Nebbia Holds and Your Drug Case

Getting arrested for drug crimes is not the end of the world.  Between the original arrest and you getting a conviction and a prison sentence, many dominoes would have to fall.  There will be time to contact a criminal defense lawyer and discuss your case privately with him or her, before you even decide whether to answer questions from police.  Your lawyer might be able to get you into a drug court program if you do not have any prior convictions.  If this happens, you can emerge from your case without a conviction on your record, as if your case had been dismissed before you entered a plea.  If you are not eligible for drug court, then your lawyer might be able to negotiate a plea deal where the state will reduce your charges or promise you a sentence that does not include prison time if you plead guilty.  In most cases, you have time to think about these things, including the possibility of prison if you are convicted or the inevitability of it if you plead guilty to a charge with a mandatory minimum sentence that includes prison time, from the comfort of your own home.  This is because the court allows you to post bail and go free while your case is pending, unless there is a compelling reason not to.  If the court is giving you trouble about bail in your drug case, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.

Whose Business Is It If You Use Drug Money to Post Bail?

In the summer of 2023, a South Florida woman posted bail after being arrested when police officers found stolen cars parked in front of her house.  When you post bail, you are free to go, aren’t you?  Why did the jail keep Lenda Rodriguez Alfonso detained even after she posted bail?  It is because the police wanted to determine whether the money she used to pay her bail was the proceeds of a crime, most likely the sale of illegal drugs.  To do this, they requested a Nebbia hold on her bail.

Named after a court decision, Nebbia holds are when the court investigates the source of the bail money that a defendant has paid.  The court can refuse to release you, and can keep you detained until your trial, if it determines that you paid your bail with drug money.

What do you do, then, if you can afford to post bail, but only because you sold enough drugs to afford it?  Your best option is to borrow the money from a family member whose money was clean.  If you don’t have a relative who can afford the full amount, hire a bail bond company, where you pay only a fraction of the bail amount, and the bail bond company pays the rest.

Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases

A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are subject to a Nebbia hold in your drug case.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

local10.com/news/local/2023/08/31/woman-with-luck-tattoo-not-so-lucky-after-detectives-find-florida-stolen-cars-in-miami-dade/