Some drug charges result from police officers finding prohibited or controlled substances in someone’s pockets or their backpack. When a drug is on someone’s body or in their clothing, the state can very easily bring charges of actual drug possession against them.
However, police officers searching spaces like apartments or vehicles may find drugs on their own, not in the immediate possession of one individual. It is common for everyone present in such scenarios to deny that the drugs the police found belong to them.
Can the state prosecute someone anyway if no one had actual possession of the drugs at issue?
Constructive possession charges are also possible
The law in Hawaii recognizes constructive possession as a form of drug offense. In constructive possession cases, the state attempts to establish that one party had knowledge of and control over the drugs that the police found. How officers decide who to arrest and how prosecutors choose who to charge can be confusing.
Factors ranging from someone’s location in relation to the drugs to their prior criminal record may influence the decision made by the state. Sometimes, a vehicle owner or tenant on the lease for an apartment ends up accused of constructive possession even though the drugs police found belong to someone else.
How do people fight constructive possession allegations?
There are many different criminal defense strategies that can work in a variety of unique scenarios. Perhaps there is forensic evidence such as fingerprints on the packaging of the drugs that police officers found. If those fingerprints do not match the fingerprints of the person accused, questioning the forensic connection between the defendant and the drugs might be an option.
Other times, a defendant might identify the actual owner of the drugs as part of their defense strategy. They might even raise questions about their knowledge of the drugs, especially if officers found them in a hard-to-access location. Social guests and carpool passengers could be responsible for the drugs that police found in some cases. Some defense strategies even focus on proving that a search was illegal.
Learning about how the state develops drug charges can help those facing accusations of possession. It is often possible for those facing drug charges in Hawaii to successfully defend against those allegations with the right support and preparation.