Maryland Drug Conspiracy Lawyer
Drug conspiracy charges in Maryland involve a meeting of the minds between one or more parties for the pursuit of furthering a drug-related criminal offense. These charges are viewed as seriously as any other drug-related offense. Sometimes, the person who is a drug co-conspirator in a drug-related case could be considered even more dangerous than the person who is actually doing the drug distribution itself, because that person might be masterminding a much larger operation.
These charges are investigated and prosecuted seriously in Maryland, and if someone is facing charges, it is important they employ a Maryland drug conspiracy lawyer as soon as they are able. The penalties for their charge can be extensive, and as such only an experienced drug attorney can help to mitigate those penalties or reduce sentencing.
Conspiracy Charges
Surprising to many people is the fact that someone who conspires with another for drug-related offenses does not ever have to have seen the drugs, touched the drugs, or have been in possession of the drugs. All someone has to do to be charged with drug conspiracy in Maryland is to have participated in some way in the furtherance of the drug distribution.
Prosecutors offices take the co-conspirator’s case very seriously and often could be looking to them even if they never had their hands on the drugs. They could be looking at them to solve a much larger case with respect to drug distribution thereby making it important that a drug conspiracy attorney in Maryland is contacted.
What are the Potential Penalties for a Conspiracy Charge?
If the person is only charged as a co-conspirator in Maryland as opposed to the actual offense itself, the person will be more likely to receive a misdemeanor if the drug charge is a felony. The maximum penalty associated with the charge of conspiracy, though, is exactly the same as for the underlying charge itself.
For example, a person who is charged in Maryland with conspiracy to distribute marijuana would be facing the same fines or maximum penalty as somebody who is charged with simple distribution of marijuana.
Proving Conspiracy
When determining sentencing and penalties, Maryland prosecutors need to prove that there was a meeting of the minds between at least two parties in furtherance of the drug distribution.
Someone can be charged with both conspiracy and separate underlying drug offenses in Maryland. This can often happen even in the advanced stages of their investigation where someone might be charged as both a possessor and a co-conspirator with respect to drugs in order to assist the prosecutor with having more options for the prosecution to move forward.
How are Investigations Done?
Generally speaking, drug conspiracy cases work in the same way as other criminal investigations where an officer gets a lead and finds out where a drug distribution might be taking place or someone is in possession with intent to distribute. Then the officer will likely investigate that individual to find out who their co-conspirators are with respect to the furtherance of that drug-related offense.
For example, the officer might look at the cell phone of an arrested person to see who have they been communicating with to find leads or information on who else might have been involved in the furtherance of that drug-related crime. A drug distribution attorney in Maryland is essential in countering the evidence uncovered in any investigation.
Evidence
The most common technique used in drug conspiracy investigations would be searching for evidence at the original scene of a criminal offense and using it to their advantage by finding out who else might be involved in a particular case.
This could involve anything from looking at the person’s cell phone to asking them direct questions to find out who might have been involved in their criminal enterprise. There are many different ways that detectives and police officers can find out additional information about co-conspirators with respect to drug-related crimes.
Contacting an Attorney
When finding a drug conspiracy attorney in Maryland, it is important to find one who has a great deal of experience with constitutional issues, such as the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. It is important that people recognize that drug cases, whether they involve possession, distribution, possession with intent to distribute, or conspiracy – cases related to any of those crimes rely heavily on how evidence was gathered by police and prosecutors and whether that was done properly.
If an attorney who has experience with those particular constitutional issues can find areas where there were violations by the government, those are going to be opportunities for a defense attorney to get a complete acquittal of criminal charges, or to put a person in a better position for some kind of an agreement with the government with respect to the criminal charges.