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    Should I Plead Guilty by Mail to My Connecticut 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana Infraction Ticket? Don’t Even Think About It!

    Should I Plead Guilty by Mail to My Connecticut 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana Infraction Ticket? Don’t Even Think About It!

    We get this call all the time. I just got a ticket in Darien, Greenwich, Fairfield or Stamford Connecticut for 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana. It’s no longer a crime. It’s just an infraction. Just a fine. No probation. So should I plead guilty by mail to this Connecticut 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana Ticket?

    Absolutely not. Here’s why…

    The Decriminalization of Marijuana is a Blessing and a Curse in Connecticut

    Blessing and curse? Really? Sure, it’s great that you can no longer get arrested for a misdemeanor anymore if you are found in possession of marijuana. Our liberal lawmakers finally convinced the Governor that we should not be clogging the criminal court system with petty pot possession crimes and misdemeanors. But here’s the problem with the new infraction law. If you get a 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana or a 21a-267(d) Possession of Drug Paraphernalia ticket in Connecticut, then you will likely just want to send in the fine money and be done with your ticket. But the life of that ticket does not end there. Remember the ticket is a conviction and a guilty plea. And as a drug infraction, it actually remains on your record forever, subject to any and every background check by an employer, mortgage broker, grad school and life insurance police carrier. Click here to learn more about Connecticut’s more serious marijuana possession laws and how to properly fight them in court.

    Do I Need to Hire a Lawyer to Fight My Connecticut 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana Ticket?

    The fact that these Connecticut Marijuana Possession tickets do not come off your record after you plead guilty by mails begs the inevitable question…do I really need to hire a Connecticut criminal lawyer to help me fight my Connecticut 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana ticket? So as you sit there and contemplate this question (hopefully you will be thinking about this after you are no longer under the influence of marijuana), you should appreciate that while it’s much easier and cheaper to just pay the fine and be done with the ticket, it really can come back to haunt you with scrupulous employers and life insurance carriers. Some of the best Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut criminal lawyers have told me about how often they get calls from clients who want to reverse their guilty pleas by mail to marijuana tickets after they had been denied jobs because of a 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana conviction on their record. Is reversing a guilty plea by mail to a Marijuana Possession ticket even possible? Yes, this is possible in certain scenarios…click here to learn more about how you can reverse your guilty plea by mail to Marijuana Possession, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and reversing guilty pleas to speeding tickets in Connecticut.

    21a-279a Marijuana Possession Tickets are Given Out Like Lottery Tickets on Connecticut College Campuses

    Marijuana Possession tickets are perhaps most frequently doled out on Connecticut college campuses. If you are a college student at UConn, Fairfield University, Yale, Southern Connecticut, or Sacred Heart, then you probably know someone who has received a 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana ticket. Here’s the part that irks the best Connecticut criminal lawyers: the campus cops give the student the ticket and tell them it’s no big deal, it’s not a crime, you don’t have to tell your parents, just send in the fine money. These kids take this advice because they don’t want to get in trouble with their parents. Terrible advice. It’s career and grad school suicide. What these Connecticut college students don’t understand is how detrimental an impact these Connecticut Possession of Marijuana tickets can have on your child’s future job prospects.

    How to Fight Your 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana Ticket

    The best way to fight your 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana Ticket in Connecticut is to consult a Connecticut criminal lawyer who has experience in challenging these tickets. Even if you are completely guilty of possessing marijuana, these top Connecticut criminal drug and marijuana lawyers can explain to you that if handled properly, there are ways to convince the district attorneys and state prosecutors to drop the charges against you. They often assemble sentence mitigation packages for the prosecutors to review and consider in a leniency argument. Alternative sentence dispositions can sometimes be negotiated such as drug counseling, community service and charitable contributions.

    The Mark Sherman Law Team of Marijuana Possession Criminal Lawyers

    The Mark Sherman Law team of Stamford Connecticut-based criminal lawyers have been successfully fighting 21a-279a marijuana possession tickets and 21a-267(d) drug paraphernalia possession tickets for years. Our sole goal is getting these tickets dismissed, no matter how long it takes or how much we have to push back against state prosecutors. We appreciate how even the slightest blemish on a high school student’s, college student’s, or young adult’s permanent criminal record can affect their professional futures. So if you have been issued a ticket for 21a-279a Possession of Marijuana and are interested in fighting your 21a-279a marijuana possession ticket in Darien, New Canaan, Greenwich or Stamford Connecticut, contact a Connecticut criminal lawyer at Mark Sherman Law today. We can be reached 24/7 at (203) 358-4700.