I never had a problem with drugs. I had a problem with the Police.” – Keith Richards

Mr. Gohel has been representing clients in Marijuana and Narcotics cases in state and federal court for over 20 years.  

His caseload includes many large-scale marijuana grows, asset seizures and other cases involving medical cannabis.  Mr. Gohel has been extremely successful in presenting medical marijuana defenses to obtain dismissals or significant reduction of charges.  He has obtained the return of hundreds of thousands of dollars in asset seizures and property that the government sought to forfeit under the draconian asset forfeiture laws in California and federal court.

Federal law can have particularly harsh consequences for narcotics offenders. Federal law imposes minimum mandatory sentences for certain types and quantities of drugs, and prior drug convictions can lead to minimum mandatory sentences of anywhere from 10 years to life. In addition, the United States Sentencing Guidelines sets upper terms for sentences based upon the quantity of drugs. Even first-time offenders can face extremely harsh sentences. Many federal drug investigations involve the use of wiretaps, informants and other law enforcement tools.

In one recent federal jury trial, his client was facing a 10 year minimum-mandatory sentence due to allegations of possession with intent to distribute five kilos or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine as a courier on airplanes from the Bay Area to Hawaii.  The jury convicted on that charge, but did not find true the minimum-mandatory weight allegations, thus avoiding a 10 year sentence.  His client was ultimately sentenced to 3 years in prison, which was four years less than the best offer to settle the case made by the government.

In a recent state case, where his client was charged with having a large-scale marijuana grow with dozens of guns on the property, he was able to convince a judge to suppress the search warrant because the police officer who authored the probable cause statement in the warrant was untruthful.  When the false statements were excised from the warrant, the judge found insufficient probable cause for the warrant.  As a result, all charges were dismissed.  The best offer made by the District Attorney was four years of hard time in state prison.

Because of the serious consequences of drug prosecutions, defending clients accused of narcotics offenses, in state or federal court requires specialized legal training and advice.