Click here to read a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about the court’s ruling on the controversial red light camera law in St. Louis City.

There are 65 cameras at 31 intersections in St. Louis City, earning the City $5.4 million in 2012 alone. Of that total amount, $1.7 million went to American Traffic Solutions, the company that installs and administers the red light cameras.

According to KMOX News, there are 138,000 unpaid red light camera tickets issued by the City of St. Louis that could now be called back into court. The St. Louis City Counselor’s office indicates they have no plans to offer amnesty to drivers who have not paid the fines for their red light camera tickets.

You can go in person to any Illinois Secretary of State license office to purchase a copy of your Illinois driving record. Or you can click on this link for the form to order a copy of your Illinois driving record. (It may take up to 10 days for the Illinois Secretary of State to mail a copy to you.)

Most traffic law attorneys can obtain a copy of your Illinois driving record for you for an additional fee within 1-2 business days.

If you received a Missouri speeding ticket and would like to keep the points off your driving record, call St. Louis traffic law attorney Andrea Storey Rogers at (314) 724-5059 or email Andrea at andrea@leadfootspeedingticket.com to receive a price quote for legal representation.

Cases involving possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia are not handled in the same way in every court. Some judges are stricter than others in their sentencing.

In many courts, if you have been charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and you have no prior convictions for drug-related offenses, an attorney can negotiate a plea bargain with the court to have the drug possession charge reduced to a lesser offense, such as “Littering.” Depending on which court your case is being prosecuted in, you might not have to appear in court at all, but you will have to pay a fine and court costs.

When deciding whether to reduce your drug charges, the court will consider many factors, such as your age, criminal history, and the details of your case.

Some Courts Will Not Reduce Marijuana Charges

In some courts, it is not possible to negotiate a plea bargain for a drug possession or paraphernalia charge, even if you’re caught with only a small amount of weed, your record is clean, and you have no prior drug convictions. If your case is being prosecuted in a court with a very strict drug possession policy, it is very likely that the best plea-bargain deal your attorney can negotiate for you is an SIS (Suspended Imposition of Sentence) with probation.

What is an SIS for Drug Possession?

If you are offered a plea bargain deal called an SIS with probation, you will have to appear in court with your attorney to plead guilty to the original drug possession charges. You won’t have to pay a fine but you will have to pay court costs and sign up for probation. If you successfully complete the probation period without any violations, your case will be closed and no conviction will be reported on your criminal record.

The probation period is typically 1-2 years, depending on the court, and it is usually unsupervised (“limited”) probation. You may also be required to perform several hours of community service and/or attend a drug education class.

How to Decide Whether to Fight a Drug Possession Case

Instead of hiring an attorney to negotiate a plea-bargain deal for your drug possession charges, some defendants choose to go to trial.

Before deciding to fight your drug charges in court, consult an attorney to determine your chances of winning. It will cost much more to have a court trial than to negotiate a plea bargain, and there is always the possibility that you will lose.

It may be worth it if you can afford the expense of a trial, and if there is strong evidence that the search of your car or home that led to the discovery of the drugs or paraphernalia was an illegal search. However, if you go to trial and lose, you will no longer have the opportunity to negotiate a plea bargain deal, and the judge will sentence you to jail time and/or a fine.

Marijuana Possession Penalties in Missouri

The maximum sentence for misdemeanor possession of marijuana (35 grams or less) or drug paraphernalia in Missouri is 1 year in jail and a fine of $1,000.

If police performed an illegal car search during a traffic stop and charge you with a crime, any evidence found during the search can’t be used against you in court.

“Reasonable Suspicion” is Required Before Police Can Pull You Over for a Traffic Stop

A police officer can’t pull you over for a traffic stop unless he has “reasonable suspicion” that illegal activity has occurred or is occurring. Reasonable suspicion to justify a traffic stop can be something as simple as a broken taillight, speeding, or any other type of traffic violation.

If the police officer scans your license plate and sees that you have a warrant, expired registration, or a suspended license, those all qualify as reasonable suspicion for the police officer to pull you over.

A Police Officer Needs “Probable Cause” to Search Your Car Without a Warrant

If a police officer has reasonable suspicion to pull you over for a traffic stop, he can search the passenger compartment of your car without your consent, and without a warrant, if he has “probable cause” to believe that the vehicle contains contraband or other evidence of a crime.

The “probable cause” requirement can be satisfied in various ways:  the police officer might smell marijuana, he might observe that the driver is behaving in a nervous or suspicious manner, or the police officer could see a bag of weed or a joint sitting in plain view in the car.

There is an “Automobile Exception” to the 4th Amendment Protection Against Unreasonable Searches

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by requiring police to have a warrant to arrest someone in their own home, unless they believe evidence of a crime is about to be destroyed or the police officer is in “hot pursuit” of a fleeing felon. Police officers must also have a warrant to search the premises of a third party for a suspect.

There are several exceptions to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement, including the “automobile exception,” which allows a police officer to search your car without a warrant in certain situations.

When Can Police Search Your Car?

Here are some situations in which a police officer can legally search your vehicle:

1) The police officer has a warrant to search your vehicle. (A police officer can’t obtain a search warrant unless he convinces a judge that he has probable cause for the search.)

2) You consent to the search.

3) The police officer smells marijuana when you roll down your car window, thus giving him probable cause to search your car without a warrant.

4) You are arrested during a traffic stop, which gives the police the right to conduct a “search incident to arrest” if certain conditions exist. (The search is limited to the area immediately surrounding the person where he might grab a weapon, escape, or destroy or hide evidence.)

5) The cop sees a bag of marijuana or a joint in plain view in your car, which gives him probable cause to search.

6) As a result of a traffic stop, the police decide to tow your vehicle to the impound lot, which gives the police the opportunity to conduct an inventory of your car.

7) The police bring a drug-sniffing dog who “alerts” to something in the passenger compartment or trunk of your car, which gives the police probable cause to search.

If you are the subject of any of the legal searches listed above and drugs are found in your car, those drugs are admissible evidence that can be used against you in court.

You Can Refuse to Let Police Search Your Car

The police will never tell you this, but you have the right to refuse to consent to a search of your vehicle. When the police officer asks if he can search your car, calmly reply, “No, I do not consent to a search. Am I free to leave?”

If you refuse to give consent to a search of your car, the police can go ahead and search your vehicle anyway, but only if they have probable cause to search, if it’s a search incident to arrest, if they are conducting an inventory of your car after impounding it, or if they obtain a search warrant.

Please note:  You can refuse to consent to the search, but you do not have the right to physically resist the police officers when they search your car.

Drugs Found as a Result of an Illegal Search Can’t be Used Against You at Trial

In situations where the police officer has conducted an illegal search of your vehicle, any drugs discovered as a result of the search are not admissible as evidence at trial. You will need to hire a criminal defense attorney to investigate whether the search was illegal and, if it was, your attorney can keep this evidence from being used against you in court.

An Attorney May be Able to Get Your Drug Charges Reduced to a Lesser Offense

If the search was legal, your attorney may be able to negotiate a plea-bargain with the court to get the charges reduced to a lesser offense and keep the drug conviction off your criminal record. The outcome will depend on which court your case is being prosecuted in, your criminal history, and the details of your case.

How Much is a “Small Amount” of Marijuana?

The new law does not specify how much a “small amount” of marijuana is. For now, that will be left up to the police officer to decide, until the police department issues a policy regarding the exact amount.

New Marijuana Law Goes Into Effect June 2013 in St. Louis City

On April 15, 2013, the Board of Alderman approved the proposed bill to make possession of a small amount of marijuana a municipal violation, and Mayor Slay has stated that he will approve it. The new law will go into effect June 1, 2013. Click here to read St. Louis City’s new marijuana law.

Columbia, MO has had a similar law regarding marijuana possession since 2004. Springfield, MO also approved the same type of law in 2012 but repealed it less than a month later.

Pot-Smokers Can Now be Charged Under More Lenient Municipal Ordinance

Currently St. Louis City does not have a local law prohibiting marijuana possession. Therefore, police have no choice but to charge offenders with a violation of the state law prohibiting possession of marijuana, rather than a violation of a municipal ordinance.

The prosecution of a state violation of marijuana possession is handled by the Circuit Attorney in state court, and the potential sentence is much more serious than if the defendant had been charged with a city ordinance violation in municipal court for the same offense.

In Missouri state court, misdemeanor possession of marijuana (35 grams or less) is a crime punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000. In municipal court, the maximum penalty for the same amount of marijuana is 90 days in jail and a fine of $500.

Police Can Begin Issuing Tickets For Marijuana Possession in June 2013

In the past when a police officer caught someone with a small amount of marijuana in St. Louis City, the officer frequently would let the person go free, rather than charging them under the more harsh state law. When the new law takes effect in June, police officers will be allowed to issue tickets to pot-smokers for municipal ordinance violations instead of state violations, and no arrest will be necessary.

Marijuana Possession Convictions Stay on Criminal Record Forever

If convicted of marijuana possession in state court or municipal court, you will have a drug conviction on your permanent criminal record. That conviction can never be expunged (removed) from your criminal record, and it can prevent you from getting a job, renting an apartment, obtaining a loan, being accepted into college, or getting a federal student loan.

For more information about St. Louis marijuana laws, or for a price quote for legal representation if you have been charged with possession of marijuana or drug paraphernalia, call St. Louis attorney Andrea Storey Rogers at (314) 724-5059, or email Andrea at andrea@leadfootspeedingticket.com.