Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: drug possesion

The citation/notice to appear from the District Court means that the government is proceeding in a criminal case against you, most likely for possession of marijuana. Police lie all the time, and it looks like they lied to you here.

To directly answer your question, if the police did not personally witness you committing a crime, then they only have circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence can, in some cases, be sufficient evidence to convict.

In your case, however, I think that the police have a substantial hurdle to overcome before they could ever bring you to trial, and that is the illegal entry into your apartment. Not only did you fail to consent to the police coming in, but you specifically told them not to. The cops had absolutely no right to do what they did, in my opinion, and there is a strong motion to suppress here.

I recommend you obtain an attorney and fight this case.

Re: drug possesion

You were arrested/charged. That's what the hearing is about at the magistrate. Just because you were not put into handcuffs doesn't mean you weren't arrested/charged.

Your defense could be that it was someone else, not you, that possessed the marijuana, but more than one person can possess at the same time. Also, there is the possibility that there is an illegal entry into your apartment by the police.

However, there is the possibility that the police would be willing to reduce the charge to disorderly conduct, a summary.

Re: drug possesion

While the police probably need an arrest warrant to actually arrest you and bring you in for fingerprinting, they will simply get the warrant and arrest you. So what are you doing by not cooperating? You may be right that if you don't cooperate nothing will happen to you, but if they are truly interested in arresting you they can make your case more difficult for you as it proceeds through the system.

Frankly, your bigger concern should be what will happen once you face the charges? My guess is that if they did not confiscate your roaches, then they can't prove that you possessed any weed. If they say that you told them that you had smoked weed, they didn't give you your miranda rights and you didn't sign a statement.

You may not be charged with marijuana though. You might be charged with disorderly conduct or some other summary. I would contact the police and find out if you are going to be arrested or have already been charged with something and then ask them the charges. You have many defenses to this case. Feel free to email back more questions and/or follow-ups.

By the way, I don't agree with one of the previous answers. The lawyer who said that you have already been arrested, i don't agree. The cops can charge you, yes, but you have a right to a preliminary arraignment to know your charges that you have not had. Just because a cop or a government agency says something is so, does not make it so. The Pennsylvania constitution has the final say.

This is still America.