The Law of Possession in Texas

Hi, I’m Jay Cohen from Blass Law. And I wanna talk about the law of possession in Texas.

Possession is a fun one, because it applies to all areas of criminal law. If it’s possession of drugs, possession of a gun, whatever it is, the state has to prove the same things. And that is a person knowingly has direct physical control over a thing.

A person, that’s easy, knowingly means the act was done intentionally and voluntarily, not by accident or mistake.

Here’s an example. You’re driving your friend’s car, you get pulled over. There are drugs right underneath your seat. Well, if you didn’t knowingly possess them, meaning, you didn’t voluntarily and intentionally have them. That is not possession. Has direct physical control over a thing.

Here’s another example. You own a house, above the garage. You rent out a room, it’s got a separate entrance, separate key. One day, the cops come out and they find kilos and kilos of cocaine. You’re thinking, oh my gosh, I own this house. Well, you gave up control when you gave away the key, let someone else have access to it. And by not going over there and messing with it, that is not possession.

Those are two really easy examples. Possession gets a whole lot more complex.

If you find yourself charged with possession, give us a call, at Blass Law.