Possesion in Virginia with just paraphanelia

[dracme]

Need some advice bad. A couple of days ago me and a friends were driving from Miami to Boston. When we were passing Virginia we got stopped by a cop for having a radar detector. After writting us the ticket he looked around and asked us if he could take a look at the car which we said yes not knowing any better. After searching the car for like 10 minutes he found an EMPTY/NO SCREEN Pipe and an EMPTY/NEVER USED Coke dispenser. At this point he put my friend (owner of the car) in his car and asked him if we had anything else and my friend told him no. Well after that the cop called in another unit with a dog and another officer and they searched the car and us for like an hour in which they did not find ANYTHING. So after like 2 hours on the side of the road the cops finally give up and they give my friend a ticket charging him with possesion of Marijuana.

The cop told my friend that he could only give that because in Virginia there are no laws for Paraphanelia and although we did not have anything because the pipe had resin he had to charge my friend with that. After this he gave my friend the court date which is a traffic court and let us leave in the car we were driving.

Right now we are starting to look for a lawyer but I am not very sure what really happened. I mean my friend got charged for possesion although we had nothing except a pipe. Also the ticket summons my friend to traffic court and not criminal court which is another option. Can someone offer me some help on what is happening and how should I go about beating this weird charge.

YOURE HELP IS VERY APPRECIATED

 

[Erik2001]

pay the fine,

 

[calatty]

It looks like in VA you can get charged for possession of marijuana if there is residue in a pipe which is tested and found to be from marijuana. You should definitely get an attorney to make sure you get the best disposition possible and avoid a conviction on your record if you can.

 

[Humble Warrior]

An attorney will cost you $1000 at the minimum to go to court, and stand there.
Or you could go to court alone,pay the $500-750 fine and get it over-with,and save a few bucks,and a lot of time.

 

[dracme]

yes but if I pay the fine would this show up on a criminal record?????????? .... what happens to my friends if he just pays the fine ???

 

[FKNA]

DO NOT pay the fine. That would be a mistake. Last I heard one was still "innocent until proven guilty". Where's the pipe, where's the residue? You made no mention of the pipe being confiscated so I'm assuming they have NO evidence against you. FIGHT IT!

 

[Humble Warrior]

If he takes the plea,and pays the fine he will now have a record for "posession,minor amount"

It's a tough gig.....you can eat the charge and have a minor infraction on your record. This may prevent you from getting certain jobs,and you'll need special waivers to enlist in the service,and you may not be able to get student loans because of it,OR you can go to court,and fight it,possibly get off free OR possibly get a larger fine,and go to jail for a couple of weeks.
The system is WAY OUT OF CONTROL. when it comes to this minor crap.We need to have the laws changed,and unified across all states,so we know where we stand as citizens. (I'll get off my soap-box now)

 

[JETX]

Even though you have gotten a lot of responses from 'experts', you really need to clear up some contradictory statements in your post before ANYONE can offer any valid advice.

Your post said:
"they give my friend a ticket charging him with possesion of Marijuana" and
"the ticket summons my friend to traffic court".

These can't BOTH be right. If the charge is possession of marijuana (even misdemeanor), it would be heard in the criminal, not traffic, court system.

Here is the penalty for marijuana possession in VA:
"Possession of marijuana: It is against the law to
knowingly possess marijuana unless it was obtained
directly from a valid prescription or order of a practitioner while acting in the course of his professional practice.
First offense is a misdemeanor with not more than 30 days in jail and a fine of not more than $500, either or both. Second offense is a class one misdemeanor up to twelve months in jail and a fine up to a $2500, either or both. The judge can not presume that you, as the owner of the house or car in which the marijuana was found, knew or intentionally possessed the marijuana."

And further confusion... your post says, "The cop told my friend that he could only give that because in Virginia there are no laws for Paraphanelia". That is also incorrect.

Here is the VA law:
"Drug paraphernalia: If you sell or possess with the intent to sell drug paraphernalia, you are guilty of a class one misdemeanor. If you are eighteen years of age or older and you sell drug paraphernalia to a minor at least three years younger than you, you are guilty of a class six felony. A class six felony consists of a jail sentence of not less than one year nor more than five years, or in the discretion of the jury or the court trying the case without a jury, confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either
or both."

Source: http://www.cardonlaw.com/possesionone.htm

The accuracy of any advice received on this forum is DIRECTLY related to the accuracy of your post. If you give us BS, any response you get will be tainted!!

 

[dracme]

Halket .... yes thank you for such a long reply ... I really appreciate this ... let me clear up the confusion

> Your post said:
> "they give my friend a ticket charging him with possesion of Marijuana" and
> "the ticket summons my friend to traffic court".

> These can't BOTH be right.

Actually they are and that is what seemed weird to me. The cop CONFISCATED the pipe which had RESIDUE on it and had no screen so it cannot be used for consumption and confiscated the coke dispenser which was brand new. The ticket has checkboxes under the courts where one is a Criminal Court and the other is Traffic Court and the cop clearly checked the Traffic Court option. That is what is weird to me.

The only thing we really care about is to have his record clear. We do not mind paying the fine but if it is going to mess his record up therefore influencing him when he looks for a job we definetely do not want this. Can a conviction on a Traffic Court influence your Criminal Record ??????

About the law of Paraphanelia that you quoted that applies to selling paraphanelia not to possesing it.

People I really appreciate your help and responses