Once on your criminal record, the offense remains on your criminal record, unless it is removed. If you have been charged with a first offense for simple possession of marijuana or possession of alcohol by a minor, be careful.
drug possession
is one of the most common crimes in New York. People of all ages and social positions often have illegal drugs in their possession for their personal use.While some believe that possession of a small amount of drugs for personal use should not be considered a felony, under New York law, drug possession is considered a felony. If convicted, even for certain misdemeanor drug possession offenses, you will face the possibility of going to jail and have a criminal record. If you have been charged with drug possession, you should take the situation very seriously and immediately contact an experienced New York drug possession lawyer who will aggressively defend you against these charges. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates have decades of experience representing clients who have been charged with drug offenses and other serious crimes, such as sexual assault and robbery.
Find out what we can do for you by contacting us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation on your case. Under New York State law, some marijuana possession charges are automatically dropped. Under the new law, the list of charges that are eligible for expungement has been expanded. Other charges require a motion for request to be filed with the Court.
A misdemeanor conviction will remain on your record and will be available to the public for three years before it can be removed. A felony conviction will remain on your record and will be available to the public for five years before it can be removed. Both scenarios can have an impact on your current employment and other opportunities in the future. With respect to drug charges in particular, drug trafficking and manufacturing are two types of felony drug offenses that may not be eligible for expungement.
On the other hand, a misdemeanor drug offense, such as drug possession or use, can be removable. This is because the law considers crimes such as drug trafficking and manufacturing to be more harmful to society, as opposed to the use and possession of drugs, which are mainly only harmful to the individual. If you have been convicted of a drug charge, you are most likely worried about how the conviction would affect your future. It is important to realize the significant consequences of a criminal conviction of any kind, including a drug-related offense.
Registration may affect your employment, education, housing, and your ability to qualify for professional loans or licenses. Removing a drug-related crime from your history can have a big impact on lessening those negative consequences. Under New York law, drug possession can refer to possession of any number of drugs labeled as controlled substances. Under Section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), only minor federal drug offenses can be removed from a federal criminal drug registry.
Depending on the drug involved, if you are in possession of more than a specified minimum amount, the charge will not be criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, but a charge of criminal possession for a more serious felony. If you have a substance abuse problem and you are arrested for a drug possession offense that is a B, C, D or E felony, then you may be eligible to go through the Drug Treatment Court program. Some states may only allow the expungement of minor drugs, such as simple possession, while some will allow felony conviction for transportation or distribution offenses to be removed under certain circumstances. While drug possession may seem like a misdemeanor, the possible penalties show that New York State considers it a very serious crime.
Finally, another important factor that may apply when attempting to remove a felony or misdemeanor drug charge is that a court is much more likely to approve a removal petition when the criminal drug record entry is for an arrest, rather than a charge or conviction. While possession of drugs is a serious charge in and of itself, possession of drugs with the intention of distributing them can have more serious consequences. Specifically, for the purpose of deleting a person's criminal drug record, it is much more difficult to delete or delete an entry for a felony drug charge than to delete one for a misdemeanor drug charge from a criminal drug record. Depending on the law governing the expungement of criminal records in a particular jurisdiction, expungement may serve to erase an entry altogether or only allow a criminal drug record to be stamped.
In addition, the nature of drug charges can affect a court's decision on whether or not to approve a request to clear a defendant's drug record. Despite the difficulties associated with passing a criminal drug record, many people are often interested in carrying out this difficult task, as having a drug registry comes with many negative consequences. Being caught for possession and distribution of drugs can lead to criminal charges, which can have life-changing ramifications. The reason drug charges can have such a drastic impact on a person's life is due to the fact that public policy views drugs and drug-related conduct as a danger to society at large.
. .
