Little Falls Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia Charges Dismissed

“Here, we were hired to represent a client facing two misdemeanor (known as disorderly persons) offenses in Little Falls court for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The State failed to produce the discovery evidence within a reasonable period, violating the defendant’s right to a speedy trial. The case was dismissed.”

Marijuana

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Travis J. Tormey recently represented a client charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia in Little Falls, New Jersey. Our client is a college student at Montclair State University and he has no prior record. He is originally from New Orleans and his parents hired the Tormey Law Firm to represent him on these charges. He was facing two disorderly persons offenses (like misdemeanors) and was exposed to the following penalties on each charge: up to a $1,000 fine, up to six (6) months in the Passaic County Jail, probation, and a permanent criminal charge on his record.

We received the initial discovery package (police reports, videos, etc.) and were waiting on the lab report. The State must send the drugs (in this case marijuana) to the State police lab for testing in order to prove that the client was in fact in possession of marijuana. They also need it to show that the pipe he allegedly had was also used for drugs and not tobacco. The State police lab in New Jersey has been having a number of issues recently including a lab tech who was signing off on positive lab results without actually testing anything. This tech was fired (obviously) and there are a number of cases on appeal surrounding his lab reports.

Right to a Speedy Trial – Case Dismissed in Little Falls Court

In this case, the State failed to produce a lab report for six months. The client has a right to a speedy trial and the Judge signed an order after 5 months requiring that the lab reports be produced within 30 days or they would be excluded. The lab reports were not provided within the required time and the case was dismissed. This was a great result for our client and the law firm.