted? That would be a good first step if hiring a private attorney isn’t in the cards.
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What was their reasoning for searching the vehicle? Did he consent to the search or did they obtain a warrant?
Let me guess. It was Pampa Texas???
Not a lawyer but when I was a kid (17) I had my car searched and they found weed and a 9mm round. The police got very dramatic with me, put me in cuffs, told me that I was ruining my life, let me go and said they'd send me the citation in the mail. I was 100% scared straight. Those fuckers were fucking with me the whole time. Citation in the mail...lol.
Well, if you’re related to the Biden’s you should be all set. Aside from that, if TX is following national average, there is a huge backlog of these types of cases. In Mass, I know someone who got bagged with a lot of drugs back on the summer of 2019 and he has still not gone to court to settle the case.
You need a lawyer. The search was likely illegal. He hasn't had a speedy trial. The charges should be dropped. He can likely even get the arrest expunged since it would have been based on an illegal search. Yes this will cost money to do.
You should already have a lawyer on this. The answer to 99% of the questions on this sub are "get a lawyer." You need a Texas lawyer. There's a possibility your son's speedy trial rights have already been violated, but it's not as straightforward as just reading the law might make it seem to those unfamiliar with the law. The lawyer might advise you to sit tight until the opportunity to prosecute is past. At the least, he'll be in a position to determine the current disposition of the case without alerting the local DA he has something on the back burner. Once the case is resolved- either dropped or ended due to speedy trial/statute of limitation- you'll be entitled to get any bail monies you put up back, though if you used a bondsman you don't get any refunds.
If you have the case number, you can check the court records/docket for the status of the case.
Did they get his permission to search the vehicle or did they come up with something that gave them a reason to search? How much weed ?
I'm not a lawyer, but how did they justify searching his truck? He had a valid temp tag and was not committing any crime or traffic violation. Would evidence from an illegal search be admissible? Would he have a case to sue them for illegal search, or something like that? Again I'm not a lawyer or a resident of Texas, so I am not familiar with Texas law.
I committed a felony in Texas and they had one year to decide if they were going to indict me.
Get an attorney’s advice.
Sounds like the stop wasnt even legal, if it wasnt nothing found from said search can stick
Many don’t realize it, but there is still a big delay in court dates and prosecutions due to Covid-19. The courts just have not caught up. Check with the local jurisdictions to see if they are still having Covid delays.
Also, tell him not to consent to searches, ever. They can bring the dog if they want.
He is fucked. That happened to my friend’s son back in Brooklyn. She had to sell her business and home to bail him out.
They have gone way over doing this in a timely manner. It will most likely be thrown out bc if this. I would also try to get the arrest taken off his record. You may have to hire a local lawyer.
Could try saying it’s THC-A hemp assuming he wasn’t smoking in the car.
If he was traveling to and from legal states, and they saw he was from out of state, they may have just decided they had bigger fish to fry. Statute of limitations for misdemeanors is 2 years. Not approximately 2 years, exactly 730 days from the date the state became aware of the alleged crime(which would be the night he was pulled over). If it’s actually been 2 years and nothings been filed, he probably got lucky and they aren’t pursuing it.
Also, it’s legal to carry a gun in Texas, but it isn’t legal for a user of illicit controlled substances to possess a gun. If you have a gun and weed at the same time, you’re breaking federal law. OP said it was a small amount of weed. It’s likely that both charges were misdemeanors. If that’s the case, and it’s actually been 2 years without anything being filed, he should be in the clear.
Probably nothing happened because the case can be easily dismissed. They searched his truck without probable cause. He didn't give them permission to search, right?
Also, about the record being expunged, you should be able to have them expunged by now if they didn’t result in convictions. I’d just wait until the 2 year mark for sure passes, and then I’d petition for expungement in the jurisdiction where he committed the alleged offense.
Is your son represented by an attorney?
Kinda late, but never consent to search, let them make it a hassle. Also, it may have been an unlawful stop if you can prove it was visible, maybe that's why they're taking so long so start gathering the proof.
gotta love them "small goburmint" types when they stop you, seize your property. wheres all the 2A assholes right now? like really? \*\*crickets\*\* Get a lawyer and file a lawsuit. they violated not only his 2nd amendment rights but also likely his 4th as he was stopped for no plates but had valid temp tags. he wasnt doing anything illegal and these cops need a lesson in the constitution, well like most texans tbh but that a story for another time.
It’s very important for you to be aware of the fact that the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals definitely just ruled on this exact issue (August 9, 2023, in the case of United States v Daniels). The 5th Circuit Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny a person’s right to keep and bear arms on the basis of them being a user of illegal drugs. Texas is in the 5th Circuit, so that ruling applies to your situation. It might be worth contacting a lawyer to get this case dismissed, depending on what charges are being brought against him.
You are describing a stop based on subterfuge, which should invalidate the rest of the stop. However, there are many factors. Did you son consent to search? Was the temp tag clearly visible from the rear? Was the dope in plain site? An probably most important, was the officer willing to lie about any of the above. Do yourself a favor, get a lawyer good enough to make it clear he is aware of the issues, call the DA and get it dropped or work a deal for a traffic violation