Should I Plea Guilty or Not Guilty for my Drug Possession Charges?

Have you been searching for the best criminal lawyers Sydney? At Benjamin Leonardo, The Defenders, we are a team of talented criminal lawyers and drug lawyers Sydney. According to recent research conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, drug use has become an increasingly severe issue within Australia with drug-related deaths at the highest they’ve been over the past 20 years.

We understand that facing drug charges may be a scary and difficult time for you and your family. The nature of drug offences and drug charges may be difficult to understand, as well as possible penalties, the process of attending court and having a defence. As reputable criminal lawyers Parramatta, we aim to assist you along the way of figuring out your drug charges.

Below are some of the ways that criminal and drug lawyers may be  able to assist you and defend you against your drug charges:

Understand Drug Charges and Drug Offences

Our talented team of drug lawyers and criminal lawyers Parramatta can assist you with understanding any drug offences and charges you may face such as: 

• Drug possession
• Drug supply
• Drug manufacture
• Drug importation 

Our criminal and drug lawyers Sydney will provide you with personalised advice based on your personal situation and the nature of the charges you may be facing. 

Assistance When Attending Court For Drug Offence Charges

Drug possession charges are summarily dealt with at a Local Court. Drug supply charges are often dealt with at the local court, although cases that involve indictable or commercial quantities may be dealt with at the District Court. A drug manufacturing offence that is related to small or trafficable quantities will generally be dealt with in the Local Court, with offences that carry a higher severity are generally dealt with in the District Court. Drug importation offences are an indictable offence under the Commonwealth Law, meaning that drug importation offences will be dealt with at the District Court or Supreme Court depending on the specific nature of the offence. 

Our successful drug lawyers Sydney will assist you by providing you with the most accurate and honest advice based on your situation and circumstance. Our talented criminal lawyers will be able to assist you with pleading not guilty or guilty, and attending court for your charges, aiming for the best possible outcome for you.

Understanding Possible Defences For Drug Charges

Our team is known for being the best criminal lawyers Sydney due to our success rate of over 90 per cent. The defences we may use to assist with your case in court will be dependent on the specific case and circumstances, although some defences we may be able to utilise in the case of a drug offence charge include: 

• Duress – a defence used when an act is committed out of unlawful coercion which the accused would not usually partake in if they were not coerced. 
• Necessity – if the accused believes they committed the offence due to imminent danger (through natural or human forces) and that the action was justified due to the risk involved, the defence of necessity may be used for the case. This defence will need to be proved the offence was committed in order to avoid consequences that would have been “irreparable evil” and that the individual must have believed that there were no other alternatives, and they were in a state of “imminent peril.” 
• Knowledge – the defence of knowledge may be used if the accused was unaware what the substance was or believed the substance was something other than what it was. 
• Lack of any commercial intent – in regards to a drug importation charge, the defence of lack of any commercial intent may be relevant if it can be proved on the balance of probabilities that the accused did not have any intent to sell the imported substances. 
• Other – in specific circumstances, a defence or ‘other’ defence may be used in instances of drug supply, where the individual was holding the substances for someone else, referring to the R v Carey (1990) case, where the defence was deemed to be the “Carey Defence.” 

Are You Searching For Drug Lawyers Sydney?

When you are looking for an experienced criminal lawyer in Parramatta and Sydney to defend your drug offence charges, it is important to find criminal lawyers who are both reliable and have a high success rate in achieving the best possible outcomes for their clients. 

Having defended more than 3,800 criminal defence cases with a success rate of over 90%, Benjamin Leonardo, Criminal Lawyers Parramatta & Drug Lawyers Sydney, issue their clients with knowledgeable legal advice and flexible payment terms. If you have been charged with a drug or criminal offence in Sydney, please contact the best criminal lawyers Sydney, Benjamin Leonardo on (02) 9283 3033 for your first consultation.