Virginia Drug Conspiracy Defense Strategies

Conspiracy charges are taken seriously in Virginia. They are dangerous charges to be facing, as the government needs only to prove an agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime has occurred, which can be difficult to defend in some cases. This is viewed as a relatively low standard of proof that is required to convict somebody, so having the help of a skilled drug conspiracy attorney is important to crafting a solid defense strategy for someone’s drug conspiracy charges in Virginia.

Proving Conspiracy

In order to be convicted of conspiracy, it must be proven that there was more than one guilty mind. Guilty mind, when talking about conspiracy cases, means that a person cannot conspire to commit a crime with the confidential informant or an undercover police officer. The reason is because the true agreement was never actually formed, where a person charged with agreeing with a person never actually intended to go through with the crime. Therefore, charging that person with conspiracy is impossible under the law. They must prove that two or more guilty minds agreed to commit the crime.

Investigations Process

Drug conspiracy investigations are not a lot different than other drug investigations. They typically like to find people who are charged with possession or low-level distributions and try to work their way up the chain. In this way, people become confidential informants or testify against other people with whom they have done business before.

The number one thing that is used in an investigation is the threat of power against the person charged with the crime. The number one tactic they use is the threat of power. Aside from that, with some of the more complex drug investigations, a person might see the government employ the use of electronic monitoring, such as phone taps or computer taps, but the primary evidence that they always have and seek is testimonial evidence against the people charged.

Building a Defense

Many of the same principles and defense possibilities are available with drug conspiracy cases as a lot of other crime’s cases. The constitution is the constitution whether for drug cases, theft cases, or assault cases. The critical thing that a person needs to be looking for in an attorney who is going to be representing them for a drug conspiracy case like this is how much experience that attorney has and how aggressively they are representing clients charged with conspiracy. The defense strategies in their Virginia drug conspiracy case will be tailored to the particular conspiracy offenses and primarily the defense of intent.

Preparing a Defense

Virginia conspiracy attorneys are going to need to know exactly what is it that a person is charged with, the court dates, and any of the other general logistics about the case in order to begin their defense. Additionally, they are going to want to know other pieces of information, such as what might the government have found if they conducted a search warrant and if any statements were made to any law enforcement about the charges that a person faces.

Any other pieces of evidence that the government might have, if they have it, lawyers need to know about. The sooner lawyers can get that information from the client the better served the client will be because they will be ready in the correct narrative when the case goes to trial and can help form the proper defense strategy.

Working with an Attorney

The most important thing someone looking to hire a drug conspiracy attorney should look for is experience. A lawyer has to know what they are doing building their defense and the right way to do it. Drug cases can be complicated, especially conspiracy cases. They can require a tremendous amount of nuances to successfully defend them. Having somebody that has fought the fight in a variety of cases is going to be a valuable asset for any person charged with conspiracy.