Driving in Utah is highly regulated. There are rules about how fast people can go, how old they have to be to drive, where people can drive and others. In order to enforce these rules, police officers from across the state are busy on the roadways issuing traffic citations. Occasionally, police will pull over a …
Traffic stop leads to drug possession charges for Utah residents Read More »
Police are specially trained to notice the signs of drug use. They know how drugs look, how they smell and how they are used. With this knowledge, they look for signs of drug use in Utah residents’ homes, cars and businesses. When they find evidence of drug possession, serious drug charges can follow. Recently, two …
Police smell drugs — bring drug charges against Utah residents Read More »
Times are tight, which means that both businesses and the federal government are looking for ways to cut costs. Recently, Attorney General Eric Holder proposed a measure that could save billions of taxpayer dollars per year. More importantly, however, the move would provide some much needed criminal justice reform around the issue of drug crimes. …
U.S. Attorney General seeks sentencing reform for drug crimes Read More »
Being on parole in Utah is difficult and man individuals on supervised release often feel unfairly targeted by police officers. One Utah man was recently able to suppress evidence of drugs that police officers found in his car during a traffic stop. The Utah Supreme Court found that police officers unreasonably extended the length of …
Utah Supreme Court cries foul after police search car for drugs Read More »
Utah prosecutors bring a large number of drug prosecutions every year. Many drug cases involve possession crimes, in which a person is caught with a controlled substance on their body. One of the least commonly understood facts about drug possession is that a person can be charged with drug possession even when they do not …
Judge William A. Thorne Jr. recently upheld the conviction of a man accused to selling crack to an undercover officer. The man was convicted of distributing or arranging to distribute a controlled substance, which is a felony. The man appealed his conviction due to various evidentiary problems in the case. Central to the man’s appeal …
Utah appeals court upholds man’s crack dealing conviction Read More »
In a surprise move earlier this month, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that the federal government would no longer seek mandatory minimum penalties for low-level drug crimes. The move promises to drastically reduce the prison sentences handed out to first-time, nonviolent offenders. Mandatory minimum sentences are laws passed by Congress that force judges …
No more mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders Read More »
The Utah Supreme Court recently affirmed a man’s conviction of methamphetamine possession by finding that a deputy did not improperly extend the duration of the man’s detention during a traffic stop. Every Utah resident has a constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. This right is implicated during traffic stops in which police officers will …
Utah Supreme Court Upholds Drug Possession Conviction Read More »
A Utah court recently upheld a Salt Lake City man’s cocaine possession conviction on a constructive possession theory. The man’s case shows that you can be convicted for cocaine possession even when authorities do not find any drugs on your person. Constructive possession cases are highly fact-specific and often fall on the strength of the …
Appeals court upholds man’s cocaine possession conviction Read More »
Drug crimes are serious when anyone faces them, but a drug charge may be particularly damaging for a college athlete. Student athletes tend to have some of the most high profile drug cases and a recent spate of marijuana possession allegations has many wondering whether there is a drug problem in some college athletic programs. …