Drug Trafficking & Controlled Substances Defense

Drug-trafficking charges in Washington carry severe penalties, including long prison sentences, firearm enhancements, asset forfeiture, and lasting consequences to employment, family, and immigration status. These cases often hinge on police credibility, confidential informants, surveillance tactics, chain-of-custody issues, and constitutional violations during searches and seizures. When facing allegations of possessing controlled substances with intent to deliver, individuals turn to Mr. Merchant for strategic, trial-ready advocacy rooted in constitutional precision, creative defense theories, and an unwavering commitment to the truth.

Mr. Merchant has extensive trial experience defending clients accused of controlled-substance offenses and intent-to-distribute charges. His approach focuses on dismantling the State's case through aggressive suppression litigation, exposure of police misconduct, and careful dissection of the evidence trail from seizure to the courtroom.

Exposing Misconduct: Uncovering a Crooked Vice Officer at Trial

In drug-trafficking prosecutions, the credibility of police officers—especially vice and narcotics detectives—often determines the direction of the case. In one controlled-substance trial, Mr. Merchant uncovered significant misconduct by a vice officer, exposing irregularities, deceptive tactics, and violations of department protocol.

Through rigorous cross-examination, impeachment, and precise questioning, Mr. Merchant revealed the officer's pattern of misconduct and manipulative investigative methods. The officer's credibility collapsed, the State's evidence unraveled, and the foundation of the prosecution's case was destroyed.

This result reflects Mr. Merchant's core trial strategy:
question assumptions, challenge every step of the investigation, and expose police misconduct wherever it hides.

Gaps in the Chain of Evidence: A Critical Weakness in Drug Cases

Drug-trafficking prosecutions often rise or fall on the integrity of the evidence. Mr. Merchant has a keen ability to expose gaps in:

• evidence handling
• storage and logging procedures
• transfers between officers
• laboratory submissions
• forensic analysis
• documentation inconsistencies
• mislabeled or improperly sealed evidence
• unexplained breaks in continuity

Chain-of-custody errors can render drug evidence unreliable or inadmissible. These weaknesses often lead to suppression, reduction, or dismissal of charges.

Fourth Amendment & Article I, Section 7: Suppressing Illegally Obtained Evidence

Drug-trafficking investigations frequently involve unconstitutional searches, unlawful detentions, defective warrants, and overreaching police tactics. Mr. Merchant regularly litigates suppression motions challenging:

• warrantless vehicle searches
• unlawful home entry
• pretextual traffic stops
• pedestrian stops without reasonable suspicion
• unlawful detentions of passengers
• digital and cell-phone searches
• defective or overbroad warrants
• surveillance and tracking without lawful authority
• unreliable confidential informants
• misuse of controlled buys
• coercive interrogation tactics

In Washington, Article I, Section 7 provides even greater privacy protection than the Fourth Amendment. Mr. Merchant uses these heightened protections to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence and dismantle the prosecution's case.

When the drugs, devices, or surveillance results are suppressed, the entire case falls apart.

Entrapment & Necessity: Two Overlooked but Powerful Defenses

Many attorneys rarely explore entrapment or necessity, despite their powerful role in drug-trafficking cases. Mr. Merchant has successfully raised both defenses in circumstances where clients were induced, coerced, or placed in impossible situations through government manipulation or dangerous external threats.

Entrapment Defense

Entrapment arises when the government:

• induces a crime
• pressures or encourages participation
• or manipulates vulnerable individuals into conduct they otherwise would not commit

This defense becomes especially relevant in cases involving:

• confidential informants
• controlled buys
• undercover officers
• fabricated opportunities
• manipulation of financially or emotionally vulnerable individuals

Mr. Merchant identifies and exposes these government tactics through meticulous cross-examination and strategic use of discovery.

Necessity Defense

In rare but powerful circumstances, necessity may apply when a defendant's temporary possession or transport of drugs was driven by:

• immediate threats to personal safety
• coercion from dangerous individuals
• urgent circumstances requiring quick action
• lack of reasonable alternatives

When supported by evidence, necessity can shift the narrative from guilt to survival—providing the jury a full picture of the truth.

Creative Defense Theory: Essential in Drug-Trafficking Cases

Drug-trafficking prosecutions often seem overwhelming on paper. But every case has a story—a missing piece the State didn't catch, a constitutional flaw the officers overlooked, or a narrative that explains the client's conduct without criminal intent.

Mr. Merchant often develops theories involving:

• alternative suspects
• unreliable confidential informants
• planted evidence
• flawed surveillance
• defective lab testing
• failure to fingerprint packaging
• poor documentation
• misidentified substances
• lack of dominion and control
• lawful possession or innocent presence
• evidence contamination

These theories often become the backbone of trial and reveal the reasonable doubt the State hopes no one will notice.

High-Stakes Defense for Serious Drug Charges

Mr. Merchant represents individuals accused of:

• Possession with intent to deliver (PWID)
• Distribution of controlled substances
• Drug trafficking with firearm enhancements
• Delivery near schools or protected zones
• Organized crime or conspiracy allegations
• "Kingpin" or large-scale distribution cases
• Maintaining drug premises
• Constructive possession cases
• Federal referrals or parallel investigations

These cases require a disciplined, creative, and constitutionally grounded defense.

When Everything Is at Stake, Strategy Matters

Every drug-trafficking case demands:

• aggressive motion practice
• constitutional litigation
• forensic scrutiny
• and trial-ready preparation

Mr. Merchant brings all of these elements to the courtroom, pursuing dismissals, suppression, acquittals, and results that protect his clients' future and freedom.