You screwed up at least twice here.
The first thing is being in possession of the dope.
Not a lecture, but you knew it was illegal and did it anyway.
The second thing is incriminating yourself. You did not have to tell the cops about the reefer.
Go back to your high school government text and read the part about the Fifth Amendment. It is an absolute right.
By incriminating yourself, you gave the cops what they needed to charge you.
Your statements were a de facto waiving of that right.
You need a lawyer. Perhaps this will help:
http://www.fairfaxbar.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=4
ghij Wrote:
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> Okay so I am looking for some advice... and trying
> to see what everyone thinks about my situation...
>
> I was leaving mason's campus this past weekend
> (was literally in the car for 2 minutes) when I
> was pulled over by a campus police officer on
> Braddock Road for "swirving." As I got pulled
> over, I remembered that I had my backpack in my
> car that had about 1/4 ounce of weed and a bowl in
> it. When the officer got to my car, he asked for
> my license and registration. Since I was in my
> girlfriends car, I was having trouble finding the
> registration. As I was looking for it, he
> suddenly told me to put my hands on the dashboard.
> He then told me to step out of the vehicle and
> put my hands behind my back. He asked me if I had
> been drinking and I told him "no." He then told
> me that I had been swirving and that he pulled me
> over because of that. Right after, he said that
> he smelt marijuana in my vehicle and could see
> "marijuana flakes" on my lap, but it fell off when
> I got out of the car. I said "I don't know what
> you are talking about" because I had not touched
> any weed all day. (I was in DC with my girlfriend
> all day, who goes to Mason and is not down with me
> smoking at all.) Therefore, it was impossible for
> me to have weed on my pants in any way shape of
> form. He proceeded to cuff me and brought me over
> to another officer who was standing at the rear of
> my vehicle. Both officers started questioning me
> asking me what was in my vehicle and whether or
> not I had weed on me, and the officer who
> originally pulled me over started shining his
> flashlight in my car looking for anything
> suspicious. My guess is that he saw a lighter in
> my car and had a good feeling about it. Anyway,
> after about 5 minutes of questioning, I decided to
> take the honest route (not sure what was going to
> happen) and told them what I had and where it was.
> They then searched my vehicle for about 20-30
> minutes and gave me a brethalyzer as well - I blew
> nothing. They also shined the flashlight in my
> eyes to check if I was high. Nothing. They
> charged me with possession of marijuana. Do you
> guys think I have a case for unreasonable search
> and seizure, or even a self-incrimination
> argument? I know they never told me I was being
> arrested, but they put me in handcuffs and started
> questioning me for a good amount of time. I was
> never read any rights or anything like that. I
> hired a lawyer so we will see what happens but I
> am just looking for some general feedback. As a
> side note.... there were 4 cops who showed up
> during this whole ordeal so we are also hoping
> that we can get them to tell different stories
> when the time comes. Let me know what you
> think...