Bucks County Drug Arrests
Once an individual has been identified as facing drug-related charges in Bucks County, the individual should expect that police will make contact with them and a pre-arrest situation begins. Unless the matter involves a serious amount of narcotics and/or other crimes such as weapons violations, most individuals will be taken into police custody, processed, and released.
On a later date, they will have a scheduled bail hearing before a magisterial justice court in the area in which they were arrested, and a preliminary hearing will be scheduled. During these times it is essential to use every available moment to obtain the services of an experienced Bucks County narcotics attorney. These are essential steps that have to be handled in a proper and judicial fashion.
How Does the Type and Quantity of the Drug Affect the Arrest Process?
Street level drugs and the quantity of such are often the greatest targets of police investigation and prosecutions for drug offenses in Bucks County. Having a large number of narcotics on or near a person or during some sort of controlled sell with police or confidential informants often leads to more serious consequences. Even awaiting a trial date that is bail is often set at a very large amount and individuals are often held in custody awaiting a preliminary hearing in a later trial.
The number of drugs, the street cost of such drugs, and the type of drugs all work together. Courts will weigh the three and determine how a case moves through the intricate system involved in the Bucks County criminal courts. Street level drugs, such as cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, are often treated in the harshest of fashion. Additionally, large amounts of controlled substances, even prescriptions by unauthorized individuals, can lead to very large bails.
Regardless of the number of drugs, the weight of such drugs and the type of such drugs, having the right attorney at the right stage of this matter can help even mitigate an individual’s connection to such drug and in many cases allow an individual their liberty while awaiting trial.
Hearing Process
Individuals charged with a drug crime in Bucks County will have a bail hearing immediately, and at that stage, their family should obtain the services of an experienced Bucks County drug defense attorney. At that stage, bail can be assured that a person will be present for all court hearings, and that bail will be reasonable, protecting an individual’s liberty. Should this occur and an attorney is not present, having an attorney prepare and argue a bail modification in the county seat of Doylestown is also an adequate way of defending the case. All of these steps must be taken with the use of an experienced Bucks County defense attorney at the earliest possible stages.
Expectations of the Arrest
If sent to jail in a pre-arrest fashion, meaning bail has been set and cannot be made, an individual should understand that in all court hearings, they will be brought to a magisterial justice court and then Doylestown and the court of Common Pleas by the sheriff’s department in Bucks County. Additionally, they will not have the freedom of leaving any particular location. They will be held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility as long as bail remains in their case or, should they later be convicted and sentenced to incarceration, they serve their sentence.
In more extreme cases where the largest amounts of drugs exist, other crimes come into play, and a person is convicted, that individual could be sentenced to a Pennsylvania state sentence, which will require them to serve an incarceration in a more severe state penitentiary.
Having an attorney handle the bail and/or preliminary hearing ensures that an individual’s case is being handled properly and in a manner consistent with the best defense possible for them. Once an individual is arrested and not able to post bail, their liberty is taken away, thus, attempting to defend a case while being incarcerated.