Drug charges affect more than your criminal record. They threaten your employment, housing, professional licenses, and immigration status. Courtney McGowan builds precise, evidence-based defenses to fight these charges.

What Is at Stake with Drug Charges

New York drug charges range from misdemeanor possession to felony distribution, and the consequences scale significantly. Beyond fines and jail time, a conviction creates barriers to employment, housing, student financial aid, professional licensing, and immigration status.For non-citizens, even a minor drug offense can trigger deportation proceedings. For professionals with licenses (nurses, teachers, commercial drivers), a drug conviction can end a career.The stakes are high enough to warrant immediate, strategic legal defense.

How We Defend Drug Cases

Search and Seizure Analysis: Many drug cases start with a traffic stop, a pat-down, or a search of a home or vehicle. If law enforcement violated your Fourth Amendment rights, the evidence may be inadmissible. Courtney will review the circumstances of the initial police interaction to combat any illegal searches and seizures.

Chain of Custody Review: Every piece of physical evidence must be properly documented from seizure to lab to courtroom. Gaps in documentation create defense opportunities.

Lab Testing Challenges: Was the substance actually tested? Was the lab accredited? Were protocols followed? Courtney challenges the reliability of forensic evidence.

Intent and Knowledge: Prosecutors must prove you knowingly possessed the substance. Proximity to drugs is not the same as possession. We challenge the state's theory of knowledge and control.

Diversion and Alternative Sentencing: For eligible clients, drug treatment courts and diversion programs offer a path to dismissal without a criminal record.

What We Handle

Marijuana possession
Controlled substance possession
Drug paraphernalia charges
Possession with intent to distribute
Prescription drug offenses
Drug conspiracy charges