Possession of Cannabis and LSD
Case Background
The police paid a sudden visit to our client’s house with a search warrant and discovered a large amount of marijuana and hashish in his house. This gave the police reason to arrest our client immediately.
Issues That Arose with the Case and Our Solutions
1. A communication ban was placed on him
As our client had a business to run, the communication ban was a huge obstacle for our client to be able to continue running his business.
Because there were no grounds in our client’s case for a communication ban, we made an appeal to the court regarding the court’s decision to place a communication ban on our client as soon as we were retained as our client’s defense lawyers.
2. Our client hoped to get out on bail but there were several obstacles
Firstly, it can be extremely difficult for foreign national suspects to be granted bail even if they have permanent residency in Japan. This is especially the case when they do not have any family members living with them or living near-by. Our client had neither family living with him or in Japan.
Secondly, there was a fairly high possibility that he would get re-arrested on another charge, possession of LSD. Therefore, even if our client was granted bail, he could have been immediately re-arrested and returned to detention.
Prior to making a motion for bail, we advised our client to be as cooperative as possible with the investigation during his detention period. Including the charge that led to his initial arrest and any further questioning. We also requested and had the court hold a detention hearing for our client. At the hearing we had our client swear in front of the judge and the prosecutor that he had no intention of absconding or destroying evidence. Furthermore, that he would voluntarily cooperate with any further investigations even after he has been released on bail.
In addition to the above, we explained in our document for bail motion that our client had no reason to abscond or destroy evidence as it would negatively affect his permanent residency status and his business. We also explained that there was no possibility of our client fleeing overseas as we had taken possession of our client’s passport, which we would remain in our possession until the sentence was rendered. We also attached to the document a guarantee letter from our client’s very close friend who resides in the same town and a written petition from his sister who resides overseas.
Result of the Case
Our appeal to the court regarding our client’s communication ban was successful and his communication ban was cancelled. Our client’s business employees were able to visit him at the police station and help him maintain his business during his detention period.
Our client was granted bail and was not re-arrested although he was later indicted for another charge, the possession of LSD.
Although our client was in possession of a large amount of cannabis and his additional charge of LSD, our client received a suspended sentence.
