🕵️‍♂️ “That’s Not Mine” — And Other Lies That Don’t Work in Court

AKA: How Denying Ownership of a Backpack Full of Drugs Still Gets You Arrested

Welcome back to Miranda Monday, the weekly reality check where we remind you—loudly and with love—that your dumbest legal strategy is usually the one you came up with on the spot.

Today’s feature:
“That’s not mine.”
Said while standing next to a backpack full of drugs… that has your mail in it.

🧠 The Classic Scenario

Cops pull over a car. You're the passenger.
They find a bag under your seat with:

• 💊 pills in unlabeled containers

• 🌿 weed (not sealed or labeled)

• 🔫 possibly a weapon

• 📬 and your name and address on a piece of mail inside

You hit 'em with the classic: “That’s not mine.”
And in your head, you just beat the case.
In reality? You just signed yourself up for constructive possession.

👮‍♀️ Constructive Possession: It’s a Real Thing

You don’t need to own something to be charged with possessing it.

If the drugs, gun, or illegal whatever were:

• Near you ✅

• Accessible to you ✅

• And you acted real nervous when they found it ✅

Boom: Prosecutors will argue you had control over it.
And the jury won’t need your fingerprints to convict you. They just need to believe it was close enough to be yours.

🎭 Why “That’s Not Mine” Falls Apart in Court

Because when you say:

• “It’s not my bag”

• While riding in a car with your best friend

• And your ID is inside the bag

• And you looked like you saw a ghost when they opened it

You’re not creating reasonable doubt.
You’re creating reasonable guilt.

📉 Real Consequences

Let’s run the list of what happens if the jury doesn’t buy your act:

• Felony charges for drug possession

• Gun enhancements if there’s a weapon

• Mandatory jail time if you’re on probation or have priors

• Asset forfeiture if you’re driving your own car

• Even more charges if it was near a school, park, or your kid

Oh—and prosecutors love this kind of case.
Why? Because your defense is basically:
“I was near the crime but not part of it, pinky swear.”

Final Thought:

You don’t have to say, “Yes, officer, that’s my meth.”
But saying “That’s not mine” while sweating bullets next to a bag with your mail in it?
That ain’t it either.

Miranda Monday Reminder:
You don’t have to talk. But if you do?
At least come up with a better line than the legal equivalent of “Nuh uh.”

#MirandaMonday #NotMyBagNotMyDefense #ConstructivePossessionIsReal #NewburgLaw #LawyerInAHoodie 🧥⚖️
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