Question

You are a public defender, and today you find yourself representing a 54-year-old African-American man named Winfred who was arrested the night before and charged with illegal possession of methamphetamine. Your caseload is high, and you expect to see at least another dozen defendants before you can go home for the night. You only have about ten minutes before you and Winfred will be called before the judge to enter a plea. You learn that your client had some prescription diet pills in his possession when he was stopped by the police for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Winfred, however, says that he wasn’t drunk and that he wasn’t under the influence of any drugs but that he was confused after leaving new construction job and was that he was not familiar with. He tells you that he is not as young as he used to be and that he suffers from arthritis. He says that he bought the pills from a friend who told him that they would give him the energy he needed to stay alert and keep working throughout the day. He didn’t know what they were, and he didn’t think about the possibility that they were illegal or that they could result in his arrest. He has since learned of the potential legal consequences, however, and is now afraid of losing his job if he is convicted of a drug crime. He says that he needs the money his job pays to support himself and his wife and that she has no one else to care for her. As your ten-minute consultation draws to a close, you wonder how you should advise Winfred. You know that, technically speaking, he has broken the law, but you also know at if he pleads guilty to possession of a small quantity of this kind of controlled substance, he is likely to be found guilty put on probation. With a probationary sentence, he could continue working and earning an income. Even better, a simple plea deal would allow you to move on to your next client. On the other hand, you believe that you might be able to convince the judge that Winfred did not know that he was in possession of a controlled substance and that therefore he did not possess the necessary mens rea to support a finding of guilty. However, a plea of not guilty could mean that this case could go to trial—and that could take a lot of time. If Winfred ended up being found guilty of possession of a controlled substance, he could conceivably be sentenced to serve time behind bars.

How would you counsel Winfred to not plead guilty?

Answer 1

Mr.Winfred do not worry about the past.You are not a criminal.You have a great mind.At first you should know about what you had done.I will tell you about methamphetamine in detail now. Methamphetamine  is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity.

Long-term methamphetamine abuse has many negative consequences, including addiction. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use and accompanied by functional and molecular changes in the brain.

As is the case with many drugs, tolerance to methamphetamine’s pleasurable effects develops when it is taken repeatedly. Abusers often need to take higher doses of the drug, take it more frequently, or change how they take it in an effort to get the desired effect. Chronic methamphetamine abusers may develop difficulty feeling any pleasure other than that provided by the drug, fueling further abuse. Withdrawal from methamphetamine occurs when a chronic abuser stops taking the drug; symptoms of withdrawal include depression, anxiety, fatigue, and an intense craving for the drug.

In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, people who use methamphetamine long term may exhibit symptoms that can include significant anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, and violent behavior. They also may display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin). Psychotic symptoms can sometimes last for months or years after a person has quit using methamphetamine, and stress has been shown to precipitate spontaneous recurrence of methamphetamine psychosis in people who use methamphetamine and have previously experienced psychosis.

Everything you had done is just because of your friend.I know you have arthritis.Did you know many of the middle aged people in the world are suffering from arthritis.I will give you the number of my friend who is a surgeon in rheumatology. You just consult him.Drug abuse is illegal.Do not take medicine from any other's advise rather than qualified doctors.Do not become guilty and panic.I will take care of you.