How Far Does Illegal Contraband Have to Be From a Person in Order for It to Be Considered “possession”?
Question by Balls W: How far does illegal contraband have to be from a person in order for it to be considered “possession”?
For example, if I was at a park smoking a joint, and a cop approaches, I throw it like 6 feet from me. He didn’t see it. Would that be considered in my possession? Or does it actually have to betouching the person?
Just wondering, not based on an actual event. Thanks
Again, I’m just wondering.
Again, I’m just wondering.
Best answer:
Answer by wilrycar
um, if he smells it on you and finds the joint still burning, he can take you in. don’t think legal, think reasonable. a cop only has to suspect wrongdoing. the lawyer and the court decides guilt.
quit doing illegal things, and you don’t have to worry about it.
Answer by Scott L
My belief….
if I’m worried about something being wrong/me getting in trouble legally…
I stay away from it!
It’s simple really.
Don’t want to get in trouble? Then don’t do things that get you in trouble!
Common sense keeps a lot of people on the right track.
There’s a reason it’s illegal.
I have kids. There’s a reason for me to NOT be illegal.
I don’t need to measure how far away from me an illegal drug needs to be….I just don’t do them. Clear consience here.
Try it! Not being judgmental…it’s simply logic.
If you’re worried about something….quit the things that worry you. You’ll be a lot happier
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Well, if you were smoking weed, the joint would be lit, and assuming you are at the park by yourself… No one passed you to drop it, they will assume it is yours… Saying that, the drugs usually belong to the person closest to them or whos property its on…
For instance, a old friend of mine was in a car, they got pulled over.. The car got searched, and there was ICE under her seat. She got charged for it because it was close to her. The rightful owner though confessed it was theirs… If the drugs are in your house, your going to jail pretty much reguardless. Heck, sometimes the law can charge you for something someone else has in their pockets if they are in your property!
The law recognizes two types of possession. Actual possession can be when you are found to have something on your person or exclusively and incontrovertably under your control. Constructive possession is more along the lines of what you’re asking about.
It depends on a number of factors and distance is only part of the equation. You can be considered to be in possession of contraband even if it is 3000 miles away from you (imagine a kilo of cocaine in a safe in Florida while you are in California with the only key).
Possession would be based on the totality of circumstances, not just the distance between you and the contraband.
Let’s put it this way. In the scenario you mention, a first year law student should be able to get the charges dismissed. However, it’s more about control than distance. If you are in your car, pretty much anywhere in the car is in the immediate zone of your control. (That’s why you can be arrested for drunk driving even if the car is off but the keys are in your zone of control). But in your scenario, unless the cop actually saw you throw the joint away, it would be a waste of everybody’s time to arrest you.
Someone mentioned that if you had a kilo of coke in New York and you were in Los Angeles but had the key to the place the coke was being stored, you would be in control. That is absolutely correct. It would be much more difficult to get you out of that one than if the joint were six feet away with no conclusive evidence it was yours.