On Oct. 2, a man in New Jersey was accused of bringing marijuana with him to a court appearance. The 32-year-old man was in Fort Lee where he had been scheduled to appear in court for multiple charges, including possession of marijuana. When he arrived at the court around 10:20 a.m., the man's backpack was allegedly found to contain drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Port Authority officers opened the man's backpack as part of their usual security screenings. Inside the bag, officers allegedly discovered less than 50 grams of marijuana, a cigar wrapper that they believe was intended to be reused for smoking marijuana and two packs of rolling papers. The man was subsequently detained and charged for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
In May, the accused had been detained at the George Washington Bridge for allegedly driving under the influence. He was also charged for driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana that was reportedly found in his car. The man was not the first person accused of bringing marijuana to a court appearance; Port Authority police officers detained another individual in December on suspicion of bringing marijuana to a marijuana possession hearing.
In some cases, a person who has received charges for possession of marijuana was the subject of an unlawful search and seizure by police officers. An attorney can sometimes uncover evidence of unlawful actions taken by police officers that may result in the evidence that was seized being inadmissible in court. When the prosecution is unable to present this evidence, the case may be weakened and the charges dropped as a result.
Source: NJ.com, "Drug defendant brings marijuana to Fort Lee court hearing, Port Authority says", Noah Cohen, October 02, 2014