Issue with Utah Law Enforcement I really need some help?

[motega]

I am NOT a Utah resident, and back in 2009 I was on an impromptu road trip to see my family. I had to pass through Utah and Immediately crossing the state line into Utah I was pulled over. I was alone and it was after midnight and it was snowing. I was smoking Newport Cigarettes, but the OFFICERS that pulled me over claimed they smelled Marijuana. I was forced out of my vehicle while they searched and trashed my car. This went on for about an hour. They were not satisfied so they called out a K9 unit. The K9 did not alert to any contraband in the car. The officers were still not satisfied, and continued to search, we're about 2 1/2 hrs to 3 hrs in now. A small plastic baggie was found, one that a spare button would come in and he wrote me up for possession of paraphernalia. They continued the search, this went on for about 4 hours now. Still unsatisfied they kept searching. They located an old purse that had not been used in over a year amongst my belongings and found a tiny amount of shake, EUREKA he almost arrested me for possession of Marijuana but when I explained that I was not using the purse, and had not used it he said he didn't believe me and wrote me up for possession of Marijuana as well. When I had originally been pulled over for a blown out license plate light. I received no citation for the original reason I was pulled over. I was also made to take a sobriety test which I passed and gagged to see if I had swallowed any narcotics. Mind you I was alone during all of this, I had no help to come to my aid. I am now facing 2 drug charges which are both class B misdemeanors in Utah. Is there some kind of Statue of Limitations or rights of mine that were violated that will help me in getting these charges dismissed? Please I need some logical advice, I've searched until my eyes have bled on the internet about laws regarding vehicle searches in Utah and I've found nothing. I cannot afford an attorney and I am left having to negotiate with the courts and prosecutors myself. Thank you for whoever has read this.

[sayre]

seek advise from a attorney in utah and he can possible have everything thrown out because officers went far beyond the scope of reasonable search.


The state of Utah has a zero-tolerance Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) law, which states that drivers are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs. Specifically prohibited drugs include cannabis and cannabis metabolites. Motorists found with traces of these drugs in their bodies are subject to mandatory a 48-hour long imprisonment for a first offense, and will be sentenced to no more than 6 months of incarceration upon conviction.

[toryn34]

rather you can afford a lawyer or not, you need a lawyer, you do not want a drug charge on your record.

[condan]

If you consented to the search of your vehicle, you COULD have withdrawn your consent at any time and they would have had to stop. If you did NOT consent...the search was illegal.

The small plastic baggie would have to have drug residue in it to be considered "drug paraphernalia." Without such residue...it's not paraphernalia.

A traffic ticket need not be issued, however, it would have been in the officers best interest to show the original violation, via a warning ticket, was the reason for being stopped.

Because the offense is a misdemeanor offense, the state would have up to one year to prosecute. If they fail to do so, they would have lost their opportunity to make a case.

If there is a matter of you failing to appear after receiving the original summons, then there is no statute of limitations involved provided you failed to appear within that one year time frame where the case was originally addressed by the court.

The below website gives you a place to enter the zip code from where you were stopped by the police to locate an attorney from that area.

http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/marijuana-laws-and-penalties/Utah.htm

I suspect there may be just a bit more to this issue than you've written therefore feel free to email me directly!