My son was arrested for possesion of a marijuana pipe. no previous arrests. does he need a lawyer to assist him

In Ohio the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia for possessing a marijuana pipe is a misdemeanor of the 4th degree which mean your son could receive a penalty of 30 days in jail and a fine of $250.00 plus court cost. e In addition to any other sanction imposed upon your son, the court is required to suspend for not less than six months or more than five years tyour son's driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit. Also if your son is a professionally licensed person the court is required to immediately report the conviction to the licensing authority. The loss of his driver's license for a minimum of six months is something I am sure that he wants to avoid. He should give strong consideration to hiring an experienced lawyer. He should do so quickly. If you son does not waive his speedy trial rights his trial needs to be held within 45 days of him being charged. In numerous cases like your son's I have successfully had the charges dismissed, not because the client did not commit the crime, but because the time for trial expires. Many officers cite people like your son to appear in court 3-4 weeks after they are charged which uses up half the time for trial. Then the State will appear on the trial date, without having a lab report completed or notifying the proper witnesses.

It wouldn't hurt to have an attorney experienced with the types of dispositions available and who knows the local court practices. This isn't something your son wants on his record in the future. If he has little or no record, and if this is all that happened, an experienced attorney in your jurisdiction may be able to achieve a positive result. Under the right circumstances, such charges can “go away". But, this depends to a great extent on the facts of each case. Two final observations: (1) I do not believe many courts enjoy handing out tough sentences on such charges at this time; (2) Courts do not like "wise guys" and this rule supercedes rule # 1. This answer is provided for informational purposes only. Actual legal advice can only be provided in an office consultation by an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction, with experience in the area of law in which your concern lies.