Can You Be Charged with Possession If You Don’t Have the Item in Your Physical Control?

The state may use the theory of constructive possession .

Can You Be Charged with Possession If You Don’t Have the Item in Your Physical Control?

Imagine that you are pulled over during a traffic stop, and the police ask if they can search your car. You consent, not remembering that you drove around your friends as they were doing drugs the previous week (and forgetting the first lesson from your Riverside criminal defense attorney: never consent to a search!). The police find a small bag of meth in the back seat of your car, and arrest you for drug possession. You immediately protest — it isn’t yours! You never do drugs! And you weren’t even sitting in the back seat! Can the police really charge you with drug possession if you weren’t even in possession of any drugs?

The answer, unfortunately, is yes. Under a legal theory known as constructive possession, the state can argue that you have actual control of an item even if it isn’t in your physical control. In other words, even though the meth wasn’t physically in your hands or on your body, you had actual control over them because they were in a place that was immediately accessible to you and that was under your control (your car).

According to an experienced Riverside criminal defense attorney, this issue comes up often in California drug cases. Defendants in a drug possession case might not have actual physical possession of a drug, but might be aware that drugs exist on his or her property. Even if the drugs don’t actually belong to a particular defendant, under certain circumstances, he or she could still be charged with drug possession based on a constructive possession theory.

To prove constructive possession, a prosecutor must demonstrate two elements:

  • That the defendant knew that illegal drugs are on or adjacent to his or her property. For this element, it isn’t necessary that the defendant is directly informed of the presence of drugs if he or she could have reasonably inferred that drugs were present by the facts, circumstances and behavior of others.
  • That the defendant knew — or should have known — that the drugs were illegal.

Applying those elements to the above example, if you knew that illegal drugs were being used in your car, and that some may have been left in your car, then that may be sufficient for a prosecutor to prove constructive possession. This is especially true if you were the only occupant of the vehicle at the time that it was pulled over, as the prosecutor can argue that you had the ability to obtain physical possession of the drugs.

The theory of constructive possession is complex, and is another way that people who think that they are not committing a crime may still be charged with a crime under California law. If you are charged with drug possession, a skilled Riverside criminal defense attorney can help. While the constructive possession doctrine may be used to charge you with a crime, your lawyer can fight back against it with facts and legal arguments to help you achieve the best possible outcome for your case.

If you have been charged with a crime, you will need a tough, smart Riverside criminal defense attorney to represent you. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.

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