As an Indiana college student, you have your whole life ahead of you. You have endless possibilities regarding your education, your future career and other life choices. However, allegations of any type of criminal activity can put a halt to these plans and impact your long-term interests in more ways than you can imagine.
The most common crimes committed by college students are drug-related offenses. From simple possession to a more serious trafficking or distribution charge, a conviction of any type of drug crime could lead to major consequences. It is helpful for you to learn about your legal options regarding your defense options, including whether any special laws apply to your case if the alleged criminal activity took place on a college campus.
College students in trouble
When criminal activities take place on a college campus, it can be confusing to try and figure out how to start working on an appropriate defense strategy. With both campus police and perhaps state police involved, it is not always immediately clear who has jurisdiction over the case or whether campus rules or state laws apply. The following questions may be helpful:
- Did you break a campus rule or a state law?
- Did campus security have grounds to search your room or did police have a search warrant?
- Did the crime take place on campus or off campus?
- Were other college students involved?
- Does your campus have police officers with the authority to arrest and charge people with crimes?
- Did campus police try to question you?
The answers to the above questions can help you determine the best way forward regarding your defense. You could be wise not to delay in learning about how you can fight back and to take your case seriously and seek help as soon as possible. Drug charges, even seemingly minor ones, are serious and can have a profound impact on your life.
Securing your long-term interests
Just the accusation of a drug crime may be enough to ruin your reputation and affect your college career. It’s important to develop a strong defense and vigorously fight back against drug-related criminal accusations against you, including everything from possession to federal offenses.
If you are under investigation or campus police have talked with you, it can be helpful to go ahead and speak about your case with an experienced defense attorney, even if there are no formal charges against you yet. It is never too early to fight to protect your long-term interests.