Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse Possession of Controlled Substance

[Spartan1988]

I was arrested and given a notice to appear for a possession of a controlled substance in Illinois. The substance in question was cocaine and the amount was no more than .2 grams. I was detained at a concert by an undercover officer who had witnessed me smoking a joint earlier. They took me outside and found the bag containing the cocaine on me and then proceeded to arrest me. I was not taken to jail. They gave me my ticket and told me not to miss my court date this upcoming Friday.

I have a few questions. First off, I cannot afford a lawyer at the moment. I have student loans on the way though that will allow me to in the near future, but not before the arraignment on Friday. If for some reason I can get a motion to suppress evidence, is this done at the arraignment or later on (preliminary hearing?) If at all possible, I'd like to handle this myself without going to anyone else for money, so I need to know if I risk putting myself in a worse situation by going to the arraignment with out a lawyer. I do fully intend on hiring one, I just have to wait until I have my loans in.

Also, I read online about Illinois 410 Probation for Controlled Substances. I have had one charge before (a possession of marijuana when I was 18) in Michigan that was dropped from my public record through completion of a diversion program. Since this was in Michigan and not Illinois, am I eligible for 410?

Thanks in advance.

The code for the violation is 720 1CCS (or 1LCS....hard to read) 570/402

 

[jharris352]

I imagine you have already gone to arraignment but if you haven't it is no big deal. You plead not guilty and tell the Judge you need time to hire an attorney. You will be in and out in no time.

 

[NY_Shark]

Don't worry about not having an attorney at the arraignment. The judge probably wouldn't even LET you plead guilty without one--even if you wanted to. So say "not guilty," get your court date and call the PD's office.

Suppressions of evidence can be motioned at any point throughout the trial process, but ideally it would be done before the trial started. A motion to Suppress evidence is thick legal jungle though and you'd want the lawyer to do that.

If the charge was dropped from the previous offense then you should be eligible.