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Facing charges for possession of cocaine in Racine or Kenosha can be either a felony or misdemeanor charge depending on your prior history. If you have previously been convicted of a drug offense you can be charged with a class I felony for which you can be sentenced up to 3.5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. If you do not have a previous drug conviction you are facing a class U misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both. Additionally, the court can suspend your driver’s license for up to five years, there is a Drug Abuse Program Improvement surcharge of up to $5,000, and your penalties can be increased if you were near a park, school, or other protected buildings.
To be charged with a felony you need not have been convicted of the same offense previously. Put simply, it is not two of the same charges that lead to a felony case, but any prior drug conviction would then lead to a felony charge on possession of cocaine. You could have been convicted for a tiny amount of marijuana and that would still trigger the felony level charge for possession of cocaine.
In addition to being charged with possession of cocaine, often you will also be charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Drug paraphernalia, seemingly, can be almost anything from, mirrors, to razor blades, to pipes or baggies.
Cocaine Possession with Drug Paraphernalia or Cocaine Possession with a Firearm
| Weight | Felony Level | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 Grams of Cocaine (8-Ball + Teener) | Class F Felony | max. $25,000 fine and/or a 12 year, 6 month prison term |
| 5-15 Grams of Cocaine (Half Ounce) | Class E Felony | max. $50,000 fine and/or 15 years imprisonment |
| 15-40 Grams of Cocaine (Ounce & a Quarter) | Class D Felony | max. $100,000 fine and/or 25-year prison term |
| 40+ Grams of Cocaine (Ounce & a Half) | Class C Felony | max. $100,000 fine and/or 40 years in prison |
Being charged with possession of cocaine paraphernalia is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and fines up to $500, or both.
Cocaine possession with a firearm significantly increases potential prison time and fines.
Contact our Racine-Kenosha Drug Possession Attorneys now to set up your free consultation on misdemeanor or felony drug possession charges.
How long does a cocaine charge stay on my record?
A conviction for possession of cocaine in Racine or Kenosha will stay on your record forever, all criminal convictions in Wisconsin are kept on a public database; CCAP (Wisconsin’s Circuit Court Access Program). You may be eligible for expunction of your conviction if you meet the criteria, and the court grants your expunction request. But while you may be eligible for expunction, it is not a sure thing, and it does not remove the arrest from your record. To keep your record clean you must avoid a criminal conviction.
How to beat a possession of cocaine charge
To fight a possession of cocaine charge in Racine or Kenosha, you must hire the right lawyer to challenge an element of the charge. The elements the prosecutor must prove to convict you are 1) you possessed something 2) that something was cocaine and 3) you knew it was cocaine. Proving that you were in possession does not require that it is found in your pocket or somewhere else on you. Instead, the prosecutor just needs to prove that it was somewhere that you had control over.
Typically fighting against a possession charge is not about arguing whether it was cocaine or that you knew it was cocaine, but instead whether you were in possession of it. To prove that you were in possession if it is not found on you, the prosecutor must be able to prove that you knew it was in the location that it was found. For example, you may not be in possession if it is found in the center console of a car when it is not your car. However, if within that center console, or any other enclosure (bag, glove box, or trunk), they also find your ID it becomes much harder to argue that you did know the cocaine was present. You may also be able to argue that the search when they found the cocaine was not done legally and without a legal search anything found cannot be used against you by the prosecutor. To raise these challenges and to be successful fighting against your case, you must hire the right attorney. Give our experienced Racine and Kenosha lawyers a call so they can get started working for you.
