Brady Disclosures and Your Florida Drug Case
Drug charges such as drug trafficking or possession with intent to distribute can lead to long prison sentences. If the opportunity is available, many defendants take a plea deal that reduces the charges; spending three years in prison is no fun, but it is better than spending 20 years in prison. If there is no option to reduce your charges, it is worthwhile to try to cast doubt on them at trial. Likewise, no matter how attractive the plea deal, you should always fight your charges if you are sure that you were innocent. In high level drug cases, defenses such as, “those were not drugs” and, “I was not there,” usually do not work. Defenses have more to do with what your role in the drug trafficking operation was and why the police and the prosecution witnesses went so far out of their way to find evidence against you, when you are only one of many people involved in the sale or transport of illegal drugs. In cases like these, every detail of the investigation counts, as does every ulterior motive. Pursuant to the Supreme Court decision Brady v. Maryland, you have the right to know about all of the prosecution’s dirty laundry. If the people who are accusing you of a felony drug offense are not exactly innocent themselves, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.
Prosecutors Cannot Hide Information About Snitches and Corrupt Cops
Brady disclosures are the information that prosecutors must reveal to defendants during the pretrial discovery phase. The Brady decision involved a defendant who was convicted of murder because the prosecution failed to provide him with a confession by his accomplice, stating that the accomplice had personally killed the victim, while Brady himself had only played an accessory role in the crime. The decision states that the prosecution must disclose all information that might help the defendant’s defense.
These are some situations where Brady disclosures might help you in a drug case:
- A prosecution witness received a plea deal or immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying against you.
- A police officer who arrested you or obtained a search warrant for your property has a documented history of lying in his or her official capacity.
- You have the right to review the police records of your case in their entirety. It is possible that the police know information that could cast doubt on your guilt, even though they may not have revealed this information to anyone, not even to prosecutors.
Brady disclosures can make the difference between a conviction and an acquittal. In many cases, jurors have voted to acquit the defendant not because they were sure that the defendant was innocent, but rather because they did not trust the police or the prosecution witnesses enough to base a conviction on their allegations.
Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases
A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you obtain Brady disclosures so that you can build a successful defense. Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://en.wikipedia.org/&httpsredir=1&article=1180&context=lawfaculty
