Can you be charged if drugs or other illegal substances are found in a car you are riding in?

So you hop in your friend’s car for a night on the town. In the front seat is a guy you are acquainted with but don’t really know. Things are going well when all of a sudden “Whop-Whop” lights and sirens, and your friend is getting pulled over.

“Shit,” the guy in the front passenger seat says “I’m on probation and I got weed” he declares as he starts moving around in a panic and digging into his pockets. “I can’t get caught, I’ll go to jail and my mother will kill me!” he whines. This in turn makes you and your friend, the driver, panic start moving around, and yelling back and forth “okay, okay, stay cool, it’s just a traffic stop probably just for speeding…” “But you don’t understand, I’ll go back to jail, I can’t have this on me, what if the cop has a dog…” this guy says as he tosses the weed out of his pocket, onto the floor, and starts furiously kicking the stuff under his seat. “NOOOOO!” you and the driver say as the driver dives over and tries to fish out the drugs to give them back to him, causing him to serve and almost crash. At this point you just lean back, smack your hand to your head and say to yourself “what did I get myself into?!?!”

Of course, the cop behind you sees all of this street drama and is laughing his ass off. He has seen this dozens of times and knows EXACTLY what is going on. And he knows that he is going to make 3 easy arrests for possession of marijuana. This is because once the drug is no longer in a person’s personal possession, but is within the vehicle, everyone in the vehicle is in possession of the drugs or other contraband under the legal theory of presumptive possession.

In short, presumption possession is what your mother warned you about when she told you “stop hanging out with those kids they are going to get you in trouble!” The mommy doctrine of “they are going to get you in trouble” has been codified under New York Penal Law 220.25, which defines the law of presumptive possession:

“The presence of a controlled substance in an automobile…is presumptive evidence of knowing possession thereof by each and every person in the automobile at the time such controlled substance was found…” NY Penal Law 225.25(1).

In other words, every person inside the vehicle can be charged and convicted of possession of drugs found inside the vehicle. Moreover, all the prosecution must prove is that the drugs were found inside the vehicle, and that you were inside the vehicle at the time they were found. The prosecution does not have to prove that you knew the drugs were there.

Have you, or someone you know, been charged with possession of marijuana or other drug charges which stemmed from a motor vehicle stop. If so click here and call us now. There is a special sub-set of laws, rules, defenses and protections that are afforded to motorists (both drivers and passengers) that we have expertise in that you will benefit from by putting us on your side.

So don’t wait call today. We speak to people and answer questions all day, every day, about the law surrounding their motor vehicle stop and charges, and we’d love to answer any questions that you may have!