Defense For Controlled Substance Endangerment Of A Child

If you have been accused of endangerment of a child, you need a strong defense. An experienced attorney can help. At Pearson & Paris, P.S.C., our 22 years of legal experience will be used to protect your rights. Perhaps more importantly, our top criminal defense attorney is a former senior prosecutor who knows how prosecutors handle these cases. That knowledge allows us to create effective strategies ranging from negotiation to courtroom battles.

A person commits child endangerment when he causes or permits a child to be present when any person is illegally manufacturing a controlled substance. Kentucky law provides for four degrees of controlled substance endangerment of a child. KRS §§ 1441-1444. These degrees generally depend on whether the child dies, a Class A felony, the child sustain serious physical injury, a Class B felony, the child sustains physical injury, a Class C felony, or whether the child is not injured at all, a Class D felony.

Possible Defenses For Trafficking In A Controlled Substance

The key to defending a charge regarding controlled substance endangerment of child is demonstrating that the defendant did not have “knowledge” that the child was present (i.e., “Lack of Knowledge”). For example, many times we see cases where children sneak around without the knowledge or awareness of the defendant. Second, there may be differing opinions about what “presence” means. In other words, how far away from the manufacturing site must the child be so as no longer to be present.

Other defenses may also apply. This includes an analysis of any violation of constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to have any searches and seizures based on probable cause, a proper warrant, and the right to due process in the proper preservation of evidence that may be used against you. Many other defenses are available that rely on scrutinizing and exposing weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case, such as: biased or incompetent witnesses, flawed crime scene investigation, flawed administration and procedures in collecting breath, blood or urine for forensic testing, incompetent computer evidence, flawed photo lineups, and inaccurate crime scene/accident reconstructions.

It is important that you hire a skilled and experienced lawyer to defend you in a trafficking case. Call us at 502-688-5200 in the Greater Louisville area and across the state of Kentucky. Contact our firm in La Grange today.