Case Results

Some time ago, police officers in the Pocono Mountains were called to a man’s home for a domestic disturbance. However, when they arrived, the officers detected the smell of marijuana and followed their noses to marijuana plants in the man’s basement along with numerous firearms. Because of the proximity of the guns to the marijuana plants, these legally obtained guns were seized and the man was charged with marijuana cultivation and intent to distribute. Despite a clean criminal history, these drug-related charges were significant enough to land the man in jail for a few years. With the goal of avoiding such a life-shattering outcome, he reached out to the highly skilled Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer Michael Fienman.

A criminal defense attorney with considerable experience in marijuana cases, attorney Fienman reviewed the facts of the man’s case. Afterward, it became clear that the officers overcharged or “trumped up” the charges on his client; the number of marijuana plants that the man actually had in his possession was insufficient to be considered cultivation. Once Fienman presented this to the prosecution and argued that the police exaggerated their findings, the cultivation, and intent to distribute charges were reduced to a simple possession charge. This only required the man to serve a 12-month probationary period, after which attorney Fienman secured the return of his confiscated firearms.

Furthermore, while these events unfolded, this client ran into another legal hurdle that required attorney Fienman’s intervention. Prior to the return of his guns, the man attempted to purchase a new firearm from a sporting goods store. At the time that he completed the application, a discrepancy relating to his pending case attracted the attention of law enforcement. Since falsifying information on a gun application is a felony offense, when Fienman was made aware that his client may again be charged, he contacted the detective investigating the case. Attorney Fienman explained the sequence of events and once the officer reviewed the relevant facts, he decided to forego filing additional charges. Essentially, by choosing to retain a thorough and detailed legal professional, such as attorney Michael Fienman, this client avoided the drastic results of not one, but two criminal cases.

The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.