Getting a citation or notice to appear for Possession of marijuana citations are deceptive. Recently, an attorney with The Umansky Law Firm got out of a meeting with a client who received a citation and a notice to appear for possession of marijuana by a police officer. She went down to the clerk of court and paid a fine and received a withhold of adjudication. She was extremely relieved that she did not have to go to court or hire a lawyer. She was very happy, until she applied for a job that denied her the position because of this misdemeanor on her record. She was further discouraged when she found out that the licensing board will find out about it when she applies for her medical license. Adding insult to injury, she was a first offender and was likely eligible for a first offender program where she could get the charge dropped.
Additionally, she wanted to go into the medical field and become a nurse or other health care practitioner. In the medical field, hospitals, doctors, and other health professionals are looking to employ people who do not have issues with drugs because of the high rate of addictions that result among health care professionals. Even if you are not technically arrested for a pot or marijuana charge, your career can be unfortunately impacted if you are not careful in how you handle your case.
Our attorneys are receiving calls almost every day from individuals who innocently and naïvely plead to the Notice to Appear and citations for Marijuana possession and then have difficulty obtaining jobs because the charges are on their employment screening checks. These citations or Notice to Appear for Marijuana possession in orange county do not list the complete rights a person is giving up by entering a plea. The look of the citation downplays the fact that the charges are in fact criminal and not similar to a speeding ticket or other traffic infraction.
Before you enter a plea to a Marijuana charge in Florida, please consult with a criminal defense attorney to go over your rights, discuss any legal defenses to the charge and to explore the opportunity of a first offender program where you may be able to get your charge completely dropped.
If you pled to the charge and do not want to set it aside, then explore the option of sealing your record. You will not be able to expunge it immediately because you pled to the charge, but at least consider sealing it so employers and the public will have a harder time seeing your criminal record.
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