While pleading to a charge where only minor possession is involved is pretty routine, those who face delivery counts can expect a very different kind of adventure. Experienced lawyers are again a must, because, unlike other felony cases, here the cops typically demand some kind of performance for a defendant to get a break. Again, this means “cooperation” with authorities, including information, setting up buys, wearing a wire, and even testifying. And although most public defenders are competent to work out such arrangements, having counsel who is well familiar with the individual cops and their usual practices in such cases is crucial. Knowledgeable and sophisticated defense counsel can help avoid some of the more dire consequences of such arrangements—sometimes.
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So aside from staying out of this sewer in the first place, the best advice is to keep one’s mouth shut, get good counsel, and be prepared to take some risks. Attorney Dennis Zahn, an old friend and a guy I have always trusted with such difficult and complicated cases, once helped us guide a high school student through this kind of mine field, and the kid eventually avoided jail and helped the cops without facing too much danger. However, the boy’s mother expressed a predictably different view of the whole affair.
In any event, be prepared to make a deal that gives the authorities something of value to them in their ongoing war with the drug trade, or be just as prepared to go to jail. Winning an acquittal in a possession or delivery case, especially where the delivery has been to an informant or undercover officer, is usually a pipe dream; again, best policy—stay away from recreational substances. Period.
