As you probably know, in MA, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is a civil offense and not a crime. However, as silly as it sounds, possession of paraphernalia is still a crime. If you are concerned about your Criminal Offender Record of Information (CORI), your Record, as you should be, you may well be able to beat this case if there was no stop sign. The issue really is your record. Any mark on your CORI can prevent you from getting a job. Although it is a minor offense, often times employers simply make two pile, those with Records and those without. You know which pile gets further review. If you were charged criminally, by all means I would advise you to hire a lawyer and try to beat this case. I am always amazed when students, who probably will spend upwards of $100-$200K on their education are afraid to hire legal counsel to try to preserve their Record. If there was no stop sign, then the stop could be deemed unwarranted. If that is the case, anything found as the result of the stop would be suppressed and inadmissible in court. That would end the prosecution's case right there. You may even be summonsed into a Clerk's Hearing to see if there was even probable cause to issue a Criminal Complaint. If that is the case, your position is even better. If you are successful at a Clerk's Hearing, no criminal complaint even issues and you have no record a criminal charge whatsoever. Speak with a lawyer as soon as possible.
Answered on Nov 20th, 2012 at 11:57 AM