Criminal Attorney Utah - Drug Possession in a
Correctional Facility
A criminal charge for possession of a controlled substance in a Utah
correctional facility
carries significant potential penalties. If you are found carrying
drugs
into
a jail or prison, the offense level can be enhanced by one degree above
what the charge would normally be. But there are potential defenses
available to this criminal charge.
As
a
Utah criminal defense lawyer
based in Salt Lake City,
Stephen Howard has extensive experience
defending
drug charges
in Utah's criminal court system. He has a
track record of achieving
real
results for his clients.
Contact us today for an
initial consultation and case analysis.
Elements and Defenses to Drug Possession in a Correctional
Facility
Utah law provides that person convicted of illegal possession of a
controlled substance "while inside the boundaries of a property
occupied by any correctional facility" or in "any public jail or other
place of confinement" are subject to a penalty one degree greater than
what would otherwise apply.
Many people who are
charged with possession of a controlled substance in a correctional
facility are people who were booked into jail, either on an outstanding
warrant or
for other recent charges, and just happened to have
drugs in their possession when they were booked. In many of these
cases, the person did not
intend to smuggle drugs into the jail. Given the choice, the person
would not be in jail at all. Such cases raise the issue of whether a
person who does not intend to bring drugs
into a jail or correctional facility should be subject to an enhanced
penalty.
When a person is arrested, he may be faced with the choice of
giving up his
Fifth
Amendment privilege against self-incrimination
by announcing to police that he has drugs in his possession, or risking
an enhanced penalty by remaining silent and waiting till he goes
through the jail booking process and police find the drugs at the jail.
Such a choice essentially imposes a higher penalty on a
person
for exercising his or her Constitutional rights. The
criminal court system should not permit this kind of forced waiver of
Constitutional
protections.
Penalties for Drug Possession in a Utah Jail or Prison
Under
Utah criminal law, a person found in
possession of a
controlled
substance in a correctional facility, jail, "or other place
of
confinement" is subject to a penalty enhanced one level higher than for
ordinary drug possession. For example, a person found in
possession of cocaine would normally be charged with a third degree
felony,
punishable by up to 5 years in prison. If a person is
arrested and taken to jail, and if cocaine is found in his possession
at the jail, a prosecutor may file the charge as a second degree
felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. A simple
marijuana
possession charge, normally a class B misdemeanor, can be enhanced to a
class A level punishable by up to a year in jail.
Finding a Utah Drug and Criminal Defense Lawyer
Based in Salt Lake City,
criminal defense lawyer Stephen
Howard has defended thousands of
felony
and
misdemeanor
cases. His
track record includes
dismissals, not guilty verdicts, and appellate reversals on some of the
most serious charges on the books in Utah.
If you are facing prosecution for
Utah drug crimes
or other criminal charges,
contact
us now to schedule an initial consultation and case analysis.