QUESTION

If my co defendant takes a guilt finding for class a and class b drugs can he sign an affidavit saying it was his drugs will the charges be dropped on

Asked on Aug 20th, 2020 on Criminal Law - Massachusetts
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Trying to get drug charges dismissed
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1 ANSWER

Criminal Law Attorney serving Andover, MA at Erkan and Associates, LLC
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Good morning Joseph, First, as a categorical matter, an affidavit similar to what you described does not mandate dismissal of the charges against you.  However, the prosecutor may take such an affidavit into consideration in determining whether the charge against you should be dismissed.  In order to find insight into whether a prosecutor might wish to do so, you should consider the issue from the prosecutor's perspective.   The prosecutor will first consider the facts and circumstances of the case to determine whether, in context, the affidavit of your co-defendant is both consistent with the evidence and credible.  If you send me the police report, I can provide some specific perspective.  But generally, by way of example, if the police report otherwise tends to establish that the drugs were under your co-defendant's control, rather than yours, favorable action might be appropriate.  Conversely, you probably can see that if the drugs were found under your control, for instance, on your person, then the affidavit of the co-defendant would carry little weight.  Other things to consider might be the other circumstances of the case.  If other evidence suggests, for example, that you and your co-defendant were seeking drugs together, your co-defendant's affidavit would not do much to help you. Finally, the prosecutor will consider the overall credibility of the affidavit.  In that regard, if the co-defendant already has a plea deal in place, what does he have to lose by falsely claiming the drugs were only his?  The prosecutor may view the affidavit skeptically.  He or she may see it not as a truthful statement, but as an effort to help out a buddy without any risk to himself. Let me know if you want to discuss further.  There are various ways to successfully defend a drug case other than relying on the affidavit of a co-defendant which prosecutors generally reject as unpersuasive.  
Answered on Aug 21st, 2020 at 7:17 AM

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