Drug Charge

Protecting Your Individual Rights In the Courtroom and Beyond

A drug charge, ranging from drug possession, to sales and transportation, to a charge of under the influence, carries with it serious penalties in Ventura County. For a charge of Under the Influence, you face not only probation, but also ninety days in a Ventura County jail. For  a charge of being in Possession of a Controlled Substance in Ventura County, you face not only proabation, but also significant jail time, the extent of which depends on the facts and circumstances of each individual case.

At the Law Office of Jennifer Zide, we are committed to making sure you understand your rights and defenses. For a charge of Under the Influence, a positive test is not the end of the inquiry for us. The burden is on the prosecution to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you were, at that moment, operating under the influence of a controlled substance. The prosecution may attempt to prove that you are under the influence by using a variety of evidence, including the symptoms described by officers, your performance on so-called drug recognition tests, and statements made to officers, in addition to any test result. A positive test does not, in itself, prove that a person is, at the moment of observation by the police, under the influence or feeling the effects of a controlled substance. Depending on the special factors of each individual case, a person may test positive for the presence of a controlled substance in their system even several days after ingestion of that substance and at a time when they are no longer feeling its effects.

In a case involving a charge of possession, the prosecution must prove that you had the right or the ability to possess and control the substance in question. This can often be an issue with drugs found in shared or common areas occupied by more than one person, such as a car or a residence, or in cases where you might only be temporarily holding a substance that belongs to someone else.

         As a former Deputy Public Defender in Mendocino County, I have extensive experience successfully representing hundreds of clients charged with drug crimes ranging from Possession, to Transportation, to Under the Influence. My drug trial highlights include a hung jury in favor of the defense and subsequent dismissal in a felony possession and transportation case where my client was the only person in the car with the drugs. In private practice, I have successfully fought to get drug transportation charges reduced to mere possession so that clients would be eligible to participate in the Diversion program and escape the stigma of a criminal conviction. At the Law Office of Jennifer Zide, we never give up on you or your case. We are committed to providing you with the best defense possible and the highest level of personalized attention at all times.

If your goal is to resolve your case, there are a number of treatment-oriented programs which provide alternatives to jail. As a first-time drug offender in Ventura County, you may qualify for Diversion, a program that gives you an opportunity to avoid a conviction by successfully completing a two-year period of probation, including roughly three months of weekly drug treatment classes. If you do not qualify for Diversion, you may still qualify for Proposition 36 probation as an alternative to custody time.  Proposition 36 is a program of probation and drug treatment that allows you to avoid the standard sentence for a drug-related charge in Ventura County. Even when a person has a serious record and is facing significant time in custody, there may be alternatives such as Drug Court that can help him get his life back on track and avoid prison. At the Law Office of Jennifer Zide, we are dedicated to pursuing all available alternatives with you.

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