Police in Dunellen, New Jersey make a relatively small amount of arrests for drug possession, marijuana possession, and other CDS charges. The town is very small, and fewer than 10,000 people reside in Dunellen. However, if you are facing drug charges in the Middlesex County town, help is available.
It seems like every year the legislature makes in tougher and tougher on those convicted of drug charges in New Jersey. Bad politics makes even worse law. Currently, anyone convicted of a drug charge in New Jersey faces a minimum six month to 24 month driver's license suspension. This can be waived if the loss of your license would pose an undue hardship upon you. However, simply going to work and school does not typically suffice.
Most drug arrests occur after a routine traffic stop. Surprisingly, I see many clients who have a significant amount of drugs in their vehicles but still speed, talk on their cell phones and so on. These leads to the driver being stopped. If the officer reasonably believes that you may be committing a criminal act, they may ask for consent to search your vehicle. A New Jersey State Trooper recently told me that approximately 95% of the individuals he asked to consent to a vehicle search consented.
The situation is clearly overwhelming, being confronted by a police officer, being arrested, having to appear in Court, facing serious financial and legal consequences - all can create an understandable amount of anxiety. However, there are defenses to these charges and it is usually possible to at least mitigate the consequences of a drug arrest in New Jersey.
