New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
It is likely not lost on your criminal attorney or New York criminal defense lawyer. The same can certainly be said about the undercover police officer who purchased “study aids” from you after seeing your advertisement on Craigslist. Even more concerning, it is likely not the prosecutor’s (Assistant District Attorney) or the judge’s first rodeo fighting controlled substance crimes in New York. Simply, the felony sale or possession of Adderall, and a subsequent arrest or indictment for Penal Law 220.06 or Penal Law 220.31, has the potential to absolutely destroy your future. You need not be pitching crack on a corner or cocaine at high class function to feel law enforcement’s weight on your shoulders. Whether or not you sold one pill (or 50), search warrants were executed at your residence or you were found to be in possession of prerecorded buy money (the cash with matching serial numbers provided by detectives or the police during an alleged purchase), you will face as much as one to two and one half years in prison followed by one year post release supervision. If convicted, this criminal record will be here to stay.
Adderall may be a controlled substance that is valuable to many people who are prescribed the drug, but selling any amount or possessing the drug with the intent to sell it is quite a serious offense. The class D felony crimes that you would be subject to upon your arrest are Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree (New York Penal Law 220.31) and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree (New York Penal Law 220.06(1)). Having now identified the potential crimes and addressing the severity of the sentence (keep in mind, should you be convicted you will have a life long felony record), let’s define the statutes.
New York Penal Law 220.31
There are few crimes as straight forward as Fifth Degree Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance. If you sell any controlled substance – Xanax, Percocet, Oxycodone, Klonopin, Adderall – irrespective of the amount, you are guilty of a felony crime (guilty in theory, of course, as prosecutors must prove the case against you beyond a reasonable doubt).
New York Penal Law 220.06(1)
Often more difficult to prove than an actual sale (they are the same level offenses) Fifth Degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance involves the knowing and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell the particular drug. Sometimes intent to sell is very clear. For example, you sell a certain amount, but have extra left over that you offered. Even if you did not offer the Adderall for sale, you sold 20 pills and had another 25 in a pill case on your person when you were arrested (and you are not prescribed the particular medication or controlled substance). Generally, prosecutors examine (and the law permits) the number of pills, the context of conversations leading up to an arrest, postings online if applicable, cash on your person and other relevant factors to build out a case of intent to sell. Like any other arrest and prosecution, whether or not there is a strong or viable PL 220.06(1) case is dependent on the evidence collected against you and presented before the court. With strong advocacy from your criminal lawyer, what prosecutors may have originally deemed a felony, may legally be a misdemeanor Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (New York Penal Law 220.03). While a PL 220.03 charge is still a crime, challenging and mitigating a misdemeanor allegation is significantly easier than doing the same against a felony.
If there is any silver lining for PL 220.06 and PL 220.31 arrests or indictments, the law does permit a judge to sentence you to treatment instead of incarceration. It is neither guaranteed nor easy should you be granted diversion. Fortunately, the New York criminal lawyers at Saland Law PC are familiar with diversion as we have been successful in obtaining diversionary offers from New York Supreme Court judges. Although these clients were given the opportunity to avoid felony convictions and criminal records, each case is unique.
To read about controlled substance crimes, such as the felony and misdemeanor offenses of PL 220.31, PL 220.06 and PL 220.03, review the NewYorkCriminalLawyerBlog.Com and the respective links back to Saland Law PC’s New York Narcotic, Controlled Substance and Drug Crime section of the website.
Saland Law PC, established by former Manhattan prosecutors, is a New York criminal defense practice focused on representing clients in all criminal matters throughout the New York City region.